Can we create a high school government options thread?

[cintinative]

I'll start. I can copy and paste anyone's info into the first posts.  Moved asynchronous and live class info to 2nd post. 

COMPLETE CURRICULUM/TRADITIONAL OPTIONS

Notgrass Government

includes student text, primary source text, student review workbook, tests

Online class: unknown

Credits: 0.5

Link: https://history.notgrass.com/high-school/exploring-government/

 

Abeka 

Full course including tests.

Link: https://www.abeka.com/abekaonline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=376272

Credits: ?

 

BJU Press

Full course including tests.

Link: https://www.bjupress.com/category/grade-12-american-government-curriculum

Credits: ?

 

Masterbooks

Civics and the Constitution

Texts, video, teacher guide

Credits:

Link: https://www.masterbooks.com/civics-and-the-constitution-curriculum-pack

 

Beautiful Feet Books

A Noble Experiment by Zeezok--text, video, teacher

Length: 16 weeks

Link: https://www.bfbooks.com/A-Noble-Experiment-DVD-Set-Teacher-Resource-CD-Workbook?sc=25&category=1309

 

Accelerated Christian Education (ACE Paces)

ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) PACES -- Gov't = 1133-1138  -- CD Roms + workbooks 

 

Sonlight

American Government and Civics

Length: 18 weeks (1 semester)

Link: https://www.sonlight.com/420-99?gclid=Cj0KCQiA88X_BRDUARIsACVMYD9SYf6dJMG2AxmMokYD_mUJ_E2WwNQGVkbfJdMeEX28omwZh29k6ScaAjVBEALw_wcB

 

Kolbe Academy

Purchase plans from them. Includes tests, and answer keys.

Credits: 0.5

book link: https://books.kolbe.org/search?q=HH11GVTKYK

Link: https://kolbe.org/courses/homeschool/courses/high-school/history-curriculum/

 

Alpha Omega

AO Life Pacs (workbook set)

Switched on Schoolhouse CDs --  Christian

 

Time for Learning

Time 4 Learning -- secular

 

 

My Father's World

part of a larger package that includes U.S. History, etc. 

Credits: U.S. history, government, English, and Bible (3 full-year credits)

Link: https://www.mfwbooks.com/item/96300/U-S-History-to-1877/

 

Magruder's American Government

Text, teacher, tests  (secular)

Read full description--it appears there is writing included in some way

https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/10365/Magruders-American-Government.html

 

Generations

It appears this might include government but I can't tell if you can purchase just the government components or must buy the entire 10th grade core 

Link: https://sites.generations.org/curriculum/10th-grade-core-curriculum/

 

We The People  

self-paced course, textbook, teacher's book

link to textbook: https://www.civiced.org/we-the-people/textbooks/high-school   Note: site says they won't sell teacher books to non-schools

link to individual units with primary sources: https://www.civiced.org/resourcecenter/

correlated primary source list: https://www.civiced.org/images/stories/downloads/WethePeople_Level3_PrimarySourceCorrelation_ConSource.pdf

comment from boardie Paige: 

I don't see this listed, but we're using We The People as a spine and it has some excellent free supplemental resources online.

https://learn.civiced.org/course/index.php?categoryid=1

We're adding to it but I'm not sure you'd have to. I got the corresponding textbooks and a teacher's guide from thriftbooks but you need to be careful if you go that route. My teacher's guide and texts aren't for exactly the same issue and the chapters don't always line up. It's ok but I should have paid more attention to the publication dates. I didn't even know about the online option until we'd gotten several units in- I wish we'd used it from the start as it would have simplified my planning. 

It's secular and politically neutral, IMO. 

 

 

CLEP OPTIONS

Modern States U.S. Government

This is prep for a CLEP test only.

Approx time required: 24 hours

Link: https://modernstates.org/course/american-government/

 

CREATE YOUR OWN COURSE OPTIONS (some full texts, some videos, etc.)

 

Gov't = Complete Idiot's Guide to American Government -
Gov't = The Everything American Government Book

Gov't = Standard Deviants: American Gov't Super Pack (secular; 10 DVD set; 3.5 hours)

 

Open Source/MOOC options
- edX: American Government

 

Hillsdale College free courses:

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/civil-rights-in-american-history

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/constitution-101

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/congress

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/intro-to-the-constitution

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/the-us-supreme-court

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/public-policy

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/the-federalist-papers

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/the-presidency-and-the-constitution

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/constitution-201

 

Ashbrook Center 50 Core Documents

https://ashbrook.org/50docs/

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/50-Core-American-Documents.pdf

 

Ashbrook Center--Ashland University

American History and Government: Using Primary Source Documents to Uncover America's Past   pdf files. I have them, but can't figure out where to find them online. PM me if you want them. There are two volumes.  I don't believe there are any tests.

Credits: ?

 

History, Government and Economics through Primary Sources. Free online textbook:  new website (updated link 9/21/2021)  https://billofrightsinstitute.org/curricula/documents-of-freedom

 

multiple resource listing from boardie who taught government:  https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/674785-government-course-resources/?tab=comments#comment-8120412

                                        includes this free online textbook: https://www.ushistory.org/gov/index.asp

 

GA Virtual Learning Course: http://www.gavirtuallearning.org/Resources/SSResources/SSShared/SharedAmericanGovernment.aspx

 

Annenberg Learner

From BakersDozen:- Annenberg Learner-30 minute videos (3 segments, 10 minutes each) and some of the best reading selections I've found in any Gov't/Civics course. I pair with Constitution USA (Peter Sagal) videos and applicable movies.

Annenberg Democracy in America

 

AJS Materials (MamaSprout):  

From MamaSprout: "I would consider AJS materials to be complete in an absolute minimal sort of way. It does suggest some activities to flesh it out a bit. Good to use as a spine for videos or mock government:"

https://www.ajspublications.com/our-federal-and-state-constitutions-worktext

and the TE: https://www.ajspublications.com/accompanying-materials

 

ACDC Government

Ultimate review packet (from the acdc econ people). If Derek Owens did a AP review course, this would be it. Again, might be nice if you are reading from a book list (or something like MPs Cicero) and need the nuts and bolts of American government covered.  https://www.ultimatereviewpacket.com/courses/gov

 

iCitizen

from Momto6inIN  "I did the iCitizen pdf with my 11th grader this year and it was great. The chapters were to the point but pretty complete and the essay questions at the end of each provided her with some great opportunities for research and writing. We also watched Crash Course videos to supplement."

https://generationjoshua.org/GenJ/programs/civics-education/icitizen

 

Supreme Court Case Studies by Glencoe

https://www.uniontwpschool.org/cms/lib/NJ01000684/Centricity/Domain/236/supreme court case studies.pdf

Civics Today: Citizenship, Economics and You: Supreme Court Case Studies  by Glencoe

It includes 68 Supreme Court case studies. It only appears to have cases through 2001.  I was hoping to supplement our study with some Supreme Court decisions and this looks like a nice resource

 

Purdue University civics

Purdue added a civics requirement for their students. There are podcasts with questions and resources available here: https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/communication/cspan/ccse/civics-literacy-initiative/

Edited September 21, 2021 by cintinative

[cintinative]

Online Live Course Options:

WTM Academy

Combined course U.S. Government and Economics

Length: 1 year

Credits: 1 credit

Link: https://www.wtmacademy.com/course/united-states-government-economics/

 

Memoria Press

U.S. Government

Length: 0.5 year

Credits: 0.5

Link: https://www.memoriapressacademy.com/catalog?pagename=american-gov-fall

 

Kolbe Academy

U.S. Government

Length: 0.5 year

Credits: 0.5

Link: https://kolbe.org/courses/online/courses/high-school/online-history-courses/united-states-government/

 

The Potter's School

U.S. Government  

Uses Notgrass materials

Length: half year

Credits: 0.5
Link: https://www.pottersschool.org/course/list/#course-3793

 

Homeschool Connections

American Democracy and Government

Length: 0.5 year

Credits: 0.5

Link to catalog: https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/2020-21-homeschool-connections-live-course-catalog/page/157

 

Outschool

Credits: ?

Link: https://outschool.com/classes/american-government-and-politics-semester-course-12V20sM9#abk3c7pegl

 

AIM Academy (Debra Bell)

Link: https://debrabell.com/product/introduction-u-s-government/

Combined government and econ class:  https://debrabell.com/product/economics-and-government/

AP Government:  https://debrabell.com/product/ap-u-s-government/

 

Excelsior Classes

Live online course for dual credit through Letourneau University with ExcelsiorClasses.com

Link: https://excelsiorclasses.com/product/american-government-letu-pols-2503-or-honors/

"My son took this with Ann LeBlanc. The highlights for him were the mock congress and a policy brief research paper."

 

AP online classes
- PA Homeschoolers: Macro Economics; Micro Economics; US Gov't & Politics
- FLVS (Florida Virtual School)
- John Hopkins CTY (Center for Talented Youth)

 

Asynchronous Course Options:

FundaFunda Academy

project-based, no text book

Credits: 0.5

Link: https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/government/

 

Homeschool Connections

American Democracy and Government

Catalog link: https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/123

 

Political Philosophy and Systems

Credits: 2/3 credit. There is a note about adding reading assignments to obtain 1 credit hour.

Catalog link:

https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/124-125

 

Advanced American Government

Credits: 3/4 credit. Can add reading to reach 1 credit hour.

Catalog Link:

https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/124-125

 

United States Government

Credits: 0.5

Link: https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/126-127

 

United States Government and Politics (I and II)

Credits: 0.5 each

Link: https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/126-127

 

A History of Government in Europe and America (I and II)

Credits: 0.5 each

Link: https://view.publitas.com/homeschool-connections/unlimited-access-course-catalog-2020-2021-school-year/page/128-129

 

Thinkwell American Government

Credits:

Link: https://www.thinkwell.com/products/american-government

Edited January 9, 2021 by cintinative

[cintinative]

 

Links to past threads:

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/699259-semester-long-government-class-using-crash-course/?tab=comments#comment-8669245

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/699188-government-from-the-acdc-econ-people/?tab=comments#comment-8667424

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/698490-american-government-reviews/?tab=comments#comment-8648636

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/690942-government-curriculum-suggestions/?tab=comments#comment-8442521

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/698490-american-government-reviews/?tab=comments#comment-8648687

(above with links from Lori D.)

List of resources:  https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/674785-government-course-resources/?tab=comments#comment-8120412

From High School motherlode thread: 

Social Studies (History, Geography, Government, Economics)
US Government and Economics - help please (lots of specific program suggestions)
Secular and quick/easy: US Government? Same for Economics? 
Government and Economics - not rigorous
Which high school government course do you recommend (why? pros/cons?) 
Looking for ideas for documentaries and movies for government class
AP Government at home? 

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/684071-easy-not-too-difficult-or-challenging-outsourced-governmentecon/?tab=comments#comment-8317341

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/643658-us-government-and-economics-help-please/?tab=comments#comment-7559588

Edited January 3, 2021 by cintinative

[cintinative]

Placeholder in case I need to break things up

[BakersDozen]

Annenberg Learner - 30 minute videos (3 segments, 10 minutes each) and some of the best reading selections I've found in any Gov't/Civics course. I pair with Constitution USA (Peter Sagal) videos and applicable movies.

Annenberg Democracy in America

[MamaSprout]

I would consider AJS materials to be complete in an absolute minimal sort of way. It does suggest some activities to flesh it out a bit. Good to use as a spine for videos or mock government:

https://www.ajspublications.com/our-federal-and-state-constitutions-worktext

and the TE: https://www.ajspublications.com/accompanying-materials

Ultimate review packet (from the acdc econ people). If Derek Owens did a AP review course, this would be it. Again, might be nice if you are reading from a book list (or something like MPs Cicero) and need the nuts and bolts of American government covered.  https://www.ultimatereviewpacket.com/courses/gov

[Amy M]

Masterbooks has this: https://www.masterbooks.com/civics-and-the-constitution-curriculum-pack

Generations has this--I don't know how typical it is for a government course: God and Government

MFW uses two books: Never Before in History and Under God

I don't know if these resources were already linked above...

[Lori D.]

Super work @cintinative -- thank you!

Also, there are these past threads, all linked on PAGE 5 of the big pinned thread "High School Motherlode #2", at the top of the High School Board:

Social Studies (History, Geography, Government, Economics)
US Government and Economics - help please (lots of specific program suggestions)
Secular and quick/easy: US Government? Same for Economics? 
Government and Economics - not rigorous
Which high school government course do you recommend (why? pros/cons?) 
Looking for ideas for documentaries and movies for government class
AP Government at home? 


I have linked this thread in with those other threads on the big pinned thread, so your work won't be lost! 😄 

Edited January 3, 2021 by Lori D.

[Momto6inIN]

I did the iCitizen pdf with my 11th grader this year and it was great. The chapters were to the point but pretty complete and the essay questions at the end of each provided her with some great opportunities for research and writing. We also watched Crash Course videos to supplement.

https://generationjoshua.org/GenJ/programs/civics-education/icitizen

Edited January 3, 2021 by Momto6inIN
eta: adding link

[cintinative]

33 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

I did the iCitizen pdf with my 11th grader this year and it was great. The chapters were to the point but pretty complete and the essay questions at the end of each provided her with some great opportunities for research and writing. We also watched Crash Course videos to supplement.

Is it already linked? Could you provide the link (for the iCitizen) if it is not? Thank you.

[Farrar]

There's a teacher on Outschool and AIM Academy who does a full year government class broken into two semesters - there's a regular and an AP option that has very good reviews. I know several people who have used it. Nathaniel Gilbert is his name. 

Not a full traditional course, but Polyhistoria has had a series this year about individual topics in US Government.

[Heartsjoy]

Live online course for dual credit through Letourneau University with ExcelsiorClasses.com

https://excelsiorclasses.com/product/american-government-letu-pols-2503-or-honors/

My son took this with Ann LeBlanc. The highlights for him were the mock congress and a policy brief research paper.

[2_girls_mommy]

We just did our own studies,  and I created a co-op class.  The core spine was a library book.  I think one of mine picked out one called American Government 101.  The other picked something similar, but different. They just read through these and took basic outline notes for each chapter at home.

I assigned three projects: one poster/speech project on a topic of their choice to be given at co-op.  (one did marijuana laws in different states and looked at effects in our state. One did a more basic breakdown of how government works using the chapter she was studying from her book at the time.)  The second project was to enter our state bar association's student law day contest.  The theme that year was the 100 year anniversary of the 19th amendment, so one read a book by a contemporary woman who was opposed to the amendment and wrote an essay on that.  One chose to do a painting and used photos from the time period as inspiration. 

And since mine are girl scouts they were each assigned to do a five step scout badge on government.  These included reearch, reaching out to lawmakers, volunteering, etc. 

Since we did co-op on government that year, we also did several field trips.  We toured our county courthouse and sat through a bit of some non small claims court, met a judge in her chambers, etc.  We went to a speech given by a state supreme court judge.  We toured our state capital and met our representatives.  My one dd met up with one over zoom for some further interviewing because COVID happened and she couldn't follow through with the day of shadowing her that was originally arranged.  My other dd's badge was more about elections and had research on past elections, comparing past party platforms to current ones, interviewing poll workers on election day and other actvities.  We had as a family toured Washington D.C. a few years ago, but we focused our tours that year more on American History than government, so I listed those activities as part of our American History class.  For those not scouts, you could just look for some other activities to include instead.  That is just what we have access to, and they are great plans to include for projects for any subject we are studying since my kids are scouts anyway.

And in our actual co-op get togethers on government which was multi grade, we did activities that were mostly focused at the middle grade range but that definitely enhanced our studies.  We did a government escape room day.  We did lesson plans found in state government websites on how government reacts to natural disasters and did mapping exercises.  We did reenactments of debates from some random library books of activities for civics classes.  We wrote a basic outline of what we would cover each month, very vaguely, and about a week before the day of the class, we would search the library or internet for lesson plans or activities on the topic.  We found lots of fun free or inexpensive group activities.  

Lastly, one of my dds did a student government class on How a Bill Becomes a Law at a homeschool convention a couple of years ago, so I counted that class as part of her Government hours.  It was a very hands on, acting out every part of the process class.  It in itself was like 15 hours of classtime.  But even without it, the above activities were plenty for a half credit.  I just listed that class in her class descriptions in her records too since she had done it. 

This may not be helpful for someone just looking to purchase an all in one curriculum.  But it might help someone with ideas who is comfortable putting together a credit for themselves or who is looking for a way to put together a class without spending a ton on curriculum.  There are a lot more free or subscription online classes out there this year too to supplement most subjects.  I am sure there are some government ones, or there are the Crash Course as listed above on all topics. My dd did some online interactive free classes from VarsityTutors online and from the Ford's Theater over the summer and this year to supplement some history and speech topics.  She is also doing a free Master Class from our local Shakespeare in the park class.  We are finding so much like that for the lecture portion of some classes or just for extras lately. 

[Paige]

I don't see this listed, but we're using We The People as a spine and it has some excellent free supplemental resources online.

https://learn.civiced.org/

We're adding to it but I'm not sure you'd have to. I got the corresponding textbooks and a teacher's guide from thriftbooks but you need to be careful if you go that route. My teacher's guide and texts aren't for exactly the same issue and the chapters don't always line up. It's ok but I should have paid more attention to the publication dates. I didn't even know about the online option until we'd gotten several units in- I wish we'd used it from the start as it would have simplified my planning. 

It's secular and politically neutral, IMO. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Paige

[sing4jy]

I don't see this listed, but for Christian families, TeenPact is also a great supplement to any course you choose to do at home. It is not a complete government class on it's own, but as I mentioned a great supplement. It is a four day in person camp type of class. They can earn 1/3 of a credit for attending and completing all homework.

 

teenpact.com

 

[BusyMom5]

Has anyone used the Magruders textbook?  Is it a full credit course, or half credit?

https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/10365/Magruders-American-Government.html

 

 

[MamaSprout]

51 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Has anyone used the Magruders textbook?  Is it a full credit course, or half credit?

https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/10365/Magruders-American-Government.html

 

 

I've seen the book. I think it could be either. If you do everything, I would say a whole year course, but you could pick-and-choose for a semester.

[cintinative]

On 1/20/2021 at 1:00 PM, Paige said:

I don't see this listed, but we're using We The People as a spine and it has some excellent free supplemental resources online.

 

this link is broken. Did you download this by chance?  "To view a list of primary sources correlated by lesson, click here  "

ETA: wayback doesn't have it catalogued

Edited January 25, 2021 by cintinative

[Paige]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

this link is broken. Did you download this by chance?  "To view a list of primary sources correlated by lesson, click here  "

ETA: wayback doesn't have it catalogued

I'm not sure why it didn't work. Maybe I was logged in. This link should work. I'll fix my original too.

https://learn.civiced.org/

 

I tried to link to the actual course above but it won't let me. You'll have to navigate to it yourself by clicking on open courses. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Paige

[cintinative]

38 minutes ago, Paige said:

I'm not sure why it didn't work. Maybe I was logged in. This link should work. I'll fix my original too.

https://learn.civiced.org/

 

I tried to link to the actual course above but it won't let me. You'll have to navigate to it yourself by clicking on open courses. 

Sorry I was trying to link the pdf list of primary sources, not the link to the open source course

[Paige]

35 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Sorry I was trying to link the pdf list of primary sources, not the link to the open source course

I misunderstood. I haven't downloaded anything but I have the textbook and teacher's guides. I'll look around and see if there's anything in them.

It looks like everything is available online individually by lesson. Go here: https://www.civiced.org/resourcecenter/ and then click through to the units and individual lesson and there's a tab for primary sources. It's tedious if you want all of them but at least it's there. I didn't even know all that was there, so thanks for prompting me to look through the online options more!

Edited January 26, 2021 by Paige

[cintinative]

11 hours ago, Paige said:

I misunderstood. I haven't downloaded anything but I have the textbook and teacher's guides. I'll look around and see if there's anything in them.

It looks like everything is available online individually by lesson. Go here: https://www.civiced.org/resourcecenter/ and then click through to the units and individual lesson and there's a tab for primary sources. It's tedious if you want all of them but at least it's there. I didn't even know all that was there, so thanks for prompting me to look through the online options more!

Did you do any type of evaluation for this? Tests, etc.?

[Paige]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

Did you do any type of evaluation for this? Tests, etc.?

I make my own tests and added some additional papers, movies, and assignments, but not too much since it's only a 1 semester class. The open course has some quizzes after most videos and some discussion prompts available if you want them. We don't do them all the time but sometimes go through a few of them. I haven't had them actually submit anything online so I don't know what the feedback is like. I have 3 HS students going through it with me at home so we have enough people for group discussions and feedback by ourselves. I really like the videos that go with the chapters but I don't assign it to them to do independently. They read the chapters before class and then we watch them and discuss or have another activity that I've found to do. I didn't find this resource until after we were already in Unit 2 so I don't know how the videos in Unit 1 are.

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Paige

[cintinative]

@Paige does the TE of We the People lay out reading assignments for primary sources or does it just list them? I found lists of primary sources correlated by chapter but there is no way you could cover them all. 

[Paige]

On 2/10/2021 at 12:23 PM, cintinative said:

@Paige does the TE of We the People lay out reading assignments for primary sources or does it just list them? I found lists of primary sources correlated by chapter but there is no way you could cover them all. 

I'm out of town for a while and don't have the TE to look at, but I don't think it's like that. The students read their text and it has selections of primary sources built in, but those are brief. The TE is more for teaching the lesson in front of you in an hour or two and not for like a whole course syllabus and plan. They stress that the course is about "ideas" more than memorization, so class time is spent discussing big ideas and helping them not just to understand the way things are but to think about how they may want things to be as they participate in democracy. Admittedly, I usually skim the TE for specific things I'm looking for, so it may be there but I haven't noticed. I use it as a spine so we have other things to do. The TE has discussion questions, class activities- some for in class and a few that may take longer and could be homework. I pick and choose what I want and don't usually do the whole thing. It's designed for a classroom but works well with a group of 3. There is very likely a list of extension readings that could go with the lesson, but I doubt you'd see page numbers or anything like that. The primary source list could just be a list of what has been included in the text for the chapter. 

There's also directions for simulating a congressional hearing and I think a couple more big projects. My TE is old, however, and doesn't match the student edition I have. A new one could be much different because the old chapters don't line up at all sometimes which is why I don't use it as much as I thought I would. 

 

 

 

[cintinative]

9 hours ago, Paige said:

The students read their text and it has selections of primary sources built in, but those are brief.

Thanks! This helps. I couldn't figure out how that worked, and there isn't a preview of the text.

[cintinative]

I just found this today. It has an answer key at the end.  😃

https://www.uniontwpschool.org/cms/lib/NJ01000684/Centricity/Domain/236/supreme court case studies.pdf

Civics Today: Citizenship, Economics and You: Supreme Court Case Studies  by Glencoe

It includes 68 Supreme Court case studies. It only appears to have cases through 2001.  I was hoping to supplement our study with some Supreme Court decisions and this looks like a nice resource

 

[MamaSprout]

Purdue added a civics requirement for their students. There are podcasts with questions and resources available here: https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/communication/cspan/ccse/civics-literacy-initiative/

 

[Murrayshire]

On 1/20/2021 at 11:33 AM, 2_girls_mommy said:

We just did our own studies,  and I created a co-op class.  The core spine was a library book.  I think one of mine picked out one called American Government 101.  The other picked something similar, but different. They just read through these and took basic outline notes for each chapter at home.

I assigned three projects: one poster/speech project on a topic of their choice to be given at co-op.  (one did marijuana laws in different states and looked at effects in our state. One did a more basic breakdown of how government works using the chapter she was studying from her book at the time.)  The second project was to enter our state bar association's student law day contest.  The theme that year was the 100 year anniversary of the 19th amendment, so one read a book by a contemporary woman who was opposed to the amendment and wrote an essay on that.  One chose to do a painting and used photos from the time period as inspiration. 

And since mine are girl scouts they were each assigned to do a five step scout badge on government.  These included reearch, reaching out to lawmakers, volunteering, etc. 

Since we did co-op on government that year, we also did several field trips.  We toured our county courthouse and sat through a bit of some non small claims court, met a judge in her chambers, etc.  We went to a speech given by a state supreme court judge.  We toured our state capital and met our representatives.  My one dd met up with one over zoom for some further interviewing because COVID happened and she couldn't follow through with the day of shadowing her that was originally arranged.  My other dd's badge was more about elections and had research on past elections, comparing past party platforms to current ones, interviewing poll workers on election day and other actvities.  We had as a family toured Washington D.C. a few years ago, but we focused our tours that year more on American History than government, so I listed those activities as part of our American History class.  For those not scouts, you could just look for some other activities to include instead.  That is just what we have access to, and they are great plans to include for projects for any subject we are studying since my kids are scouts anyway.

And in our actual co-op get togethers on government which was multi grade, we did activities that were mostly focused at the middle grade range but that definitely enhanced our studies.  We did a government escape room day.  We did lesson plans found in state government websites on how government reacts to natural disasters and did mapping exercises.  We did reenactments of debates from some random library books of activities for civics classes.  We wrote a basic outline of what we would cover each month, very vaguely, and about a week before the day of the class, we would search the library or internet for lesson plans or activities on the topic.  We found lots of fun free or inexpensive group activities.  

Lastly, one of my dds did a student government class on How a Bill Becomes a Law at a homeschool convention a couple of years ago, so I counted that class as part of her Government hours.  It was a very hands on, acting out every part of the process class.  It in itself was like 15 hours of classtime.  But even without it, the above activities were plenty for a half credit.  I just listed that class in her class descriptions in her records too since she had done it. 

This may not be helpful for someone just looking to purchase an all in one curriculum.  But it might help someone with ideas who is comfortable putting together a credit for themselves or who is looking for a way to put together a class without spending a ton on curriculum.  There are a lot more free or subscription online classes out there this year too to supplement most subjects.  I am sure there are some government ones, or there are the Crash Course as listed above on all topics. My dd did some online interactive free classes from VarsityTutors online and from the Ford's Theater over the summer and this year to supplement some history and speech topics.  She is also doing a free Master Class from our local Shakespeare in the park class.  We are finding so much like that for the lecture portion of some classes or just for extras lately. 

If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to see some of the links to government games/activities that you did use for your co-op group! I will be teaching a Government in Action for spring semester at our co-op. The class is going through the Notgrass Government book this fall semester with a different teacher who is leaving in December and I will pick up in the spring with a more hands-on project-based course. 

I have the Oak Meadow Government project-based curriculum, but looking for more resources. 

🙂 

[cintinative]

21 minutes ago, Murrayshire said:

If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to see some of the links to government games/activities that you did use for your co-op group! I will be teaching a Government in Action for spring semester at our co-op. The class is going through the Notgrass Government book this fall semester with a different teacher who is leaving in December and I will pick up in the spring with a more hands-on project-based course. 

I have the Oak Meadow Government project-based curriculum, but looking for more resources. 

🙂

We did a create your own government project that was pretty fun.  They worked in groups and then did a presentation.  

This is one site I used as a basis for the assignment:  https://sites.google.com/site/freemanhighschoollibrary/lessons/create-your-own-government

I wanted to do one where they created their own political party, but we did not have time for it.

One thing I am glad we did, and I think was helpful, was to have local government officials in. Originally it was supposed to be two who came, but one had to miss because of his work. However, he was kind enough to record his responses to our questions on video so we could watch.   In our area we have both townships and cities. So I had one person who was a township trustee and one person who is on city council. I had the kids write up questions (I helped a bit with this) and then they asked the people their questions. It helped them to understand the differences in local government administration and also why people choose to get involved in local government. 

 

[cintinative]

@Murrayshire the activity book for the government book I plan to use has lots of group activities.  It is the activity book for American Government: A complete coursebook. I can get you the ISBN if you want.  Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to use it much because I will only have my son going through it with me. It would have been great to have when I taught government at co-op a couple of years ago.

[2_girls_mommy]

On 10/22/2021 at 9:06 AM, Murrayshire said:

If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to see some of the links to government games/activities that you did use for your co-op group! I will be teaching a Government in Action for spring semester at our co-op. The class is going through the Notgrass Government book this fall semester with a different teacher who is leaving in December and I will pick up in the spring with a more hands-on project-based course. 

I have the Oak Meadow Government project-based curriculum, but looking for more resources. 

🙂

I am so sorry! I am not organized enough to have things that I can access again. We set up a topic by month then each month looked for resources that fit. Sometimes I used a lesson from a government website, sometimes from a book that I found, and at least once I purchased something from teachers pay teachers. 

[Murrayshire]

On 10/22/2021 at 10:40 AM, cintinative said:

@Murrayshire the activity book for the government book I plan to use has lots of group activities.  It is the activity book for American Government: A complete coursebook. I can get you the ISBN if you want.  Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to use it much because I will only have my son going through it with me. It would have been great to have when I taught government at co-op a couple of years ago.

I would love the ISBN for the activity book. I found the coursebook, but have not been successful in finding the activity book. 

Sorry it took me so long to respond! I haven't jumped back on TWTM forum until now. 

Thank you! 

[cintinative]

30 minutes ago, Murrayshire said:

I would love the ISBN for the activity book. I found the coursebook, but have not been successful in finding the activity book. 

Sorry it took me so long to respond! I haven't jumped back on TWTM forum until now. 

Thank you! 

Mine is dated 2000. It says "activity book" on the top right corner of the cover.

ISBN is 0-669-46799-5  I spent about 6.50 including shipping. P.S. I used booksprice to look it up because when I put this ISBN in Amazon, nothing came up. Sometimes Amazon is weird about old ISBNs.

Edited January 17, 2022 by cintinative