Whole Brain Projects - Bill of Rights in a 3-D Shape

Two great things to shout about:  a project for whole-brain learning AND getting the material for just a buck at the dollar store! 

If you have a Dollar Tree near you, you might want to head over to their Teaching Tree section and snatch up some of these 3-D Geometric Shapes. I was very excited to see these and purchased multiples of every shape available (one of each for each of my children, plus some extras for the inevitable mistakes that occur and need do-overs). There are so many possible uses for these things!

My first idea was to use the dodecahedron as the base for a final project in our U.S. Government unit study. For my older children, the assignment was for them to creatively express the meaning of each of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. The dodecahedron provided 10 sides for each of the 10 amendments, plus 2 additional sides for a title and some kind of summation. This made for a whole-brained project that would really internalize their learning.

One of my kids drew things to represent the amendments. One of them searched through family photos to find pictures to represent the amendments. (I really liked how he used a photo of our dog chewing up something he wasn't supposed to and then just looking at us when he was caught to represent the 5th amendment.) Another of my kids used song titles to represent each of the amendments after painstakingly going through lots and lots of lyrics. I LOVE the varied approaches and results.

One of the great things about unit studies is that you can all learn together, but then projects and assignments are tailored to ages and abilities. So, for my youngest, her dodecahedron was to represent all the things she learned throughout the unit. Hers included things like the three branches of government, two major political parties, some vocabulary terms, what taxes are used for, and the parts of the Bill of Rights that stick out as understandable to her.

I highly recommend The Bill of Rights series of books by Rich Smith. There is a book for each amendment that uses stories, court cases, and great explanations for kids (and adults) to understand and appreciate the reasons and ramifications of each amendment.

Caucus Video Aids

Last night I attended the Republican Caucus with my 18-year-old. I have to say that it was really great to have him with me, participating in the process together and also discussing issues and observations both during and afterward. Sometimes I lament the "little years" being over and my kids growing up, but I am really loving the intelligent adults they're becoming and appreciating the grown up conversations.

We've learned a lot about government and elections in the past few months, and especially after watching several of both parties' debates, ALL of my kids are following the Primary results with interest and eagerness. I get updates of all sorts from them as they see headlines in our local paper and also the Washington Post that is automatically on their Kindles.  

So, Utah operates its electoral process with a caucus. The best way to understand a caucus is to attend one, but I did find a couple of videos to share with my kids about it. 

Also, there is a ton of comparative information on "Caucus v. Primary" on Diffen. It's a little outdated, though, as Utah isn't listed as one of the caucusing states.

Teach and involve your kids in everything you do!

Go to Washington with Mr. Smith

You can't do better than passionate, idealistic, honest and good Jimmie Stewart! Do not study United States Government without watching Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington!"

This film just couldn't be any more perfect for showing, in an interesting, entertaining, inspiring, and CLEAN way, how things work in the Senate, how money can corrupt politicians, how one man CAN make a difference, and so much more. In fact, I read my kids' freewrites from this morning where the question was, "What did you learn from 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," and their musings covered a wide array of topics including honesty, perseverance, power of the press, corruption and greed, filibusters, imperfect government, and more.

I have become a real Frank Capra fan in the past couple of years. I've always loved "It's a Wonderful Life," but my appreciation has grown even more as we've watched this film, and also "You Can't Take it With You" and "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" as part of our economics studies. LOVE these films!

Executive Cabinet Search

There is a lot more to the executive branch of the U.S. Government that just the president and whitehouse.gov has a lot of information on the subject. I created a little internet scavenger hunt for my kids to do to help familiarize them with the president's cabinet. The questions are below. Begin at the administration's cabinet page and follow the links to the different departments, returning to the cabinet page between each department.

Executive Cabinet Search

What is the role of the Cabinet?

How many executive departments are there?

Who is the Secretary of State?

What is the mission of the State Department?

What are some responsibilities of the Secretary of State?

What is diplomacy?

Who is the Treasury Secretary?

What are some of the services of the Department of the Treasury?

Who is the Secretary of Defense?

What are some of the top issues the Department of Defense is dealing with right now?

What department is the Attorney General the head of?

Name five agencies that are a part of the Justice Department.

Who is the Secretary of the Interior?

What are the priorities of the Department of the Interior?

Who is the Secretary of Agriculture?

Choose two programs or services of the Department of Agriculture, explain what they do and why.

Who is the Secretary of Commerce?

What is commerce?

What is the purpose of the Department of Commerce?

Who is the Secretary of Labor?

What are some of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor?

Who is the Secretary of Health and Human Services?

What are some of the agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services?

Who is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?

What act began the Department of Housing and Urban Development and what was it for?

What amended this in 1974?

Who is the Secretary of Transportation?

What is the FAST Act, when was it signed and by whom, and what is it for?

Who is the Secretary of Energy?

What is the mission of the Department of Energy?

What does science and innovation have to do with the Department of Energy?

Who is the Secretary of Education?

What is the ESSA?

What are some other Federal laws pertaining to education?

Per the U.S. Constitution, is the Federal Government supposed to be involved in education?

Who is the Secretary of Veteran Affairs?

Why do we have a Department of Veteran Affairs?

What kinds of benefits does the VA provide?

Who is the Secretary of Homeland Security?

When was the Department of Homeland Security created, and how?

What are some of its concerns?

What other positions have the status of Cabinet-rank?

Presidential Adaptation

You may recall my review of The Presidential game from about a month ago. Today we adaptated it for more players. Grabbing chips, coinage, etc. from other games, we made it a six-player (thus six-candidate) game by including the Green Party, the Constitution Party, the Libertarians, and an Independent candidate. We learned about the ideologies and goals of those parties as we played.

As I looked up information on those other "major" parties, I discovered that there are 31 nationally ranked "minor" parties, as well as regional parties, the majority of whom I'd never heard of. Even though we disagreed with most of the platforms and philosophies, it was fascinating to read about such parties as the Transhumanist Party, the Black Riders Liberation Party, and the United States Pirate Party.

In real life, of course, this country is still dominated by a two-party system, regardless of how many other political parties there are. That's unfortunate in many ways. Though our adaptation isn't likely to be a reality any time soon, it did ignite learning and discussion in addition to changing the dynamic of our game play.

Lesson Ideas with LDS Perspective on the U.S. Constitution

Going through my shelves of books and resources on United States History and especially the Constitution, I re-"found" the Family Home Evening lesson plans and tools that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints produced in 1987 for the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. I figured that at this point this fabulous resource had to be available online, and so it is.

Click here for a PDF version of this terrific resource.

With an "Oink, Oink" Here and an "Oink, Oink" There

We have learned and talked about a lot of things in our studies of United States Government, Politics, and Civics. There are so many rights--and rights and wrongs. The subject is at once inspiring and maddening. 

One thing that infuriates me is government waste. You try to teach your children to be responsible and accountable, and then you have to teach them that those are things the government is NOT--and yet somehow we still live in a great country with the most perfect form of government.  (?!?!?!)

So, we did discuss pork barrel spending, and I introduced political cartoons (what they are, understanding what they mean, that they're a use of First Amendment rights, etc.) and incorporated them into the lesson as well.