Course Overview:
After successful completion of the course of study for Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics you will be able to demonstrate the following skills and knowledge:

Skill Objectives

• Express ideas clearly in writing.
• Research political issues.
• Interpret and apply data from primary source documents such as court cases and bills.
• Develop essay responses that include a clear, defensible thesis statement and supporting evidence.
• Raise and explore questions about policies, institutions, beliefs, and actions in a political science context.
• Evaluate secondary source materials.

Knowledge Objectives

• Explain the foundations and underpinnings of democratic government.
• Demonstrate comprehension of documents essential to American government and politics.
• Evaluate the importance of federalism in the political operation of the nation.
• Describe the nature of American political parties and their role in the election process.
• Analyze the patterns of voter behavior
• Describe the functions and workings of policy-making institutions (Congress, the Presidency, the Courts, and the Bureaucracy).
• Analyze the major developments in civil rights and civil liberties in America.

Course Description:
This one semester Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics program is designed to teach you, the mature student, an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. Politics. Emphasis will be placed on the United States Constitution, state and local government and their interaction with other branches of government, and your rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the United States, the state of Washington and your local community.

Course Motif
Every student begin this course with the status of a Third Year Law Student and is promoted based upon successful completion of their caseload (coursework).

As a part of your caseload, you will read briefs (Online Text and supplementals), write briefs (Free Responses), make arguments to the jury (Participate constructively in online class discussions), collect and evaluate evidence (Research Projects and Interactivities) and prepare a summation (Write a persuasive paper at the end of the course that lays out your qualifications to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States based upon your work in the course).

Promotions through the ranks (each taking about two weeks to accomplish on a normal track) are based upon successful completion of a combination of Free Response and Multiple Choice assessments.

Positions to be attained from least to highest:

1. Attorney (admitted to the bar)
2. Spokane County District Court Judge
3. Spokane County Superior Court Judge
4. Washington State Court of Appeals Judge
5. Washington State Supreme Court, Associate Justice
6. U.S. District Court Judge
7. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge
8. Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justice
9. Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice – this highest position will be determined by a final vote of the students in the class. Only students who have attained the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by the end of the sixteenth week may be considered for this position.  As a condition of successful completion of this course each student will submit a persuasive paper no later than the end of the sixteenth week of the course.  The paper will be written to persuade the other members of the class of their qualifications to hold the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States based upon their understanding of United States Government and Politics.

Moderation of online class discussions is a privilege you can be granted to a once you have achieved the level of Washington State Court of Appeals Judge or higher.

You may wish to accelerate your pace through the course and complete it in a shorter time frame.

Course Goals:
The course will prepare you to take and successfully pass the College Board’s Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics Exam.

Course Prerequisites:
Good writing skills and teacher or counselor recommendation.

Course Schedule/Class Meeting Times:

Weeks 1 - 2

Underpinnings and Documents of American Government

• Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
• Separation of powers
• Federalism
• Theories of democratic government

Weeks 3 – 5

Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
• Processes by which citizens learn about politics
• The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
• The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
• Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors

Weeks 6 – 8

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

• Political parties and elections
• Functions
• Organization
• Development
• Effects on the political process
• Electoral laws and systems
• Interest groups, including political action committees (PACs)
• The range of interests represented
• The activities of interest groups
• The effects of interest groups on the political process
• The unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process
• The mass media
• The functions and structures of the media
• The impact of media on politics

Weeks 9 – 14

Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts

• The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
• Relationships among these four institutions, and varying balances of power
• Linkages between institutions and the following:
• Public opinion and voters
• Interest groups
• Political parties
• The media
• Sub-national governments

Weeks 15 – 16

Public Policy

• Policy making in a federal system
• The formation of policy agendas
• The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
• The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and interpretation
• Linkages between policy processes and the following:
• Political institutions and federalism
• Political parties
• Interest groups
• Public opinion
• Elections
• Policy networks

Weeks 17 – 18

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• The development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation
• Knowledge of substantive rights and liberties
• The impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and liberties

Course Policies

Academic Integrity :
It is the responsibility of the student to uphold the highest in academic integrity. Students in this course will be expected to comply with the official Spokane District 81 Policy regarding Academic Integrity. It is the assumption of the instructor that all work is done by the student.

District Computer/Network Usage:
Careful and ethical use of computing resources is the responsibility of every user. Students will be held to a stand of accountability for how they use computers. The official District Acceptable Use Policy is found here (PDF).