Current Event Journals

An important objective of this course is for you the student to be literate in consuming media reports, determining fact from opinion and identifying potential bias. It is crucial that civics students are aware of current events and issues that deal with the U.S. government and as a result, each student will submit periodic a journal reflections current events that relate to the United States Government, United States politics, and global issues that directly impact the United States.

The basic requirement for each journal reflection will be as follows:

• The media report must no older than previous due date of the LAST journal assignment.
• The media report must be from a legitimate accredited news source. If you have any doubt about a source, please ask.
• The entry(s) is in your own words. Quotes are permitted but students who overuse them without providing their own context will be penalized.
• Please avoid editorials or opinion pieces. Utilize media reports that are presented as journalistic reporting.
• I strongly recommend that you choose a media report with some policy or issue focus.

In addition, Mr. O’Neil reserves the right to supplement these requirements week to week so that journal entries include a diverse exposure of sources and topics.

Use the format below for each journal entry.

Mr. O’Neil’s Class Header (See classroom procedures)

Source Information:

Title of Report: _____________________________________

Author(s) / Correspondent(s) name: _____________________________________

*Name of the (Source): _____________________

Date of Publication: __________________________________

The theme of the Media Report(Can be more than one…):

The Legislative Branch (Congress)

Executive Branch (The President)

The Judicial Branch (The Courts)

Foreign Policy / International

Political Parties

Economy / Taxation

Local & State Government

The Constitution / Civil Rights

Summarize the media report, giving the reader the basic information of the problem, discover, or conflict (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How). Identify and explain any potential bias you believe exists in the article and what the intended slant (effect on the audience). You may want to briefly discuss the author/correspondent of the media report. (At least One [1] paragraph – 5-6 sentences minimal. You may want to choose to discuss bias analysis in separate paragraph)

Give your own thoughts on the article’s major issues: Why do you think we as Americans should know about this? How it might connect to a topic we have talked about in class? Is there a solution you think would help the situation and WHY?

(One [1] paragraph – 4 sentences minimal)

You are more than welcome to “share” a rough draft for me to look over before due date. (Please include a message what you want me to especially look at.) However, you MUST submit your assignment through Google Classroom.