Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 7 - Class Recap

This is quite possibly my favorite picture that I have ever taken. It is the view from my seat at the end of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Hopefully, you are feeling great after your opening test of the class!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to your weekend! I hope that the test went well for you - I am looking forward to going through them and seeing how you did. Here's what happened today in class:

Soundtrack: “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up)” by Fall Out Boy. Selected for today because it is kind of a pump up song in the hopes of getting you ready to take the test. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/20/13:
Tort Report
Review Questions
Introduction to Law Test
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog! The next Tort Report is assigned to: Shakti.

Tort Report: Today's lawsuit was brought in by Magen, who chose this article: HuffingtonPost.com - Paula Deen Lawsuit Dismissed By Judge After Parties Reach Undisclosed Settlement. Yes, this is a very well known case, as Ms. Deen had been accused of racial discrimination, lost her shows on the Food Network and endorsement contracts, as well as being viewed publicly in a different light than she previously had been. Thanks, Magen! Shakti, you are up next.

Review Questions: Before I handed out the test, I was happy to answer any questions from the class about the vocabulary on the review sheet. I appreciated the willingness of the class to ask away here, because I am guessing that it helped on the test!

Introduction to Law Test: The rest of the class was devoted to taking the first test of the class, on the introductory concepts of law. I wanted to make sure you had more than enough time to complete it, so I did not plan anything for the rest of the class. Again, I am looking forward to going through these and seeing how everyone did! I hope it went well for you. Next class, we will review.

Study Time: Once the test was completed, I gave the rest of the class period as time to be studying - either for upcoming concepts in our class, or for any work you had for other subjects.

Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 6 - Class Recap

How great is this? I LOVE the ball of yarn activity. Thanks for going along with it! :-)

Hi everyone,

Hopefully, you are visiting to try and study up for the test next class! This should help a lot. Let me know if you are confused about any part of what we have covered!

Soundtrack: “Say it Right” by Nelly Furtado. Selected for today because of the word "right" and because if you are saying/writing everything correctly on the test, you will do great on it. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/18/13:
Tort Report
Bill of Rights
Class Unity Activity
Test Study Guide

Homework: Study for the test by making sure you know the terms on the study guide and checking the blog! Tort Report assigned to: Magen M.

Tort Report: The case that was brought in today by Kaitlin was this: LawyersandSettlements.com - States Warn About Debt Collector Harassment. We discussed the lawsuits being filed by people that have been harassed by debt collectors, as well as avoiding situations like phishing while being on the internet. Thanks, Kaitlin!

Bill of Rights: For this section, we finished going through the Bill of Rights and some other Amendments to the Constitution that are applicable to our field of study. There were a lot of great questions brought up by some of the Amendments. Knowing what they are will be important for you on the test. If you missed class or wanted to see the answers/lesson again, here it is to download:

iCivics.org - You've Got Rights! Lesson Plan

I had the class fill out the closing worksheet, then we went through it together and talked about which category each part of the rights given in the Constitution goes to.

Class Unity Activity: As I wrote above, I always love doing this as an exercise to break up the "normal" class and get everyone communicating with and connected to each other. Thank you all for participating! It is always so cool for me to hear about all the places we came from to be in the same room. In the future, it will be great to remember that we are committed to following the ground rules and engaging in respectful interactions, even when it might be difficult.

Test Study Guide: To end class, I passed out the study guide for the first unit test. NOTE: You do not have to complete this, because I know most of you already have great notes on all the terms and themes we have talked about so far. However, it would be good to look at this and know that you will be expected to write about the vocabulary here:

Google Drive: Introduction to Law Unit Test Study Guide

Other documents that might really help you (with all the vocabulary we talked about) are:

Google Drive: Introduction to Law Vocabulary PowerPoint

Google Drive: Last Intro to Law Vocab Concepts Document

For checking the blog (which you are always supposed to do as homework), here is a heads up on one of the test questions: Is this a Federal, State, or Local law? "You must be 21 to purchase alcoholic beverages." The answer is that it is a State law (though every state has this law, partially because the federal government would reduce highway funding to them if they did not).

Please let me know if I can help you study at all! I will not be in the building tomorrow, but I definitely will answer any comments or emails that I can! Please study up and remember that although we are devoting almost the entire class to taking the test, it is unlikely that it will take all of your time, so feel free to bring other course work as well.

Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 5 - Class Recap

I took this photo on take off from Las Vegas in the summer of 2011 - probably a place where the alien invaders we tried to base our thinking about rights in 2056 on would feel right at home at.

Hello everyone,

Welcome back - we have a good week of work ahead of us! We should be finishing up the introductory unit by Friday, with the test (please be studying) in class.

Soundtrack: “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. This song is obviously the start of some sort of domestic dispute! Check out the lyrics.

AGENDA 9/16/13:
Torts Report
Review Sheet
Last Introductory Concepts
Bill of Rights

Homework: Ask about your family background. Check the blog and post a comment!  Torts Report assigned to: Kaitlin L.

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Torts Report: Miles L. brought in an article about a civil suit related to the Casey Anthony trial. Examiner.com - Casey Anthony forced to testify in civil case regarding death of daughter. This does happen frequently, where a civil trial will be the result of the proceedings in a criminal trial. An interesting article, for sure. Thanks Miles! Kaitlin, you are up for Wednesday.

Review Sheet: During this time, we went over the chapter 1 vocabulary review sheet from last class, which looked at checks and balances, federalism, and rights on one side, then mixing and matching vocabulary on the other. Copies of these sheets are in class.

Last Introductory Concepts: The last few concepts that I wanted to review for this opening unit were human rights, common law, adversary system, inquisitional system, and legislative intent. Here is the document of definitions if you missed class or wanted to see them again:

Google Drive: Introduction to Law Last Concepts

The video that we watched in class of the very tense interactions between a People's Court judge and a defendant can be found on YouTube, here.

Bill of Rights: At the end of class, we started going through and looking at the Bill of Rights. I handed out a sheet of possible rights for us if we had just defeated invading aliens in the year 2056. The class was asked to try and choose 10 from a list of 15. Then, I read a bit about the process of determining the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. We ended class by trying to identify how the possible rights we chose in the alien invasion aftermath are related to the Bill of Rights. We will finish this activity next class, along with a class activity revolving around our backgrounds, and a final review before the test.

Thanks for checking in - let me know how I can be helping you!

Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 4 - Class Recap

I took this picture of Jay Z singing a track off of his new album Magna Carta... Holy Grail in London this past summer. We talked in class about the Magna Carta (document of law) today!

Hello everyone,

Slowly but surely, we are getting there! I promise that class will get a little more interactive and probably interesting soon. We just really need to have some ground work done for how we discuss the subject. Thank you for working so hard today!

Soundtrack: “Mean” by Taylor Swift. Selected because if there were no mean people in the world, maybe we wouldn't need law at all! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/12/13:
Torts Report
Finish Reading Chapter 1/Definitions
Intro to Law PowerPoint
Review Sheet

Homework: Study/review vocabulary terms. Check the blog and post a comment! Tort Report assigned to: Miles L.

Torts Report: Daniel K. led us off with a really interesting case of a man being awarded $21.4 million in a judgement against two men convicted of attacking him and causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down. The article Daniel found can be viewed here: BalitmoreSun.com - Judge Awards $21.4 million to Randallstown High shooting victim. Great example of what I am looking for! The more interesting lawsuit, the better. Remember that I want it to be in the United States and within the last year or so, please.

Finish Reading Chapter 1/Definitions: I know this is not the most exciting stuff. Thank you for working so hard and for hopefully understanding why we are doing this. As a review, the terms we are primarily concerned with learning in Chapter 1 are: Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Felony, Misdemeanor, Civil Law, Civil Action, Defendant, Plaintiff, Prosecutor, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Preponderance of the Evidence, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, Statutes, Checks and Balances, Judicial Review, Unconstitutional, Federalism, and Bill of Rights.

Intro to Law PowerPoint: Next, I tried to go over the same terms and explain them in a way that hopefully made more sense. Here is a link to the PowerPoint, if you want to review it:

Google Drive: Intro to Law PowerPoint

Complete with all sorts of photos I have personally taken! Here's the link to the Judge Judy clip I showed as a part of the presentation.

Review Sheet: At the end of class, I passed out a review sheet for the terms we went over (along with a few new ones). Many students seemed to finish this in class. We will go through it together next Monday (sorry, I do not have an electronic copy to post).

Have a great weekend and let me know if I can be helping you at any point with the material we are covering!

Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 3 - Class Recap

We talked a bit about the differences between Civil Law and Criminal Law today, and also touched on a bit of International Law. This is me at the border of the United States and Canada (at the Peace Arch) in the summer of 2009!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to another blog! Sorry this is up so late - I was watching the USA vs. Mexico World Cup qualifying soccer match. The USA won and we will be heading to Brazil next year! Fun stuff. In any case, here's what we did today in class.

Soundtrack: “Evil Ways” by Santana. Selected because if someone is doing something evil, a possible consequence is that they will get in trouble with the law. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/10/13:
Law in Our Lives
Civil vs. Criminal Law
Introduce Tort Report
Read Chapter 1/Do Definitions

Homework: Get the syllabus signed. Check the blog and post a comment! Tort Report assigned to Daniel K.

Law in Our Lives: We finished up this worksheet in thinking about different ways that laws impact our day to day lives. My point here was that many of the laws we were talking about were probably more Criminal if violated. Civil laws are more about disputes between individuals, rather than the government/society at large.

Civil vs. Criminal Law: For this section, we went through and made notes on the differences between Civil and Criminal Law. We had a good in class discussion about these differences, like who is represented, what the standard of proof is, and how the Constitution impacts both. Those notes will be available in the class (I do not have an electronic copy). Make sure to keep them with you for any upcoming quizzes/tests.

Introduce Tort Report: This is basically like a current event, but I want to have it focused on some element of Civil Law here in America. I asked Daniel K. to go first, because I know he knows what I am looking for (being in my Global Studies class last year). Basically, I just want to have something to start the class off each session that reminds us of why what we are learning is relevant.

Read Chapter 1/Do Definitions: To end the class, I had students start reading Chapter 1 in the "Street Law" textbook we keep in class, and start to define the vocabulary words in it. I will give you multiple chances to learn these, through multiple different avenues (like a PowerPoint next class, probably), so that I know we are good on them before moving on. Thanks for your work here! We will get back at it next class.

Period 2: Introduction to Law, Day 2 - Class Recap

One of the places I went this summer was Berlin. This is the top of the Bundestag building, where the German Parliament makes laws. Taken on June 16th, 2013.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to your weekend! I enjoyed class today and I am really looking forward to reading your letters. 

Soundtrack: “Woke Up This Morning” by A3. Selected for today because it was the theme song to The Sopranos TV show (which obviously has a lot to do with Law) and because it was another early morning back at school for all of us. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/6/13:
Blog Recap
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
What is Law?
Law in Our Lives

Homework: Check the blog, post a comment if you have not already! Get your syllabus signed and turned in. Try to make sure you have about 10-15 minutes of work left on the 10 Daily Activities worksheet.

Blog Recap: After taking attendance, I showed this website and talked about the importance of following along if you have the ability to. Hopefully it is a good resource for you!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: I always begin my time with classes by writing a letter and reading it aloud, so that everyone can know a little bit more about me. In response, I asked students to write about themselves. If you missed this part of class, here are the prompts I wanted you to answer (hand written, one page):

Who are you outside of the classroom? What are your goals in life? What is important to you? Tell me something quirky or interesting about you. What did you do over the summer? What do you want me to know about you? What kinds of music do you listen to? What movies do you like? Why are you in a Law class? Are there topics you want to learn more about? Make a list! What do you like about high school? What do you not like? What do you think your strengths and weaknesses as a student are? Finally, do you have any concerns, questions, or comments for me about this class?

Thank you for everyone that was in class and completed this! Like I said, I love reading these and I will try to have them back to you with comments next class.

What is Law? Next, we started getting into what, exactly, "law" is. I went through a short PowerPoint of different definitions, then asked students to create their own. Here is that PowerPoint, if I went too fast, or you missed class:

Google Drive: What is Law? PowerPoint

Remember that you need a spiral notebook (or something you can keep your notes/assignments in) that you will eventually turn in to be checked off.

Law in Our Lives: To end the class (I do not think many students finished this), we started thinking about how law impacts our day to day lives. I handed out a worksheet that asked students to list 10 daily activities, how they were affected by the law, if the law(s) were Federal, State, or Local, the possible reason for the law, and if they thought it should be changed.

We will keep working on this next class, then talk about it as a group. Obviously, this exercise is for us to begin to realize how important laws are in our society.

That was it for today! Thanks again for the focus. Have a great weekend!