Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 2: College Park

Here are a few things I've found about College Park.

Links

Here's a general search for College Park: Link
The Wikipedia Article: Link

Here are a few videos

College Park is a pretty amazing place!!

Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 2: Local Government

Hi all,

Great job on all of the wonderful projects that we saw on Friday. All of them showed lots of effort and imagination. Keep up the good work!

This week we are moving from talking about the state government and are moving down to the local level. Local governments are the governments that control a smaller location. States in the United States are split into large areas, usually rural locations, called counties.  Prince George's County is such a place. These counties include smaller, but heavily populated locations called cities (like College Park). Counties and cities are very similar in that they have governments, police departments, libraries, school systems (especially in large cities like Baltimore and Washington), and other services.

So for this lesson we will be looking at cities and counties in general, and at Prince George's County and the City of College Park in particular.

As you do your reading and research be sure to answer these questions in your journal:

1. What is a county?
2. What is a city?
3. How are they a like? How are they different?
4. Why is there a need two have these two levels of government?
5. What would life be like if we didn't have local governments like these?
6. Who are the leaders of PG County and College Park? What do they do for their residents?

The cool thing about this level of government is that you might actually be able to talk to these people! Make an effort to reach out and talk to them if you can.

Here are some links to get you going.

PG County

A basic search: PG County
Wikipedia: PG County
The government's site: Site
Videos

A link to PG County's government YouTube channel: Link

I'll be putting up information on College Park later today!

Mr. C

Hop in, say "hi, and look at the posts below

Hey 4th Grade,

Glad to see so many of you were able to get your email accounts up and going. Please take a moment to comment below and say "hi". Also be sure to check out the links in the post below because some of them will help you with your presentation on Friday.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the blog!

Mr. C

Social Studies Lesson 1: Organization and Powers of the Maryland State Government

Hey guys,

Welcome to the Fourth Grade and your first research project! In this lesson you'll research how the MD government is organized and what the powers are for each branch.

Here are some interesting pictures:

Here are a couple of useful links:

This is an official State of Maryland site. Link

This is another State of Maryland site that is more kids friendly: Link

These videos could be of some use:

General information on Maryland

This video is for California, but it is pretty similar to Maryland. Be careful though, states have different names for their legislatures!

video

Another, shorter video on governmental organization.

Here's a rap about the Federal government. Maybe an idea for songwriters out there?

Here's a copy of the assignment sheet I gave out in class yesterday just in case you need it.

Name_______________________________  Date________________________________

Social Studies Project #1: How is the Maryland State Government organized?

Prompt: Create a presentation using Powerpoint, posters, or some other media that can explain to your audience (other 4^th Graders) how the Maryland State Government is organized. You must create at least 4 slides: one to introduce your presentation, one slide for each branch of the Maryland government. You can create a conclusion slide for extra credit.

·         The introduction slide should have a quick breakdown of the Maryland government and should show how it is organized.

·         The three body slides should cover each branch of the government. The slide should name what it is and tell what it does and what its powers are.

·         The conclusion slide should wrap-up your discussion of the government and summarize what you just said about the Maryland government. This slide is worth extra credit points.

·         You will give a presentation that should last 5 minutes or less!

To get the best grade possible be sure to:

·         Use capitalization when necessary.

·         Use correct spelling.

·         Use punctuation such as periods where it is needed.

·         Use some sort of graphic or picture to show what you mean.

Timeline

Rough draft of design (on paper)	Due Friday, September 9th.	5 pt
Rough draft of design (in a final form).	Due Wednesday, September 14th.	5 pt
Final draft of design in its final form.	Due Friday, September 16th.	5 pt
In class presentation.	Will be done on Friday, September 16th and/or Monday September 19th.	10 pt
Extra Credit.	Concluding slide or poster.	2 pt

 Mr. Case and Mr. Bustos will be checking progress on this project on the dates mentioned above. Students should use their textbook pages pp. 82-87 and they can use on-line resources such as Mr. Case’s Blog Spot site (www.mrcasesspot.blogspot.com). They are also welcome to use their own on-line resources and the library as well.

Don't forget to make a comment below so you can get a buzz buck on Tuesday! Be sure to say your name and class.