Political Science Nov. 11, 2013-Supreme Decision

Today you should check out the simulation "Supreme Decision" on the iCivis.org website.
Click on the following link to get there...
http://www.icivics.org

Once you get to that page, look for the option to play "Judicial Branch" games
Click on the green icon, then select "Supreme Decision".
After playing "Supreme Decision", you should now find the game titled "Argument Wars" and play that game as well.
The two cases you examine in the games are Tinker v. Des Moines and New Jersey v. TLO
Both cases involve students rights in school.  One is a first amendment case and the other is a fourth amendment case.

To earn the unit for today you need to play the game twice and write a one paragraph review of the game.  In the review, highlight what is good about the games and what you feel could use improvements.  Lastly, tell me what you learned about the Supreme Court by playing the games.

Human Geography October 26-Travel Time and Distances

Traveling to and from E Asia

CONGRATULATIONS! Your boss has handed you the responsibility of booking her business trips from each of the capital cities in E Asia over the next three months to various major cities throughout the world

Step 1: Identify the capital cities of E Asian countries

Step 2: Go to a travel website like Orbitz, Kayak, or Travelocity

Step 3: Enter the dates of your flights (10/25/2013 to 1/25/2013).  Your departure airport is the capital city’s airport from each country

Step 4: Your destinations need to include: 2 from Europe, 2 from North America and 2 from Africa

Step 5: Record the prices, flight times, and duration for the flight by making an itinerary in Notability.  Include the airline your boss is on and the flight number and the city they will stay at Make sure your destination is a population center-not some remote area.  Put a picture of the destination city and record the information underneath it.

.

Step 6: Send the finished product to me when you are completely finished
jarnebec@apps.district833.org

Political Science October 24-Special Interest Groups

Today you will choose a special interest group to research and create a report.  To find a list of interest groups, use the following link:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/kfountain

Human Geography-Japan Virtual Tour

Today's investigation asks you to click on the following link http://web-japan.org/atlas/index.html

Once you get to the page, you need to watch:
Japan Slide Show I
and
Japan Slide Show II

In order to answer these questions.
The nice thing about this lesson is it allows you to go at your own pace.
Have fun and don't forget to complete the T-Chart at the end.

Political Science October 21-Executive Command

Your job today is to be a software evaluator.  Take 45 minutes to play Executive Command on the iCivics webpage.  For the last 10 minutes of class, you should record your ideas on a half sheet of paper and tell me the following:
1. What did you think of the game overall?
2. What did you like about it?
3. What parts of the game could stand to be improved?
4. Would you be willing to try to evaluate more software from this website in the future?

Click to get to the website http://www.icivics.org/games/executive-command

Political Science October 9 2013-ReDistricting Game

Yesterday you took a look at redistricting on paper with the example of the city of Athena.  Today, you will participate in a simulation on the desktops that will challenge you to create new voting district boundaries based on equal population distribution, ethnic representation in accordance with the Voting Rights Act, and bipartisan fairness.  After completing as many missions as possible, record on the sheet what you map looked like for each mission before continuing on to the next.

Here is the link to get you to the ReDistricting Game.

http://www.redistrictinggame.org/index.php?pg=game

Political Science-MN Election Results

Use the information from the 2012 election maps provided by the Mn Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, to help you identify the dominant political parties in the 8 congressional districts in Minnesota as well as how each county in MN voted for the Governor's office in 2010.  The purpose of the activity is to allow you to see where the Democrat and Republican voting bases are located in our state.  Fill out your blank maps with the appropriate color for the political party candidate that won the district (in the case of the 2012 US Rep elections) or the county (in the case of the 2010 Governor election)

Here are the links to get to the proper maps for the activity:

2012 US Congressional Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1734
Select US Representative, margin by district

2010 MN Governor Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1634
Select Governor, margin by county

Geography- May 16th, 2013 Japan Slideshow

Today's investigation asks you to click on the following link http://web-japan.org/atlas/index.html

Once you get to the page, you need to watch:
Japan Slide Show I
and
Japan Slide Show II

In order to answer these questions.
The nice thing about this lesson is it allows you to go at your own pace.
Have fun and don't forget to complete the T-Chart at the end.

Political Science May 13, 2013 Special Interest Group

Today you will choose a special interest group to research and create a report.  To find a list of interest groups, use the following link:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/kfountain

Economics Monday May 13 Wall St Survivor

Finally its here...

Today we have to get you signed up for Wall Street Survivor.

1) Click on the following link to get to the page to get started:

http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/league/ArneEconMay2013

2) Next you are going to need to set up an account.  Right below the "Sign in with Facebook"
is a link that reads Create an account on WSS.  Click on that and proceed with the steps to set up your account.  Make sure to uncheck the boxes for e-newsletters and promotions unless you like getting extra email.

3) After setting up your account you should see a screen that looks like this:

4) Now you need to join the league for our classes.  On the gray bar that has the Wall Street Survivor Logo, there is a button for leagues.  Click on that and then search for "Arne Econ May 2013".  You should be able to join the league and then get the password from me in class.


5) Always make sure to check the black bar to see which game you are in.  To the right of your dollar amount is a drop window that says "Practice Portf...".  This is for you to get used to the game before actually starting our contest.  To change to our contest, you need to click on the Window that says "Practice Portf..." and select the "Arne Econ May" option like the picture below.

6) You can access this game 24 hours a day from any location so you don't have to be in class to make changes.  Just keep in mind if you sell a stock after the market closes (3PM CST) it will sell for the opening price the next day (8:30AM).

7) Good luck and enjoy the experience.

Economics May 1 The Bottom Line

Today you need to take the numbers you discovered through your research, entrepreneurship and capital shopping to determine your total costs.  Once this figure is calculated, you can estimate your production levels and price of your average item for sale.  To calculate your total costs, Take the figure you calculated for the following

Rent                                                          $______________
Capital                                                      $______________
Labor                                                        $______________
Advertising                                               $______________
Insurance ($50 per worker per month)     $______________
                                                               + ----------------------    Add them up

Total Cost                                                 $______________


Now you are ready to figure out your production levels.

Review your business plan and answer the following questions in your mind.
                       
How many transactions do you think you can make per hour/per number of days you are open each month?

Take your total costs and divide by the number of transactions you think you can make in a month.

The result will give you a price you will need to set to cover your costs.

Political Science April 30 Executive Command

Your job today is to be a software evaluator.  Take 45 minutes to play Executive Command on the iCivics webpage.  For the last 10 minutes of class, you should record your ideas on a half sheet of paper and tell me the following:
1. What did you think of the game overall?
2. What did you like about it?
3. What parts of the game could stand to be improved?
4. Would you be willing to try to evaluate more software from this website in the future?

Click to get to the website http://www.icivics.org/games/executive-command

Economics April 29 2013 Design a Business

Today we are going to start looking at the steps you might take if you were to start your own business.  Keep in mind, this will be a cursory look at some of the factors involved in running your own business.  The objective for this class period is to establish two things:
1) What would you like to produce?
2) Where will you produce it?

To answer number one, you need only use your imagination as a resource.  You have an unlimited budget to get your store started.  Just remember that any cost you decide to take on will need to be covered by your revenue and that will affect how you set your prices in a competitive market.

Answering number two will require some research.  We will use an online real estate resource to help you locate and price out locations in the Twin Cities for your business.

When you are ready, click on the following link
http://www.mncar.org

The following video demonstrates how you can use the website...

Political Science April 24 ReDistricting Game

Yesterday you took a look at redistricting on paper with the example of the city of Athena.  Today, you will participate in a simulation on the desktops that will challenge you to create new voting district boundaries based on equal population distribution, ethnic representation in accordance with the Voting Rights Act, and bipartisan fairness.  After completing as many missions as possible, record on the sheet what you map looked like for each mission before continuing on to the next.

Here is the link to get you to the ReDistricting Game.

http://www.redistrictinggame.org/index.php?pg=game

Political Science April 16 Mn Election Results 2012

Use the information from the 2012 election maps provided by the Mn Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, to help you identify the dominant political parties in the 8 congressional districts in Minnesota as well as how each county in MN voted for the Governor's office in 2010.  The purpose of the activity is to allow you to see where the Democrat and Republican voting bases are located in our state.  Fill out your blank maps with the appropriate color for the political party candidate that won the district (in the case of the 2012 US Rep elections) or the county (in the case of the 2010 Governor election)

Here are the links to get to the proper maps for the activity:

2012 US Congressional Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1734
Select US Representative, margin by district

2010 MN Governor Map
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1634
Select Governor, margin by county

 

Geography April 15 SW Asia Travel Review

SW Asia Travel Review                      
You have been hired to produce a travel review for a country in SW Asia.  The report can be in following forms of media: handwritten (poster or brochure), digital (Word, Power Point, Publisher), or video (you will need to provide your written script and information-should you choose to go this route)

The review must contain the following sections:
    History: ex. Who were the original inhabitants?  How has it changed over time?
    Economy: What are the main industries and resources? What is their currency called?
    Culture: What are the main languages, religions and traditions of the nation?
    Government: What form of government do they have?  Who is their leader?
    Attractions: What are some cool/fun things to do and see in your country?

All forms of presentation must include visual aids for each section

A couple of sites to help you get your search started:
http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/ (if you have Turkey, Iraq, Israel or Afghanistan)

Sample Brochure/Review

Inside

Cover

Iron Jawed Angels Article

After watching the film.  You are being asked to pretend you are an on-the-scene reporter and write a half to one page newspaper article, recounting a memorable event from the film.  Your job as a reporter is to only give the facts.  You must refrain from letting your personal bias interfere with story you relay to the readers.

Use Microsoft Publisher to create an authentic -looking document that must contain the following components:
-Newspaper Title (ie. Washington Post)
-Headline (ie. Big Trouble at Occoquan)
-Location of the story (ie. Washington DC)
-Author (ie. your name)
-Date of Publication (somewhere between 1917-1920)

Feel free to do some investigative reporting and research your event to help give you more details to include in your story.

Political Compass Test January 3, 2014

Your job is to take the political compass test to see where you rank on a two-dimensional political spectrum.  Click on the following link to answer the questions
http://www.politicalcompass.org
Once you have completed the test scroll down to see the analysis of where you are placed on the spectrum.  Record the graph and your results on the sheet of graph paper supplied in class.
Also write the name of the historical figure you most closely match on the test (scroll back up and examine some of the previous graphs and explanations)

Poli Sci- Do I Have a Right

Your job today is to be a software evaluator.  Take 45 minutes to play Do I Have a Right on the iCivics webpage.  For the last 10 minutes of class, you should record your ideas on a half sheet of paper and tell me the following:
1. What did you think of the game overall?
2. What did you like about it?
3. What parts of the game could stand to be improved?
4. Would you be willing to try to evaluate more software from this website in the future?

Have fun over break and I will see you on Monday.

Poli Sci-Supreme Decision

Today you should check out the simulation "Supreme Decision" on the iCivis.org website.
Click on the following link to get there...
http://www.icivics.org

Once you get to that page, look for the option to play "Supreme Decision"
It should be on the right side as you scroll down.

To earn the unit for today you need to play the game twice and write a one paragraph review of the game.  In the review, highlight what is good about the game and what you feel could use improvements.  Lastly, tell me what you learned about the Supreme Court by playing the game.

Econ-Tax Simulations

It's Wednesday, February 27th and lets try answering some tax questions.
Click the following link
http://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/student/simulations.jsp

It is going to take you to a page where you will try to fill the shoes of 20 different taxpayers facing different financial questions.

As you complete a simulation, take a quick screenshot of your success and store it in an Econ folder on your U: drive

Here is a link explaining how to take a screenshoot
http://www.take-a-screenshot.org

Here's an example of what it looks like when you complete Sim 1.

Have fun.  Good luck.  Try to get through at least 10.

Geography-Feb 15th Japan Slide Show

Today's investigation asks you to click on the following link http://web-japan.org/atlas/index.html

Once you get to the page, you need to watch:
Japan Slide Show I
and
Japan Slide Show II

In order to answer these questions.
The nice thing about this lesson is it allows you to go at your own pace.
Have fun and don't forget to complete the T-Chart at the end.

Geography-Hinduism

As you are pondering your 20 questions to explore regarding Hinduism, use the following two websites to help you.  Obviously there are other resources that can provide you with information on the topic.  I was able to narrow my list to these two sites.  You are welcome to use them:

Hinduism: The world's third largest religion
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm

Arranged Marriages, Matchmakers, and Dowries in the India
http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Arr.html 

Religious Facts
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/beliefs.htm

Friday Civics Game

Lets get into the computer lab and try this presidential game on for size....
Go to http://www.icivics.org/games
On that page, scroll down until you see the game called Executive Command
Click on it and try to survive a day as President of the United States.
Play it a second time to see if you can do better if there is time.

Econ-Wall St Survivor

Winter Econ Students

Time to bring back Wall Street, Survivor-style.
Click on the link to get to our league, sign up and compete

http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/leagues/ArneEcon


You will find that I set this league to private so only Econ students can play.  This means you have to get the password from me directly