Wilson, Chapter 7: Public Opinion
Wilson, Chapter 8: Political Participation
This unit looks at the variety of beliefs that individual citizens hold about their government, its leaders, and the U.S. political system in general. Taken together, these beliefs form the foundation of U.S. political culture. We will look at how how these beliefs are formed, how they evolve, and the processes by which they are transmitted.
This unit comprises between 10% and 20% of the exam.
Week of October 24
MONDAY Day D | In Class: • Federalism Test |
TUESDAY Day E | In Class: • Federalism Debate: Is the new Arizona immigration law constitutional? |
WEDNESDAY Day F | In Class: • Debate debrief |
THURSDAY Day A | In Class: • Work on election project HW: Wilson, pp. 76-84 |
FRIDAY Day B | In Class: • Introduction to Political Culture |
Week of November 1
MONDAY Day C | NO CLASS |
TUESDAY Day D | In Class: • Work the mock election HW (from last week): Wilson, pp. 76-84 |
WEDNESDAY Day E | In Class: • Election debrief • Work on election projects |
THURSDAY Day F | In Class: • Intro. to Political Culture HW: • Wilson, pp. 84-96 • New Wikispace discussion: "Class Wars" |
FRIDAY Day A | In Class: • TBA |
Week of November 8
MONDAY Day B | In Class: • "This Week" and/or "Meet the Press" • Political Culture con't |
TUESDAY Day C | NO CLASS |
WEDNESDAY Day D | In Class: • Debate: America is a meritocracy (POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY) |
THURSDAY | NO SCHOOL |
FRIDAY Day E | In Class: • Finish Political Culture HW: Wikispace discussion on American exceptionalism |
Week of November 15
MONDAY Day F | In Class: • Debate: America is a meritocracy HW: Wilson, Chapter 7, pp. 155-167 |
TUESDAY Day A | In Class: • Intro. to political opinion • "The West Wing" part 2 |
WEDNESDAY Day B | In Class: • What does America look like? Webquest HW: Wilson, pp. 167-end of Chapter 7. |
THURSDAY Day C | NO CLASS |
FRIDAY Day D | In Class: • Political Opinion con't. TEST MONDAY |
Week of November 22
MONDAY Day E | In Class: • Political Culture/Opinion Test WIKISPACE DISCUSSION DUE TUESDAY |
TUESDAY Day F | In Class: • A "West Wing" Thanksgiving |
WEDNESDAY | NO SCHOOL |
THURSDAY | NO SCHOOL  Happy Thanksgiving! |
FRIDAY | NO SCHOOL |
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 29
MONDAY Day A | In Class: • "Meet the Press" Roundtable • Intro. to Political Participation HW: Read "Dissecting the 2008 Electorate" and write a summary of your findings on the Wikispace. What are some of the biggest trends you see in political participation by race, ethnicity and gender? What were some catalysts for these trends? What are the implications, if any, for the changing demographic makeup of the U.S. electorate? Use evidence to support your opinion. |
TUESDAY Day B | In Class: • Finish "Meet the Press" • Political Participation (con't) |
WEDNESDAY Day C | NO CLASS |
THURSDAY Day D | In Class: Finish Political Participation |
FRIDAY Day E | In Class: Political Participation test HW: Wilson, pp. 198-207 |
