Learning Streams

US Government & Civics

This is a 20 week class and runs January 8th-June 4th with an optional weather make up day on June 11th.

This is the second half of this class, continuing from the fall 2024 session. Students can join at any time but will need to review some material (see below) to get caught up!

In this class, students will learn about the rights each of us has as a citizen, as well as our responsibilities, such as voting or serving on a jury — and getting involved in our communities. This class is for those who are curious about the history of voting rights in the U.S., how a bill becomes a law, how we elect our President, and who helped in the creation and development of our country. Students will gain an understanding of the principles that guided those who founded America’s Republic, including justice, liberty, duty, and equality.

During this first part of this course, students learned about: 

• What ideas were in the air in the 18th century?
• What does it mean to be a good citizen?
• Text and context of the Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation
• Framing of the Constitution and overview

During the remainder of this course, students will learn about:

• Dive deeper into the Constitution
• Electoral college
• Separation of powers and branches of the government
• Touch upon Connecticut state history

Hands-on Journaling: reinforce the knowledge of facts and information covered during class in a student created journal

Homework: students will have occasional reading selections and writing/research assignments to work on at home.

Grading: there will be no grades for this class but full class participation is still expected