Skip to main content

American Government One Semester

Course Length:

One semester

Course Description:

Students will journey through the foundations of our American government, making connections between the intentions of the Founders to the system that we have today.  We then look, in detail, at the different branches of government and analyze their individual importance and powers, along with the necessity for checks and balances, and how those force the separate branches to work together.  To wrap the semester up, we shift from the federal level to the state and local levels, including tribal forms of government.  Lastly, current events will play a large role in the different modules/topics, and students will be expected to keep up on the news and be able to discuss the big stories, especially those with political/governmental topics.

This class moves fast and requires top-notch participation, which is not just a class requirement but is needed to make the class more interesting for everyone.

Prerequisites:

Students should have a working knowledge of U.S. History and a basic understanding of World History. Students should have basic knowledge of The U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Students should be able to write a 3-5 page essay or research paper, and be able to create a PowerPoint presentation or other alternative.

Comprehensive Syllabus:  

American Government Single Semester Syllabus

Required Materials:

None

Specific Technical/Software Requirements in Addition to General Requirements:

Please review the general original credit software requirements at http://mtda.link/techreq

It is strongly recommended that students have access to Microsoft Office for class projects and activities.

Course Availability (subject to resource and teacher availability):

Fall: semester available
Spring: semester available

Lead Teacher:

Ryan Cooney, Capital High School, ryan.cooney@montanadigitalacademy.org

PLEASE SEE YOUR LOCAL COUNSELOR TO REGISTER FOR MTDA COURSES