We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.--Preamble to the United States Constitution Language is neutral and seems to avoid leading or biased undertones. At the edges, the composition of Congress and descriptive representation will need to be updated. THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES in 10 minutes The 1619 Project Exposed: A Special Edition of the American Mind . I would teach the course with Part 1 first, the Part 4 and Chapter 15, then Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. No obvious grammatical errors that I noticed. Chapter 1. I plan to regularly assign these items to use in discussion and written work. It is certainly a viable option for my course. To learn about the specific purchase options for this program, please contact our Customer Service team at 800-338-3987. The word "democracy" comes from the Greek word "demos" which means "people." The word "democracy" is not used anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. The book also does not always allow the reader to skip pages or go straight to a section to read. The content is up-to-date including most of the Trump presidency, which is helpful for students' understanding and familiarity. I could go on, but you have some important ones. United States Government: Democracy in Action. most of the chapters are pretty well self-contained and explain relevant concepts from other chapters so the student doesn't get lost. For example, reelection rates to Congress stops at 2014. The subchapters are very short, and while they sometimes deal with distinct topics, it would often be more efficient to discuss big ideas by combining them into a more cohesive and less chopped-up narrative. It is not overly complicated and written at the appropriate level. Key terms are included at the end of each chapter. I plan to print around 100 pages double-sided in additional to providing the online and PDF links. Electoral case studies provide for a story within a history. The text is extremely consistent. The book is comprehensive, covering the major topics one would expect to find in a U.S. government textbook. Overall it is a bit smaller in word count than a traditional hard copy textbook and some of the chapters are smaller than I would like. It does a good job of defining terms used in the text and citing relevant sources. US Government for Kids: Democracy - Ducksters Customize the learning experience for differentiated instruction using leveled reading, customizable assessments and worksheets, and flexible online learning tools. 5. Madison and Hamilton cite him in the Federalist Papers. Publication date 2003 . Chapter objectives, appealing graphics and photos, glossaries of 'key terms,' recommended reading, summaries, and quizzes are some of the text features that make this inviting. read more. But as I noted above, the unhelpfulness of bolded terms can be genuinely confusing and are inconsistent (Katie Holmes gets bolded? The concepts represented in the text also make case teaching via policy/politics news easy, even if the textbooks examples were to be stale - - which they are unlikely to be. Students first learn what constitutes a government. The president signs bills into law or vetoes them. Table 17.1 on page 643 is useless. The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. There could be more treatment of the concept of power in the beginning of the book. U.S. Government: Our Democracy helps educators teach students about government and how to "do democracy.". The foundational building blocks of the republic that are provided are similar to the last two textbooks I used (We the People & By the People) and for that matter correspond to the textbook I myself used over thirty years ago in my Intro course which I still refer to in the classroom. One particular aspect related to the question of comprehensiveness was the authors decision to include a chapter on state and local government. The organization of the text is fairly traditional, with the decision to include the topic of bureaucracy under the Outputs of Government as one less conventional approach. Some of the pages could use a little more color to add some pop. This is a welcome inclusion: Although most Americans interact far more with their state and local governments than the national government on a daily basis, historically American government courses have de-emphasized sub-national politics. Analysis of political institutions is well-balanced with substantial attention to the role of the individual and collective action. The text's content also features an excellent collection of relevant, recent landmark Supreme Court cases, including Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and Obergefell v. Hodges. I like that the chapters are divided into numbered subsections, which helps give students clearer instructions when I am dividing chapters over multiple days. The following key features of U.S. Government: Our Democracy support both government content and civic engagement standards: Government in Your Community, which prompts students to . The previous comment represents a slight stylistic concern in the area of organization, but not a major one. I choose this title because it underlines student political participation. The text is easily and readily visible and permits an instructor to select what to cover based on the learning objectives of each chapter. There are some nice inserts in each chapter called Link to Learning. . Overall, all expected topics, and then some, are covered, hence the text is certainly comprehensive enough by any measure of expectation in an introduction to American government text. In fact, the whole world pretty much looks democratic and thats not true. Usually the image it only an inch or two from the Figure citation, but not always clear. Gun-rights groups believe that the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to own and carry guns. Milestone Documents | National Archives The index and glossary are well formulated. Instead the textbook chooses to avoid the high stakes conversations. For me, this was one of the strengths of the textbook. read more. I think that's important to show that most of the world's nations do operate with a democratic framework. The "Key terms" sections at the end of each chapter will be helpful to students who aren't sure whether they understand a particular term. Reviewed by Amanda Sink , Senior Lecturer , UNCG on 12/5/16, It covers all the areas that may be taught in an American Government intro class. Reviewed by Nicole Kalaf-Hughes, Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University on 2/1/18, The text covers all areas that one would expect from an introduction to American Government textbook. It follows the standard layout of American Government textbooks and offers an effective and easily searchable index. Teachers Edition:The print Teacher Wraparound Edition is built on the principles of Understanding by Design. I have not found inconsistencies in the use of concepts. The reading schedule is posted here by week, and the readings themselves can be found in the links below. If anything, the text may be a bit on the long side. The textbook is sensitive to a range of minority communities including African Americans, immigrants, the LBGQT community, gender and womens issues, and persons who practice the Muslim faith. Other critical concepts such as "security dilemma" and "domino theory" need to be introduced. Outputs of Government) and chapters that fold under the broader categories (i.e. The fact that it is free is even more impressive. The framework/layout of each chapter is consistent which is an aid to both the instructor and the reader. My concern about the text are the hyperlinks and how they are integrated within the content. But the textbook does well dealing with less amorphous topics, like the simple history of the Constitution or structural questions; for instance, the discussion of the eccentricities of the double-jeopardy concept. Mrs Doering s Classroom Government Wikispaces. United States Government: Our Democracy 2016, LearnSmart Social Studies Overview Flyer. Differentiate with Spanish language resources, and strategies for approaching level, beyond level, and ELL students. While some sentences are a bit languid and I might have organized thoughts differently, there is no direct error in any sentence that I could see. The chapter on Congress should also be updated and with data from 2016 and 2018. The United States is an indirect democracy or a republic. The book is very comprehensive. I liked the fact that the book had several subsections within each chapter. The book is consistent, though I think its framework of effective engagement could have been implemented more consistently. The chapter summaries, quizzes, the suggestions for extra activities in particular are useful. However, on the library listing page, there is a typo in the index for chapter 17. Certainly this could just be a matter of preference, and obviously an instructor can teach topics and assign chapters in whatever order they desire, but I am puzzled by this decision. The content is accurate, straightforward, and unbiased. Afterwards, the Bill of Rights was adopted to appease anti-federalist and it was ratified in an amendment process of Art. The framework of the text is consistent and simple to understand. Maybe not from top to bottom, but often enough that it is a concern. The more niche chapters like Public Opinion could use a freshen up on the theoretical concepts. It follows the standard layout of American Government textbooks and offers an effective and easily searchable index. Cumulative Hands-On Chapter Projects and additional Technology Extension activity provide authentic performance assessment. For example, I may not get the chance to dedicate a whole class to elections but I can use sections of the chapter on elections in relation to civil rights, to Congress and to the Executive. I found the text to be eminently user friendly with no issues what so ever navigating within the chapters. It was supplemented by a survey conducted March 7-14 among 1,466 adults on landlines and cellphones. read more. Though as I said before, more recent in time statistics, graphs, charts, and pictures would help, the use of the visuals organizationally as far as charts, maps, and graphs is very good. The text is arranged in a way that necessary updates can be easily integrated. The chapters, at more than thirty pages are relatively long for some students so all of the material within a chapter may not be read. Reviewing the text, I did not experience any significant interface issues. I did not notice anything plainly inaccurate. Additionally, there is a strong foundation of accurate historical background presented, especially in the Constitution chapter that provides the background necessary for understanding. Before joining OU, he served on the faculty of Arizona State University and helped run two large-scale National Science Foundation projects as a doctoral student at Texas A&M University. This book is very comprehensive. The entire unmodified textbook can be accessed here on OpenStax, where you can also download a PDF, install the app, or even order a hard copy from Amazon if you desire. The examples used throughout the text are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds. American Government [ushistory.org] Understanding Economics. The writers do have material distributed into sections of the text that are not always the best choice in my view (this could be said of any textbook). Concerns: Textbook lacks yearly/semester pacing guide, limited ability to edit teacher resources . The book builds upon what students have already learned and emphasizes connections between topics as well as between theory and applications. There is no distortion of text, images, or figures; this is all very clear. ACT & SAT Practice Books. Subchapter titles like organizing to govern are a bit confusing. I also think the book does an exceptional job bringing in minorities not traditionally covered in American politics texts (Asian Americans, Native Americans, etc.) I have not tested it on a smartphone; however, on a computer the book is easy to navigate - to move between chapters, sections, pages, etc is easy. As for bias, the author(s) definitely stayed neutral in their descriptions of the events regarding the Trump presidency and their effect on American society. The text is particularly impressive with its section on "Equal Protection for Other Groups" as it provides an exceptional overview of the challenges many groups have faced in the United States with thoughtful explanations of landmark Supreme Court cases and legislation impacting the struggle for civil rights. The text appears to be free from grammatical errors. American Government and Civic Engagement, entire unmodified textbook can be accessed here on OpenStax, SLED (Statewide Library Electronic Doorway), "Slave Streets, Free Streets" - Virtual Tour of Baltimore, c. 1815, World War I: Why Young Men Wanted to Go To War. For over eight decades, The United States Government Manual has been the "official handbook" of the Federal Government. The deeper learning tools like Middle Ground and so forth allow the reader to learn more about a specific concept using a real world application and should provide the instructor with a ready-made activity that will more actively engage the student be it in an online or seated class. Yes, the book is internally consistent in terms of its discussion and its presentation of information. Students at all levels will have no difficulty with the language used therein. Its inclusive treatment of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds is especially evident in the texts treatment of civil rights, but it is evident in other sections of the text as well. The "Key terms" section at the end of each chapter is a great resource for students studying for multiple choice exams. Reviewed by Wayne Jones, Assistant Professor, Virginia State University on 6/20/17, American Government is a very comprehensive textbook. The text does not run the risk of becoming obsolete in a short period of time; however, many of the examples are quite common to other introductory American Government texts. The writers also relied on tons of well-referenced outside sources that can easily be reorganized and incorporated into additional units. In my own courses, I am going to make up for this by assigning articles from CQ Researcher. I only use online textbooks and sources for my classes, but have students who want a hard copy option. Nearly all of the material presented is relevant. Democracy is a term that derives from the ancient Greek language. Surely, it would be impossible to cover all the relevant material in this book, but its format does allow the instructor to be selective about the sections within each chapter to be emphasized. There are chapters on media literacy, public opinion and polls, civic engagement, that might be taken separately from the actual discussion of government structure. The updates for most chapters should be easily accomplished. Those items in chapter 8 are among my favorites. All the chapters have commendable "Finding Middle Ground," "Insider Perspectives," and "Links to Learning" website listed. You can replace that space with something more relevant? I believe the entire flow of the text and ease of read would increase by ditching this method of citation and simply using end notes or foot notes. PDF United states government: our democracy pdf online free - Weebly The text does not contain any grammatical errors. 36 Question #70. The textbook does not include much 60. The case law is also an effective addition. It will be interesting to see the update after Election Day. Introduction, Consitution, Federalism, Civil Rights and Liberties, Parties and Ideology, Opinion and Media, Congress, President, Courts, state and local, and International Affairs. Furthermore, I think there are not enough appropriate charts and illustrations to engage student attention. The reader benefits from content that is organized in a fashion that is both comprehensible and predictable. } Accuracy is excellent, with essentially an unbiased and error-free content (and i do judge rather stringently the accuracy of historical content given I teach history as well). I am especially excited about he design combining theory and practice and critical thinking. democracy, literally, rule by the people. The chapters in the Kurtz et al e-book covers all relevant chapters of American Government and even offers chapters on Foreign policy, Domestic policy and State and Local government. Consistently uses contemporary examples. In each unit, there is a clear progression of thought from basic description of concepts toward more critical analysis. And the book is missing some introductory material on theory of collective action/game theory that I is included in other texts that I like to teach in my course. One issue that does not receive a lot of direct attention is American political culture, including the values that underlie our democratic system, but this can be supplied complementary readings. United States Government Manual - Getting Started p. 136, in which only a small fraction of the page is filled with an external link) , though if you are not strictly concerned with minimizing page count or aesthetics, this is feature rather than a bug, as it reduces the need for thing like including figures on a page with unrelated text to maximize efficient spacing. Additionally, if I made any additions to the text, you may not have them. In fact, I would critique the text somewhat in the other direction, there are a few points where important related ideas are broken into different subsections. Reviewed by Leslie Caughell, Assistant Professor, Virginia Wesleyan College on 2/8/17, This book is very comprehensive. The book is competently written and produced. It covers all the areas that may be taught in an American Government intro class. The graphics tables, charts, photos and the like are effective visual representations of important information and all appeared to display properly both online and in the PDF. Toward Collective Action: Mediating Institutions, Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions. The content delivers plenty of perspective for students to learn about American government. The concise introductions at the beginning of each chapter effectively frame the chapter topic. Get it as soon as Monday, Feb 20. Aristotelian "rule of the many" (direct or participatory democracy) a) Fourth-century B.C. I was quite impressed with this textbook, and have made plans to adopt it next year. I noticed no issues of the kind. Reviewed by Eric Goddard, Lecturer, Trine University on 5/28/19, The book is comprehensive, covering the major topics one would expect to find in a U.S. government textbook. In the next sentence, the author writes "Another way the media socializes audiences is through framing." textbooks Openlibrary_work OL2298885W . In addition the appendix with major judicial cases will withstand the passing of time and it isn't difficult to add a couple of relevant cases per judicial year and then review the choices every four or five years. Develop strong critical thinking, analytical, and compromise skills with.

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