Monday 9/30 - 2.1 Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Systems

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING

The structure and function of political institutions reflect the allocation of power within a political system.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE 

Describe parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

1 Parliamentary systems, such as the United Kingdom, combine the lawmaking and executive functions, which allows the national legislature to select and remove the head of government and cabinet.

2 Presidential systems, such as Mexico and Nigeria, feature a cabinet that is mostly responsible to the elected executive, with a legislature that can only remove cabinet members through impeachment. These systems have separate fixed-term, popular elections for the national legislature, and a top executive leader serving as both head of state and head of government.

3 Semi-presidential systems, such as Russia, feature separate popular elections for the president and for the national legislature, allowing the president to nominate a prime minister (who must be approved by the legislature); members of the cabinet are held accountable by both the president and legislature.


Activity # 1:

Click on the link for today's assignment - Institutions of the UK

Tuesday 9/24 TOPIC 2.1 Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Systems

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING:

The structure and function of political institutions reflect the allocation of power within a political system.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

Describe parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: 

Parliamentary systems, such as the United Kingdom, combine the lawmaking and executive functions, which allows the national legislature to select and remove the head of government and cabinet.

Presidential systems, such as Mexico and Nigeria, feature a cabinet that is mostly responsible to the elected executive, with a legislature that can only remove cabinet members through impeachment. These systems have separate fixed-term, popular elections for the national legislature, and a top executive leader serving as both head of state and head of government.

Semi-presidential systems, such as Russia, feature separate popular elections for the president and for the national legislature, allowing the president to nominate a prime minister (who must be approved by the legislature); members of the cabinet are held accountable by both the president and legislature.


Test Review: 

Next Class we will be taking the Vocabulary portion of the Test. The link below will be a great study guide for the test.

http://www.studystack.com/flashcard-237060

Activity # 1: 

As we get closer to our first unit test, next week you will need to know these vocabulary terms
- Unit 1 Vocab Terms - You need to put these terms into your notebook and define these terms. Make sure this is done!!!

Wednesday Sept 18th - Unit 1 Test Review Day

Activity # 1: 

Log into AP Classroom. Take the assessment Unit 1 Progress Check MCQ.  Based on your results, we can develop a personalized plan of study for you.  Once you get an idea of where you need to focus your study, we will look at Khan Academy & Ed Puzzles to learn about lessons to strengthen your content and skill mastery.

Checklist for Exam: 

All Topic Quizzes are completed
Progress Check MCQ is completed
All Vocabulary are defined in your notebook
Notes are up to date
You have completed the readings assigned

Monday Sept 16th - Test Review Week:

Test Review Week:

Vocabulary Terms:

Unit 1 Vocab Terms - You need to put these terms into your notebook and define these terms. This needs to be complete during class today. I am planning on collecting your notebooks while you take the Unit 1 Test. 

It looks as if our Unit 1 Exam will be this Friday. 

Writing Prompts: 

I will be selecting 2 of the following:

Define political legitimacy and describe two sources of legitimacy.

Define the concepts of “globalization” and “sovereignty” and explain the interaction between the two.

Identify two positive impacts (advantages) of globalization. Identify two negative impacts (disadvantages) of globalization.

I will be selecting 1 of the following:  

Democracy exists along a continuum. During the 1980s and 90s, many countries attempted to democratize. Some were more successful than others. Using your knowledge of AP Comparative Politics, complete the following tasks:

A.) Define illiberal democracy and provide an example from the six countries studied in AP Comparative Politics.

B.) Define liberal democracy and provide an example from the six countries studied in AP Comparative Politics.

C.) Describe a change in policy that would make an illiberal democracy more liberal.

Many of the countries covered in the AP Comparative Government and Politics course are multination states.

A.) Define the concept of a state.

B.) Explain how a nation is different from a state.

C.) Describe one challenge governments face in securing stability in multination states.

D.) Discuss two policies that governments have taken to address the challenge you described in part (C).