U.S. History Bell Ringer

Please respond in your journal to the following question:

What is Government?

You and 50 other passengers have been shipwrecked on an island in the middle of the ocean. The cruise ship you were on sunk suddenly. So suddenly in fact, that only a few people were able to reach two lifeboats. None of the crew was able to escape and there had been no time to send an SOS message. Fortunately, from your two lifeboats you saw an island in the distance. As you row to the island you can see another island of about the same size on the horizon.

The survivors land upon a small beach on the south end of the island and quickly survey the situation. On rowing in, the island looked approximately 20 miles long with a hill in its middle about 1,000 to 2,000 feet in elevation. It seems to be covered in vegetation, with a mix of forests and meadows. The survivors noticed a ravine about a mile away from the beach that had a flowing creek. The lifeboats have enough food to last about a week. None of the communication equipment works, so there is no way to contact the outside world for help. Even if there was, none of the survivors know where they are.

During this activity each group will be asked to respond to 4 tasks. For each task the group must submit there group response in writing. You have approximately 10 minutes for the first task.

Task 1: What does the group do during the first week to ensure its immediate survival? What long-term strategies or solutions does the group consider or begin to develop?

You have approximately 5 minutes for this task.

Task 2: What is the group’s response in the first 24 hours to the discovery that the island is inhabited? What changes if any does this make in your long-term strategies?

You have approximately 5 minutes for this task.

Task 3: What do you do?

You have approximately 5 minutes for this task.

Task 4: What steps do you take over the next few days after the attack? What changes if any does this make in your long-term strategies?

U.S. HISTORY JOURNAL

Please respond in your journal to the following question:

During this activity your group had to make a lot of decisions that affected everyone in the group. How were these made?

US History Theme #3

How do we govern ourselves?

True or False

Respond to the following in your journals Most government actions (laws, policies, etc..) are

done to benefit the nation as a whole Generally people involved in making government

policy care most about the interests of the groups they represent or their own interests

People should be given as much freedom as possible to do whatever they want

A basic purpose of government is to improve the lives and living standards of its citizens

Everyone who lives in America should have the right to vote

US History Theme #3

How do we govern ourselves?Key QuestionsHow do different groups in society

compete to control government policy?

What is the role of government in our society and economy?

Who is a citizen?

Closing QuestionPlease respond in your journal to the closing question:

If you had to pick one question to use to analyze how Americans have governed themselves, what would it be?

BibliographySlide 2 – Hispanic American Center for Economic Research (2010). Cuba: Captain of a sinking ship. Retrieved from

http://www.hacer.org/latam/?p=3349

Slide 3 - Flickr from Yahoo (2010). Hidden Beach on Ishigaki, Okinawa. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ippei-janine/256415711/