MS Democracy and Newspapers
 
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Newspaper is Due

Background: Power and Perspective

Power and Perspective  is our theme in grade 8.  We explore these concepts as we learn about how democracy developed in Ancient Greece and then, more recently, how it influenced the American system of government.

End of Semester Assessment: To wrap up our study of ancient and modern day government systems, we will apply what we have learned this semester to a performance task – a newspaper project. Athens and Sparta were ancient case studies of democracy and dictatorship. You will now investigate what democracy and dictatorship look like today in a modern case study.

As we explore issues in democracy, we use the resources in our attachments below and at this "What is Government" web that you may access for review.  Remember that our goal with our study is to meet the following standards:

Social Studies Standards IISoc6B2, IISoc10B1, IISoc1B2
  • What is the purpose of government, and how are its powers acquired, used and justified?
  • What are “democratic ideals?”  What were the origins of the republican form of government’s ideals, including
    • individual human dignity,
    • liberty,
    • justice,
    • equality and
    • the rule of law?
  • How are information and experiences interpreted from different cultural perspectives and frames of reference?

We are all working to be able to understand answers to these important questions:
  • What is the government’s role in the lives of its citizens?  
  • Explain the ways it might be helpful to have a government powerful ...or limited.
  • What role do newspapers (“the press”) play in a democracy?
  • Why is freedom of the press so important in a democracy?
            
We are learning about the following concepts
  • rule of law (where written laws and Constitutions rule... not the individual people who are given power by those documents)
  • balancing the "rights of the individual" with the "common good"
  • the "swinging pendulum of history"
  • role that newspapers play in a democracy vs. in a dictatorship
  • limited vs. unlimited government

     liberty  human rights  democracy
     rule of law
    		  republic
    		  Constitution
     freedom of speech
    		  freedom of the press
    		   prison/jail
     freedom of religion
    		  dictatorship  trial by jury
     limited government  unlimited government
    		  life
     equality  pursuit of happiness
    		  citizen
     taxes  crime  property
    See phrases in our "Checklist for Democracy"
    		  justice (fairness under the law.. equal treatment with trials and punishments... not discriminating on the basis of wealth, sex, race, religion, etc.)
    		  see concept bullets just above!

We are learning that an editorial is an "opinion" and it is biased, but it uses facts to convince the reader.  A political cartoon is also an "opinion piece."  The editorials listed below help you see how people have discussed democracy and democratic ideals.  Use the Ebsco Student Research Center password for TAS that is listed on our green password lists from the library.

 Sample Editorials collected by Mrs. Rowe for your reference:


"The Pursuit of Happiness" - Discussion of this famous line in the preamble of the US Constitution and how it has become distorted in our modern-day materialistic and egotistical society (e.g. Paris Hilton) http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=27069737&site=src-live 


"What Would Washington think of us now?" - On the anniversary of Washington's birthday, a discussion of how far democratic principles (such as equality) have come since he was President. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W63493428595&site=src-live
 

"Today we remember we are all Americans" - On the anniversary of Independence Day, a discussion of the importance of remembering the courage and bravery that led to the birth of a nation and celebration of what it means to be American. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W62229166176&site=src-live


"Check executive power" = Short discussion about the Bush Administration's tapping of phones, etc. in order to "fight terrorism." Expresses concern that this kind of unrestrained executive power, no matter how worthy its goal, is ripe for abuse. That's why America's Founding Fathers designed a government with three branches and robust checks and balances between them. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W62025944509&site=src-live


"Exporting American Democracy: Could the Founding Fathers sell something no one wants to buy?" - On the anniversary of Independence Day, a longer discussion about how hard it is to establish American-style democracy today. The article explores how difficult it would be to establish a democracy in America today; attempts to explain how difficult it will be for democracy to work in Iraq and how other countries where democracy was established in the mid-1900s (Japan and Germany) had it a lot easier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W63167107934&site=src-live


This web based activity is collaborative project between the grade 8 humanities teachers and their librarian, Margaret Carpenter who authored these pages and their attachments.

Attachments (2)

  • Comparative Government Johnsenland etc.ppt - on Oct 31, 2008 11:58 PM by Unknown user (version 4 / earlier versions)
    671k Download
  • NewspaperRESOURCES0809.ppt - on Oct 31, 2008 11:54 PM by Unknown user (version 4 / earlier versions)
    345k Download