Justin M. Boucher
This unit is specifically intended as the introduction to an AP Government and Politics course. This unit will be taught in my class at a magnet high school in New Haven, Connecticut. The class periods are 82 minutes long and meet every other day. The course is designed to serve as an overview of U.S. government and politics and it fulfills the state of Connecticut’s requirement that each student must complete a course in civics prior to graduation.
The course and the unit are designed for juniors and seniors with an advanced reading level. For that reason, the readings are relatively long and go into greater depth than those of a typical civics course. Given the limited time frame of the course, and the fact that my course takes place in a block schedule, this unit will only last seven to ten days. As a result, every topic, and all of the readings need to take place in a small number of class periods, and require a conscientious approach to reading and homework. The material that is presented however, is foundational for any course in American History or Civics and given more time, much of the readings can be excerpted and read in class if necessary.
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