Government (P) Spring

Email Updates

Our District uses the ParentSquare App to maintain communication with parents. If you aren't signed up, please click the link below.

 

ParentSquare

Assignments

No events

 

 

 

Current Events

 

Current Events Project

Students will be reporting on a current event topic each Friday with an assigned group. The assigned group can be found in the google sheet attached in Google Classroom. On Monday of each week, the topics for each group will be posted as an assignment. Each week a member of the group will be assigned to present the current event to the class on Friday using the Current Event Reporter Form, the rest of the group members are researchers who will find a credible article and fill out the the Current Event Researcher Form.

When possible, public meetings will be assigned to groups as a topic for the week. In which case the reporter for that week must attend the assigned public meeting, which will fulfill their public meeting requirement for the Applied Civics Project.  This project fulfills the A-G requirement that students practice regular public speaking.

 

 

Evaluating a News Source

 

Trust in News Organizations

Americans in general are losing trust in major news sources, as surveyed by Gallup and other major polling institutions. The Pew Research Center attributes this to an increasing divide in partisan politics. This makes it harder for Americans to have productive discussions on a range of issues involving politics. However, distrusting information based upon a political narrative, instead of a reasoned examination of verifiable facts, contributes to the break down of political discourse and an inability to reach compromise. It is among the greatest threats to the viability of our democratic system. An informed public is essential for our system to work and that entails the ability to discern fact from falsehood. While differing viewpoints are the basis for 1st Amendment protections of freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and assembly, opinions that are based upon out-right falsehoods, misrepresentation of facts, or malicious intent are a direct threat to the stability of our system. An individual is free to believe in whatever they want, the conflict arises where that belief translates into specific actions that affect other individuals, or the group as a whole. The guaranteeing of rights also requires the imposition of responsibilities.

 

Things to Consider

  1. Consider the source: Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.
  2. Read beyond the headline:  Headlines can be outrageous in effort to get clicks.
  3. Check the author:  Do a quick Google search on the author. Are they credible?
  4. Determine if sources support the story:  Click those links. Determine if the subsequent info actually supports the story.
  5. Check the date: Social media posts are often out of date, google searches can return old stories.
  6. Consider that it might be satire:  If it seems too outlandish, it might be satire. Do some quick research on the site and author to find out.
  7. Check your biases: Do I assume it is credible, because I already agree with it?
  8. Ask the experts:  Consult one of the fact-checking sites.

 

Fact Checking Sites

Several sites have been developed to evaluate claims made by news sites and and politicians. The ones below employ research to dig into the details of a claim and determine how accurate it is. The rate them from accurate to false. These are great resources to check before sharing information on social media.

 

Vetted News Sites

In our highly polarized political environment, it is difficult to find news sites that people across the political spectrum will agree are credible. However, there are some that are more likely to be accepted than others. However, just because someone believes a site is not credible, does not make it so. What makes it credible is it's commitment and process for reporting information. Below are sites that that can be used to find news for current events in class.

News Aggregators

Generally Considered Credible

 Local News

 

Additional Evaluation Resources