Strategies
Instead of starting the year with Peter Stearns, "Why Study History?" the students will begin a political discussion to guide their thinking throughout the year. The obvious connections between the actions of the president and historical trends will not come easily for my students, but they will start to inquire if the president can do whatever he wants in the post-Watergate era. When they are able to frame their own argument, they will have a better understanding of how historians work and begin their own historical inquiry.
This unit aims to enrich government knowledge for any student willing to challenge themselves with an Advanced Placement (AP) course. The goal is to close the achievement gap by encouraging minority students and other groups to participate in an exciting AP U.S. History course that will bridge the gap from 9th grade Civics and increase enrollment in 12th grade AP US Government & Politics. Students will refresh their knowledge of presidential powers from previous years to stay consistent with a looping model. The class will cover several conflicts which compel the U.S. President to deploy troops along with the conflict around the origin and legitimacy of executive power.
After careful consideration of the documents, students will combine their analytical skills into a forum. By arguing if the president should have taken certain actions, students must exercise high-level critical thinking skills. Hopefully, they will gain study skills for research and summation of complex texts. This practice can be initiated with the teacher providing materials once and then modeling research methods to the class.
The Pittsburgh Public Schools use an inquiry approach for many Social Studies courses. Students are encouraged to discover material on their own, and share their findings both inside a small group and within a larger forum. This student collaboration yields questions for further investigation while encouraging the learner to be responsible for their own education. Recent articles in various media focus on President Obama's achievements with anti-terrorism, support of an equitable healthcare policy and campaign rhetoric. Since war talk often sells newspapers, the president's expansion of executive war powers is a current hot topic but not one of consensus. I plan to encourage students to consider varying viewpoints regarding the presidential use of war powers.
This unit will rely on The Evolving Presidency by Michael Nelson as a key resource for teachers. This collection includes a variety of primary sources and important documents for the highest office in the land. Chapter 7 of Richard Ellis' book, Founding the American Presidency, has a section on war and peace with readings and questions.
Students may need to practice techniques for reading a document, recording key aspects and drawing conclusions before they get comfortable with this approach. It may be helpful for students to look up words they do not know and try to decipher the meaning from the time they were written. Teachers may want to use the Cornell Notes system with Articles I & II of the Constitution and the selected documents.
This unit will examine the power of the executive to "make war" with or without a formal declaration. Themes from the College Board will be woven into strategies and lessons. American Identity (American Exceptionalism), Globalization and War and Diplomacy are the AP U.S. themes pertinent to this topic. Critical thinking in Social Studies often includes document analysis. This unit will examine many government documents: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution(1964), The War Powers act (1973), Pacificus #1 (June 29, 1793) & Helvidius #1& III (Aug 24 & Sept 7, 1793) and President Obama's Address on Libya 2011. http://whitehousetapes.net/clips/1964_0803_4633/index.htm (These Covert Operations: President Johnson and Secretary of Defense McNamara talking after the first attack of U.S. Ships in the Gulf of Tonkin)
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