OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS GOVERNMENT SPRING 2017

PLEASE CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST OF TOPICS. WITH A PARTNER, YOU WILL PRESENT
THE TOPIC TO THE CLASS AND CONDUCT A CLASS DISCUSSION WITH YOUR PEERS. YOUR GOAL
IS TO INFORM YOUR FELLOW CLASSMATES OF THE ARGUMENTS ON EACH SIDE OF THE ISSUE.
YOU DONT NECESSARILY HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOUR CHOSEN POINT (BUT IT WOULD HELP IF
YOU DID), BUT AT LEAST BE ABLE TO TEACH IT TO THE CLASS. YOU AND YOUR PARTNER WILL
THEN LEAD THE CLASS IN A DISCUSSION OF THE TOPIC. THIS WILL BE A SUMMATIVE GRADE
AND WILL BE SHOWN ON THE 2ND/4TH QUARTER GRADE.

FOR CREDIT, COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING (30 POINTS):

1. A SUMMARY OF YOUR ARGUMENT (WITH CITED EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR SIDE) [8
POINTS]
2. CONNECTING THIS ARGUMENT TO OUR GOVERNMENT CLASS [5 POINTS]
3. CLASS DISCUSSION USING AT LEAST 2 QUESTIONS AND STIMULATING CONVERSATION
ABOUT THE TOPIC [8 POINTS]
4. AT LEAST 2 CURRENT EVENTS THAT SUPPORT YOUR TOPIC AND SIDE OF ARGUMENT.
EXPLAINED IN DETAIL TO THE CLASS [6 POINTS]
5. PRESENTATION CITATIONS INCLUDES ALL INFORMATION AND CURRENT EVENTS FROM
EDUCATIONAL AND VARIOUS SOURCES [3 POINTS]
THE FORMAT FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS UP TO YOU, BUT EXTRA POINTS WILL BE
AWARDED FOR PRESENTATIONS THAT GO ABOVE AND BEYOND CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS (PICTURES, VIDEOS, POLITICAL CARTOONS, ETC.).

TOPIC CHOICES WILL BE TAKEN IN CLASS ON: __________________________________.

PRESENTATIONS WILL BE ON THURSDAYS, STARTING ON:

___________________________.

SOURCES- ALL SOURCES/INFORMATION MUST BE FOUND USING TRUSTED AND RELIABLE

SOURCES. HERE ARE WAYS TO DETERMINE CREDIBILITY:
AUTHOR AND CONTACT
LOOK FOR WHO THE AUTHOR IS AND WHAT YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT THAT PERSON OR
ORGANIZATION. WHAT ARE THE AUTHORS QUALIFICATIONS? ALSO LOOK FOR CONTACT
INFORMATION. THE AUTHOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION CAN USUALLY BE FOUND ON
THE HOMEPAGE OF THE SITE. IF THERE IS NO AUTHOR, THINK TWICE BEFORE
USING THE SOURCE. IF THERE IS NO CONTANCT INFORMATION, THINK THRICE
BEFORE USING THE SOURCE!

DATE
THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. LOOK FOR THE DATE OF THE ARTICLE OR LAST TIME THE
SITE WAS UPDATED. IS THE INFORMATION CURRENT? IF THE INFORMATION IS NOT
CURRENT, YOU MAY WANT TO FIND A MORE RECENTLY UPDATED SITE.

DOCUMENTATION
DOES THE SOURCE TELL READERS WHERE ITS FACTS ARE FROM? IF THE SOURCE
MENTIONS MANY DETAILS OR STATISTICS WITH NO DOCUMENTATION, BE WARY.

TYPE OF SITE
 WHAT TYPE OF SITE ARE YOU USING? IS IT A DATABASE OR OTHER SITE RECOMMENDED
BY THE SCHOOL LIBRARY? SOURCES RETRIEVED THROUGH JACOBS LIBRARY ARE
CREDIBLE.
YOU WILL WANT TO AVOID HOMEMADE SITES, SUCH AS BLOGS.
A WIKI WEBSITE IS NOT CREDIBLE BECAUSE ANY PERSON CAN MODIFY THE
INFORMATION.
ONLINE PERIODICALS OR ONLINE VERSION OF PRINT PUBLICATIONS ARE MORE SECURE.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE NYTIMES.COM AND SLATE.COM.

SEARCH ENGINE
DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE TOP RESULTS FROM A SEARCH ENGINE LIST ARE NECESSARILY
CREDIBLE. YOU ARE LIKELY JUST LOOKING AT THE MOST POPULAR RESULTS, NOT THE
BEST ONES. EXAMPLES INCLUDE .ORG OR .EDU. THESE TYPES OF SITES ARE USUALLY
MORE RELIABLE BUT DO NOT JUST RELY ON THEM BECAUSE OF THE DOMAIN TYPE.
ANYONE CAN OWN .ORG AND MANY .EDU PAGES ARE MADE BY STUDENTS.

OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS TOPIC LIST

THE LIST BELOW INCLUDES THE TOPICS THE CLASS WILL BE PRESENTING THIS SEMESTER. THE ORDER
THAT YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC WILL BE RANDOM SO BE SURE TO HAVE MULTIPLE OPTIONS.

UNIT 1: PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT

1. CATEGORY: DEMOCRACY (FEB. 2ND)
IS DEMOCRACY THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT?
YES
NO
2. CATEGORY: THEORIES ON THE STATE (WED, FEB. 8TH)
ARE PEOPLE INHERINTLY BAD?
YES
NO

UNIT 2: THE CONSTITUTION

3. CATEGORY: POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY (FEB. 16TH)
DO THE PEOPLE REALLY HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE GOVERNMENT?
YES
NO

4. CATEGORY: THE CONSTITUTION (FEB 23RD)

SHOULD THE CONSTITUTION BE AN EVERLASTING DOCUMENT?
YES
NO

5. CATEGORY: SECURITY V. LIBERTY (MARCH 2ND)

SHOULD SECURITY COME BEFORE LIBERTY WHEN PROTECTING THE SAEFTY OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE?
YES
NO

UNIT 3: FEDERALISM
6. CATEGORY: LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT (MARCH 9TH)
 DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT THE PEOPLE MORE THAN THE STATE
GOVERNMENTS?
YES
NO

UNIT 4: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

7. CATEGORY: GERRYMANDERING (MARCH 16RD)
DOES GERRYMANDERING PROMOTE DEMOCRACY?
YES
NO

8. CATEGORY: WAR POWERS ACT (MARCH 23TH)

DOES THE WAR POWERS ACT REALLY LIMIT PRESIDENTIAL POWERS?
YES
NO

UNIT 5: EXECUTIVE BRANCH

9. CATEGORY: PRESIDENTS JOB DESCRIPTION (APRIL 30TH)
SHOULD THERE BE REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING PRESIDENT?
YES
NO

10. CATEGORY: ELECTORAL COLLEGE (APRIL 13TH)

IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE STILL NECESSARY?
YES
NO

UNIT 6: JUDICIAL BRANCH

11. CATEGORY: JUSTICE TERM LENGTH (APRIL 20TH)
SHOULD THERE BE TERM LENGTHS FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES?
YES
NO

12. CATEGORY: JUDICIAL ACTIVISM V. JUDICIAL RESTRAINT (APRIL 27TH)

IS JUDICIAL ACTIVISM NECESSARY IN TODAYS SOCIETY?
YES
NO

UNIT 7: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR

13. CATEGORY: TWO-PARTY SYSTEM (MAY 4TH)
IS THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM THE MOST EFFECTIVE?
YES
NO

14. CATEGORY: VOTER TURNOUT (MAY 11TH)

ARE MOTOR-VOTER LAWS THE BEST WAY TO INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT?
YES
NO

15. CATEGORY: MASS MEDIA (MAY 18TH)

DOES THE MEDIA GIVE THE PRESIDENT MORE POWER?
YES
NO