Tuesday, September 30

Homework: Composition Book due Fri. Oct. 17. CEP due Fri. Oct. 17. Read pages 259-265.
In Class: Two party system with a third party spoiler. Campaign ads.
Bell work: No bell work this week.

Mr.Moore

Monday, Sept. 29

Homework: Composition book due Oct. 17. Next CEP due Oct. 17. (after break). Read pages 249-258. No vocabulary this week.
In Class: Bills or Laws? Decision day.
Bell work: no bell work this week.

Mr. Moore

Friday, September 26

Homework: none.
In Class: Vocabulary assessment. There Oughta be a Law continues.
Bell work: What happens to most bills that are introduced in Congress?

Mr. Moore

Thursday, Sept.25

Homework: Composition book due Friday (tomorrow) Sept. 26. CEP (Subject: a pending bill or recent law) due Friday, Sept. 26. Study for Vocabulary Quiz.
In Class: Finalization of bills.
Bell work: Who has more power, a senator, or a representative? Explain why.

8th Grade Vocabulary Definitions Week 8 Chapter 6

1)      presidential succession: The order in which the office of president is to be filled if it becomes vacant.

2)      foreign policy: A country’s plan for dealing with other countries of the world.

3)      diplomacy: The art of dealing with foreign governments.

4)      treaties: Written agreements between nations.

5)      reprieve: A postponement in the carrying out of a prison sentence.

6)      pardon: An official act by the president or by a governor forgiving a person convicted of a crime and freeing that person from serving out his or her sentence.

7)      commutation: The act of making a convicted person’s sentence less severe.

8)      secretary: An official who heads an executive department in the federal government.

9)      attorney general: The chief legal officer of the nation or of a state.

10)   ambassadors: The highest-ranking officials representing a government in a foreign country.

11)   embassy: The official residence of an ambassador in a foreign country.

12)   consul: An official who works to promote U.S. commercial interests in a foreign country.

13)   visas: Documents that allow people from one country to visit another country.

14)   bureaucracy: The many departments and agencies at all levels of government.

15)   neutral: To not favor one side over the other in a dispute.

16)   distinct: Recognizably different.

Mr. Moore

Wednesday, Sept. 24

Homework: Composition Book due Sept. 26 (Fri.). CEP ( subject; a pending bill or recently passed law ) due Sept. 26 Fri.
In Class:  Full House and Senate bill debate.
Bell work: What percentage does a bill need to pass each house?

Mr. Moore

Tuesday, September 23

Homework: Composition Book due Sept. 26. CEP (Subject a bill pending or recent law passed).
In Class: There Oughta Be A Law! House and Senate work.
Bell work: Why are bills worked out in committees?

Mr. Moore

Monday, September 22

Homework: Composition Book due Friday, Sept. 26. CEP due Friday, Sept. 26.
In Class: Vocabulary Words Week 8. A bill moves through committee.
Bell work: What can Congress do when the president vetoes a bill?

8^th Grade Vocabulary Week 8 Chapter 6

1)      presidential succession

2)      foreign policy

3)      diplomacy

4)      treaties

5)      reprieve

6)      pardon

7)      commutation

8)      secretary

9)      attorney general

10)   ambassadors

11)   embassy

12)   consul

13)   visas

14)   bureaucracy

15)   neutral
16)   distinct

Mr. Moore

Friday, September 19 (Everything is Awesome!)

Homework: Composition book due Friday Sept. 26. CEP (on a pending bill or recent law) due Friday Sept. 26.
In Class: Vocabulary quiz. Committee work on bills.
Bell work: Why do bills go through a committee after being introduced?

Mr. Moore

Thursday, September 18

Homework: Composition book due Friday, September 26, CEP (on a current bill or recently passed law) due Friday, September 26. Study for Vocabulary Quiz.
In Class: Conclusion discussion of J.S. v. Blue Mountain. Mock Congress (There oughta be a law!!)
Write a bill that you will present to your committee.
Bell work: How does a bill become a law? "I'm just a bill"

From yesterday's class
Reprinted with permission of the author

•  By Adriane Hofmeyr (Parsons) Special to the Arizona Daily Star

1

Today we celebrate Constitution Day.

There are many things to celebrate about the birth of constitutional government in the United States on Sept. 17, 1787, not least the idea that, for the first time, a people could govern themselves free of a tyrannical sovereign.

However, for me, a former South African lawyer and now American lawyer and citizen, it has come to mean so much more.

This much-revered, though imperfect document was more than just a new form of government; it was also — through the creation of a Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights — an exciting and unprecedented check on government power. Winston Churchill said it best: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” And what makes it “least worst” is the power of a Bill of Rights, and the willingness and ability of a people to use it as a shield against its own government.

I was born and raised in South Africa in the “bad old days” — under a government that managed to disenfranchise 90 percent of the population. Government was, in the truest sense, arbitrary. Without a Bill of Rights, the law was no help. I trained and practiced as a lawyer in that system, and the frustration and outrage were constant and palpable.

In that context, “restraining government power” was not just a nice theory; it was a necessity to preserve life, in some cases literally. And, as some might recall, that’s just what South Africa got.

After a century of darkness, we received light — in the form of a constitutional democracy that included one of the world’s most progressive Bills of Rights. This was an extraordinary change. I was working for a government body at the time — the Cape Town City Council — and suddenly 13,000 government workers had to adjust overnight from arbitrary government to rational, justifiable government.

Almost every law was re-written, a Constitutional Court was created, and suddenly there was no such thing as an inviolable sovereign. I remember training law enforcement officers on that fancy American concept known as “Miranda rights.”

In the midst of all this the United States beckoned.

I now practice law here, under this old, established, venerable system of constitutional democracy. And despite years of watching Hollywood movies, everything here surprised me. Partly, it was the high volume of debate on almost every subject under the sun. Partly, it was the love of commerce. Partly, it was the surprising level of trust in government (although it has deteriorated in the last ten years).

But mostly, thanks to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, it was the depth and breadth of the legal arsenal for challenging government power in America. And it’s a treat — the legal system is sophisticated; there are literally centuries of legal precedent (from 1791, when the Bill of Rights was ratified and the Supreme Court opened its doors for business); and there is money and a willingness to litigate.

For all its admirable qualities of openness and fairness, this is still a government that periodically behaves badly, and would behave badly more often if it weren’t for one thing, one brilliant invention by this very country: the world’s original Constitution and Bill of Rights which ushered in constitutional democracy.

As Thomas Jefferson pointed out, the “tempestuous sea of liberty” may not make for a quiet society. But, like old age, it’s certainly better than the alternative.

This is only possible thanks to the Constitution. Long may it live!

Adriane Hofmeyr (Parsons) is a partner with the law firm of Munger Chadwick in Tucson. Contact her at ajhofmeyr@mungerchadwick.com

Huzzah!
Mr. Moore

Wednesday, September 17 CONSTITUTION DAY!!

HUZZAH! For Constitution Day!
Homework: Composition Book due Sept. 19. CEP (U.S. Supreme Court).
In Class: Constitution discussion. Editorial from AZ Star. Your rights.
Bell work: How is the number of Representatives determined for each state in Congress?

 Mr. Moore

Tuesday, September 16

Homework: Composition book due Friday, September 26. CEP Week 7 due Friday, September 26 (Subject is a bill being considered or law just passed)
In Class: CEP share and discussion.
Bell work: How is the number of Senators determined for each state?

Mr.  Moore

Monday, Monday! September 15

Homework: Composition book due Friday September 26. CEP due Friday September 26. Read Pages 133-139.
In Class: New Vocabulary Week 7. How a bill becomes law. "I'm just a Bill"
Bell work: How have voting rights been expanded through constitutional amendments?

8^th Grade Vocabulary Week 7 Chapter 5

1)      bicameral legislature

2)      apportioned

3)      gerrymandering

4)      immunity

5)      expulsion

6)      censure

7)      sessions

8)      caucuses

9)      president pro tempore

10)   whip

11)   Speaker of the House

12)   implied powers

13)   elastic clause

14)   act

15)   filibuster

16)   cloture
17)   veto

Mr. Moore

Friday, September 12

Homework: None.
In Class: Vocabulary Review and Quiz Week 6. Three branches of government.
Bell work: What makes the first responders on 9/11 heroes?

Mr. Moore

Thursday, September 11

Homework: Composition book due Friday, September 12. CEP (U.S. Supreme Court) due Friday, September 12.
In Class: Chapter 4 Section 3 Review question handout. 9-11.
Bell work: What happened on this day 13 years ago?

Mr. Moore

Wednesday, September 10

Homework: Composition book due Friday, September 12. CEP (U.S. Supreme Court) due Friday, September 12. Read pages 124-127.
In Class: Chapter 4 Section 2 Review Questions. Voting Rights; Alabama and Louisiana Voting Literacy Tests.
Bell work: What are four responsibilities citizens have to our country?

Mr. Moore

Tuesday, September 9

Homework: Composition Book due Friday, September 5. CEP (U.S. Supreme Court) due Friday, September 5. Read pages 118-123.
In Class:  Civil Rights and the long road to voting; discussion.
Bell work: Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

Mr. Moore

Monday, Monday September 8

Homework: Composition Book due Fri. Sept. 12. CEP (subject U.S. Supreme Court) due Fri. Sept. 12.
Read pages 107-116.
In Class: New Vocabulary Week 6 Words. Freedom of the press discussion.
Bell work: Why is the process for amending the Constitution so complicated?

8^th Grade Vocabulary Week 6 Chapter 4

1)       libel

2)       self-incrimination

3)       due process of law

4)       eminent domain

5)       bail

6)       civil rights

7)       suffrage

8)       principles (page 119)

9)       poll tax

10)    draft

11)    rationed

12)    jury duty

13)    community
14)   tabloid

Mr. Moore

FRIDAY!! September 5

Homework: Composition Book due Friday, Sept. 12. CEP (on Supreme Court) due Friday, Sept. 12.
In Class: Vocabulary Quiz Week 5. Structure of federal government.
Bell work: What traits do good students have?

Mr. Moore

Thursday, September 4

Homework: Composition book due Friday, Sept. 12. CEP due Friday, Sept. 12. Study for the Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow.
In Class: Cheesy Review for Vocabulary. Separation of Powers. Read 99-103. Answer review question Handout.
Bell work: What are the branches of federal government and what are their primary responsibilities?

8^th Grade Vocabulary Definitions Week 5

1)      popular sovereignty-Government by the consent of the governed.

2)      Preamble-The beginning of the U.S. Constitution, which describes its purpose.

3)      limited government-A system in which government powers are carefully spelled out to prevent government from becoming too powerful.

4)      majority rule-A system in which the decision of more than half the people is accepted by all.

5)      delegated powers-Powers given to the federal government by the Constitution.

6)      reserved powers-Powers set aside by the U.S. Constitution for the states or for the people.

7)      concurrent powers-Powers shared by the federal government and the states.

8)      separation of powers-The distribution of political power among the branches of government, giving each branch a particular set of responsibilities.

9)      legislative branch-The lawmaking branch of government.

10)   executive branch-The branch of government that carries out the laws.

11)   judicial branch-The branch of government that interprets the laws and punishes lawbreakers.

12)   checks and balances-A system in which the powers of government are balanced among different branches so that each can check, or limit the power of the other branches.

13)   judicial review-The power of the U.S. Supreme Court to determine if a law passed by Congress or a presidential action is in accord with the Constitution.

Mr. Moore

Wednesday, Sept. 3

Homework: Composition book due Friday, Sept. 12. CEP due Friday, Sept. 12
In Class: Separation of powers. Read pages 93-97 and answer review Handout questions. (See me for Handout).
Bell work: What are some of the powers of the federal government?

Mr. Moore

Tues. Sept. 2

Homework: Composition book due Friday, Sept. 12. CEP (on U.S. Congress) due Friday, Sept. 12.
In Class: The Judicial Branch! Vocabulary Week 5.

8^th Grade Vocabulary Week 5

1)      popular sovereignty

2)      Preamble

3)      limited government

4)      majority rule

5)      delegated powers

6)      reserved powers

7)      concurrent powers

8)      separation of powers

9)      legislative branch

10)   executive branch

11)   judicial branch

12)   checks and balances

13)   judicial review

Bell work: How did the Pilgrims influence the Constitution?

Mr. Moore