Model U.S. Senate
I found this project very interesting because we got to role play what the real senate goes through in order to pass a bill, of course it was cut down a bit so that it would fit in about 8 hours. We started by learning about climate change and immigration. We then were assigned senators, I was democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota. We each had a role and I was a committee member for the environment and public works committee. My job was to write a bill with a partner on climate change and then write a speech for the exhibition.
1st Amendment Media Project
In this project we created videos that were based on the first amendment and how we saw it. We had to incorporate parts of the first amendment in any way we wanted. We could use unprotected speech or protected speech or certain parts of each. For our video we focused on parts of protected speech, such as the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the freedom to assemble.
Free Speech Forum
For this project we found a piece of free speech that pushed the limits of freedom of expression. Our pieces could be anything from a video to a song to a painting. For my piece I chose Twitter because I felt that there was a lot to explore and that I could take many avenues. After we chose our pieces we created presentations to show how how our pieces were free speech. Then we wrote essays explaining them and how they pushed the boundaries.
Street Law Mini Project
In this mini-project, we were tasked with creating a medium to inform the public of their rights when encountering a police officer. My partner and I created a board game in which players assess their knowledge of "street law" through answering different scenarios. These include real life situations along with outrageous ones that deal with rights , when one is in their car, or walking in the street, or sitting in a public school classroom. Our class presented these "Street Law" projects in the hallways of our school.
My partner and I chose to do all three topics we studied because all are equally vital to know for people our age. I feel like a lot of teenagers are taken advantage of by police officers because they are ignorant of their rights. I have friends who have had interactions with police where they have not come out on the winning side simply due to the fact they were not aware of their rights. We chose a board game because we know that most teenagers learn better when they can interact and have fun with their learning.
If I could explore one aspect of this project further, I would want to learn more about the rights that students while in school. I feel as though we only tipped the tip of the iceberg; and therefore would like to go more in depth.
My partner and I chose to do all three topics we studied because all are equally vital to know for people our age. I feel like a lot of teenagers are taken advantage of by police officers because they are ignorant of their rights. I have friends who have had interactions with police where they have not come out on the winning side simply due to the fact they were not aware of their rights. We chose a board game because we know that most teenagers learn better when they can interact and have fun with their learning.
If I could explore one aspect of this project further, I would want to learn more about the rights that students while in school. I feel as though we only tipped the tip of the iceberg; and therefore would like to go more in depth.