The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive and it makes use of examples that are inclusive more than the norm. Students can read individual sections or chapters online (in a way vaguely reminiscent of Wikipedia), they can download a free PDF of the entire book, or more traditional students can order a hard copy of the book from Amazon (at a price that's still less than half of what students might pay for a book from a commercial press). Chapter . The text is not culturally offensive, but I would like to see more sections or paragraphs that flesh out diversity and politics. In addition, the reading selections are inconsistentsome are very long lists and others only include five or six books. Electoral case studies provide for a story within a history. Democracy divides us | Alexander Guerrero IAI TV And finally, it contains both sections on individual rights and liberties as well as policy and bureaucracy. The Founders and Federalism. If anything it simplifies our history as to discrimination and racism in the direction of being overly intolerant of past civil rights violations in the light of past cultural norms based on ignorance and insecurities that darken our history, and with which the present continues to deal with. Reviewed by Matthew Wright, Associate Professor, American University on 2/1/18, The book is comprehensive in that it has everything I usually look for in an intro to American government text: United States Government: Our Democracy 2018. the Cold War era is not well articulated. I am especially excited about he design combining theory and practice and critical thinking. Words seem arbitrarily capitalized (why capitalize Scalia and McConnell)? The AP U.S. Government and Politics framework is organized into five commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. While the examples could become outdated, the issues used have been relevant for a long period of time. The historical approaches American Government 3e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. PDF Us Government Democracy In Action Teacher Edition From an aesthetic perspective, the textbook has a fair amount of graphic material that is appealing to students. American Government by Krutz and Waskiewicz is an exceptionally good textbook. PDF OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT - GovInfo For example, could chapter 8 be divided into six or eight sections? The explanation of disagreements and legal decisions in particular is objective yet clear what values, tradeoffs, etc were at stake and how the decisions affected government especially. For me, this was one of the strengths of the textbook. Of course, whenever there are big changes on the Supreme Court or in the American governmental structure updates would need to be made. Overall, this is a solid choice in terms of comprehensiveness. For example, the text's section on "Engagement in a Democracy," outlines how individuals can become more civically engaged and showcases how ordinary people can effect change. It is one of the few textbooks that offers colored images in it. Of course the book's "longevity" is not likely to be long just because of the nature of the subject matter. By reorganizing the information contained in the chapters, it will be easier for the reader to follow the data if it is in a table format. For example, I do a lot with the 9th Amendment, but it only has three paragraphs in the textbook. Although the U.S. has been a strong proponent of democracy, it did not invent democracy. Given by award-winning professors and experts in their field, these recorded lectures dive deep into the worlds of religion, government, literature, and social justice. I found the textbook culturally sensitive and in no way offensive. In a couple instances such as above, they simply need to be done. read more. The book seems unbiased - and includes the traditional readings of American Government. This has become such an important issue. Right from the get go I enjoyed the section on Civic Engagement as For example, the chapter on political parties resembles a history text. Gerrymandering and redistricting is continually evolving. Your textbook makes no mention of Rousseau. Although the order of the chapters differ from the way I may group chapters together, the book does maintain a consistent pattern based on the logic of the book it presents. 34 Question #69. By breaking each chapter into sections, the modularity of the textbook itself is enhanced and should allow the instructor to break apart and/or chunk particular sections of interest. More charts and illustrations interspersed would help maintain student engagement as they read the chapters. Additionally, there are critical thinking questions offered that challenge students to consider how persons different from them may feel regarding not only the history of the treatment they have received based on who they are, but how politics, public opinion, media coverage, public policy, and court decisions impact their ability to fully participate in our democracy. This is a very attractive and comprehensive text that is in many ways an improvement on the texts I have used for my American Government class. There are some lapses here. This item: United States Government; Our Democracy, c 2018, 9780076681136, 0076681130. by McGraw-Hill Education Paperback . .nav-contain-highered p{ United States Government Democracy in Action Student. Our School" Reopening Plan; Daily Bulletin; S3 Grant; Principal's Message; Mission & Vision Statement; Bell Schedule; Contact Us; Policies & Procedures; . 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The textbook was first published in 2019. But at the mass level most Tea Party identifiers are Republicans, and in Congress the vast majority of Tea Party sympathizers (perhaps all) are Republicans. You can use that resource if you would . I like the additional chapter on State and Local Government (Chap 14). read more. I am strongly considering adopting this for my students, though I wish that it were weightier and lengthier. Experiences and participation of African-American, Latinx, Asian, indigenous, women, and LGBT citizens fill a chapter. The text follows the standard format for American Government texts. For example, section 1.3 shows up as not converted. SKU: b117200 . Relevant archival documents and photos add to the appeal. Thorough coverage of the main thematic areas generally addressed by introductory American Government textbooks. The prose is accessible, and the authors' have done an outstanding job avoiding the jargon that can unnecessarily complicate a text. Product details Publisher : McGraw Hill; 1st edition (August 11, 2014) Language : English . The fully integrated print and digital content of United States Government: Our Democracy is grounded in solid pedagogy, strong authorship, and includes a full suite of thoughtfully designed teaching and learning tools. I like the text's thematic emphasis on student participation. And as stated above, the book is very clear and easy to read, which would make this text easy for students to understand. Log in to your program from these platforms: McGraw Hill Science Interactives (612), .bs3-nav-link-support a{ The situation is presented to students in a completely objective fashion. The writing appears to be objective and factually correct. An innovative inclusion is that, in addition to the standard chapter on federalism, American Government (2e) also includes a separate chapter (14) on State and Local Governments. The chapter-to-chapter progression is logical. Although this book is culturally sensitive, I challenge the authors to do more. The comprehensiveness of Krutz's American Government text is such that it more than adequately addresses the curricular requirements of the American government and politics courses offered by the Virginia Community College System. The inclusion of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, selected Federalist Papers and electoral college results will aid the student in referencing those materials over the instructor including a link (to be lost) or the student conducting a search. You have a solid editing staff doing well to ensure a good syntax throughout the book. The text is divided into 5 categories. This is a well put together textbook and with periodic revisions should be useful for students of American government for many years and decades to come. I am using this text in lieu of my regular purchased text for my intro class and I am excited for the possibilities available given the interesting and useful ways the authors have organized the material in the book - while ensuring all the bread & butter chapters for an intro American Gov text are here. I really like that a section on state and local government is included. The charts, graphs and figures are well done and supplement the content. It follows the standard layout of American Government textbooks and offers an effective and easily searchable index. Nearly every chapter has classic and current concepts to understand the evolution and development of institutions. 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 The required terminology for the curriculum is present with context in every chapter. The examples used throughout the text are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds. U.S. Government - Mr. Tredinnick's Class Site And I would rather see the civil rights and liberties grouped with discussion of the constitutional framework and courts, while voting and elections are groups with parties and media. The textbook is structured in a logical manner with chapters that have clearly defined subareas that more than adequately provide students with an understanding of American government. TEXT: United States Government: Democracy in Action US GOVERNMENT COURSE CALENDAR 2014 - 2015: Unit 1: Foundations of American Government August 19 - September 10 In this Unit: Exploring the Big Ideas Resources & Activities Chapter 1: People and Government. The text moves cleanly through concepts and important sections of each chapter. Republic vs. Democracy: What Is the Difference? - ThoughtCo This text covers nearly all of the major topics covered in American Government texts. Mrs Doering s Classroom Government Wikispaces. It covers all of the major topics an introductory text should cover and a few others as well. This includes a host of the Critical Thinking questions that I found to be on point and thought provoking. The concepts Direct Democracy and Representative Democracy are key to an American Government course. These long reading stretches are furthermore too frequently interrupted by "Note" features that while allowing for the opening up of key court cases concerning the topic at hand also lengthens the necessary attention span expected of the students beyond a reasonable extent. While most of the narrative text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections, there are sections that go on for a page and a half of densely worded blocks of text that many of my first and second year students would find challenging in comprehension given that length. The canonical terms of introductory American Government are present and defined adequately. However, the chapter lengths seem fairly typical for this type of text. I did not identify any issues with the accuracy of the textbook content. PDF 12th Grade United States Government Scope and Sequence - Washington, D.C. Again, these are things the author may want to consider. I believe ample coverage of diverse viewpoints and experiences are made use of in this text. The consistency and cohesion of the organization of the textbook is on par with all the other material on the market. It is easily the equal of most other traditional textbooks on the market now. I am considering switching to this textbook for my department. read more. .nav-contain-highered p{ The only section that I would point to specifically that I think could be improved significantly comes in Chapter 2, Section 5 and the discussion of Constitutional Change. 5.0. The textbook is written in a way that is easy to understand. The term is derived from the Greek dmokratia, which was coined from dmos ("people") and kratos ("rule") in the middle of the 5th century bce to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens. There are areas where graphics examples could be updated; a few of the federalism chapter charts are using 2014 data. Would grade this as 4.5 if possible. I also liked very much the "exercises" section allowing "assessment of learning." Reviewed by Gale Czerski, Adult Basic Education Instructor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17, This textbook provides a comprehensive framework for introductory American government. While it is rare for any textbook to be completely full of errors, there are a few more errors in this book than in my preferred American Government textbook and other leading textbooks on the topic. I found no problem with navigating the text. Overall, I found the text to be clear and readable. In each unit, there is a clear progression of thought from basic description of concepts toward more critical analysis. I find this a potentially helpful framework to shape my courses. The book's seventeen chapters are well-divided into five parts. This textbook provides a comprehensive framework for introductory American government. The Public, the Political System and American Democracy Have questions? There is no distortion of text, images, or figures; this is all very clear. Here again I suggest that there are too many long blocks of text to read made even more so by the frequent "Note" sections expecting students to further read about key court cases. Student Edition: Focus on the big ideas with an accessible print student text built around Essential Questions and Inquiry. Maximize comprehension with the Reading Help Desk in each lesson to assist students with building vocabulary, cultivating reading strategies, and strengthening note-taking skills. Analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources including text excerpts, political cartoons, photographs, graphs, maps, and more. Develop strong critical thinking, analytical, and compromise skills with Debate and Deliberation features. Challenge students to "be the judge" in Supreme Court Case Studies; students will classify arguments, assign unmarked opinions and decide cases, apply precedents to recent cases, and conduct in-class moot courts. Customize the learning experience for differentiated instruction using leveled reading, customizable assessments and worksheets, and flexible online learning tools. Facilitate mastery of complex principles with dynamic digital tools. 3. Each chapter begins with an introduction, moves into the various sections and concludes with the summary and then supplemental material. Democracy | Definition, History, Meaning, Types, Examples, & Facts Instructor and student resources are need improvement. The links for figures seem to be useful in quickly navigating them. In addition, there are charts, visual aids, and extension activities to expand and complement the text. The various appendixes include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Federalist 10 and 51 and a couple of other items. The text is not culturally insensitive, supplying context to why the Founders created the government originally and how it has evolved. It covers all the bases of an Introduction to American Government and then some. The language might not appeal as well to the Z generation. My only critique of the book is that the sections on Congress, the presidency, and the court system appear later on in the textbook. United States Government: Our Democracy 2018 - McGraw Hill Reviewed by Rod Hanson, Political Science Instructor, Central Oregon Community College on 5/26/19, Krutz textbook is set up exactly the same as the three different United States Government textbooks I have used in nine years of teaching at the community college level. In the preface, there is a chart of the makeup of the United States Supreme Court, listing the justices, and their ideology of conservative versus liberal. In my view, chapters four and five are stellar and provide alternative voices to the narrative. Diverse student populations will appreciate this aspect of the text. The Government Manual is a regularly updated special edition of . The content is up-to-date including most of the Trump presidency, which is helpful for students' understanding and familiarity. It was updated in 2020. - Chapter organization around the set of themes that any proper intro gov class would teach: institutions plus civil rights liberties, parties, elections, public opinion, and so on. It provides the necessary information for a student who wants to learn about the American governmental process. With a publication date of 2019, this text contains updates references both the presidential elections of 2016 and the midterm elections of 2018.