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Want to take a quiz and see what you know about the original US government?

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I know I am a living fossil, but... :-)

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The first line of the concluding paragraph is a restatement of the thesis. We taught Carolyn’s Chop and Flop method. This is having kids write out their thesis, then use a thesaurus to find different words, then to chop the thesis in the middle and flip it. This is a way to restate something without being repetitive.

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[Template] 2021 Conclusion Paragraph Template

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Carolyn's Class: Separation of Powers / Checks & Balances

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Carolyn's Class: Separation of Powers / Checks & Balances

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A little background knowledge in preparation for the Checks and Balances game...

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Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: Crash Course Government and Politics #3

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Students who finished their essays began learning about the the branches of the US Federal government.

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The REAL Branches of Government Assignment

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Carolyn's Class: Branches of Government Game

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Carolyn's Class: Branches of Government Game

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After watching the Separation of Powers / Checks & Balances video, students were engrossed in this interactive online game, which gives them the chance to experience the roles of the three branches of government. Rather than simply learning each branch in isolation, students play each of the three branches and learn about how they interact. The goal is to move a public policy issue from an idea to a fully formed and tested law.

In Branches of Power students :

Pick leaders for each branch of government

Create a presidential agenda and learn about the executive branch powers

Introduce bills and pass laws out of Congress

Apply judicial review to passed laws

Simulate the way separation of powers and checks and balances limit government

Analyze the structure, functions, and processes of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Illustrate the law making process at the local, state, and federal levels

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Jenn's Class: Settling Disputes Between States

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Jenn's Class: Settling Disputes Between States

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We read this article about Maine voters stopping a clean-energy pipeline cutting through its state to give power to Massachusetts. We made connections between the Articles of Confederation where there was no way to settle disputes between states and today where there is a federal court system. That said, this issue is being heard in the Maine state courts, and it may make its way to the Maine Supreme Court, and possibly federal courts?

The point of the article was that there are many governmental issues involved. The Canadian power company applied for and received many permits from different governmental organizations, both in Maine and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Environmentalists disliked the project as it involved cutting down trees. Other people argued that the clean energy that the project would provide would be beneficial, as would the jobs created by the project.

Discussions ended up including thinking about all of the different types of courts in the US: Family, Criminal, Civil, and how they all serve different purposes. Lots to unpack.

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A state judge on Thursday denied a bid to resume construction on a $1 billion hydropower transmission line in western Maine, rejecting a preliminary injunction sought by utility companies.

The developer of the New England Clean Energy Connect contended that the project was properly permitted and that a referendum vote rejecting the project last month was unconstitutional.

The lawsuit filed by the utilities will continue, but the judge declined to intervene to let construction resume and to prevent the new law the referendum created from going into effect on Sunday.

"This is a big win for Maine people who voted overwhelmingly to terminate the CMP corridor," said Pete Didisheim, advocacy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which opposed the corridor.

Judge Michael Duddy said that the continued delay in construction while the constitutional issue is litigated doesn't constitute "irreparable harm."

"The public interest in participatory democracy is paramount and would be adversely affected by blocking the initiative," he wrote.

The judge said he expected the state Supreme Court to have the final say.

The New England Clean Energy Connect, backed by Central Maine Power's parent company and Hydro Quebec, contends it will ultimately prevail and that the law will be found to be unconstitutional.

"The facts are clear: the NECEC project is good for Maine and for the region and will help address the energy, economic and climate issues we face. That is why we remain committed to this project," the statement said.

NECEC had suspended construction of the project, which aims to bring up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid, after a request to do so by the governor.

Maine's environmental commissioner later suspended a permit for the project, and the suspension remains intact with the judge's ruling.

Critics said the project is damaging the woods and changing the character of a part of western Maine with little if any benefit for its residents.

Supporters of the project, which is funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, say big solutions are needed to remove carbon from the environment, address climate change and provide needed generation capacity after the decommissioning of several power plant in recent years.

Just this month, operators of the regional power grid said the region needs to reduce its dependence on natural gas and to diversify the energy mix as it warned of the potential for rolling blackouts if there's an extended cold snap this winter.

The 145-mile transmission line would mostly follow existing utility corridors. But a new section needs to be cut through 53 miles of woods to reach the Canadian border.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection previously gave the project its approval along with the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, Maine Public Utilities Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But that was before state voters delivered a rebuke to the project at the election booth in November. Also, a state judge has called into question a lease for a 1-mile stretch of the corridor over state land.

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Judge won't intervene to let Maine power line construction resume

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A state judge on Thursday denied a bid to resume construction on a $1 billion hydropower transmission line in western Maine, rejecting a preliminary injunction sought by utility companies. The developer of the New England Clean Energy Connect contended that the project was properly permitted and that a referendum vote rejecting the project last month was unconstitutional.

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Carolyn's Class: Branches of Government Activity

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Carolyn's Class: Branches of Government Activity

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Working in small groups, students learned about one of the three branches of government and then completed a larger "tree of government" from which a class notes page was formed.

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The REAL Branches of Government Assignment

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One of Jenn’s classes watched 30 minutes of Hamilton. The other did creative writing.

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One of Jenn’s classes watched 30 minutes of Hamilton. The other did creative writing.

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Singing Feliz Navidad to Chela

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2021 Fall Jenn's Humanities Weekly Agenda 