Current Event Assignment Instructions
Required current event assignments are due every other week. The weeks when a current event is not required, students may complete an optional current event assignment for 10 extra credit points. Current event assignments on required weeks are worth 25 points.
Current event forms must be printed outside of class - at home, the library, or some other venue. All forms must be completed in the student's own handwriting as I need to avoid the temptation for students to cut and paste most of the assignment. Please read and understand the instructions on the form itself. Also, please notice that the article must be of sufficient length (300 words) and that a hard copy of the article must be stapled to the back of the assignment sheet.
The required current event week matches the odd or even character of the student's period number. For example, students in period 1 (an odd-numbered period) only have required current events due on odd-numbered weeks. Hence, a student in period 1 would turn in his required current events on week 1, week 3, week, 5, week 7, etc.... A student in period 2 (an even-numbered period), however, would have his required current events due on even numbered weeks - week 2, week 4, week 6, week 8, etc...
Current events are due "by Friday" of each week. This means that they will be accepted all week long (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), including the actual day it is due (Friday).
If a student opts to turn in the current event on the Friday it is due, it must be turned in within the first 15 seconds of class. Otherwise, it will be considered late. Students who are absent on the due date (for any reason - including illness, emergency, or a school related function) WILL NOT be given an opportunity to turn it in the following week for full credit, as they are encouraged to turn it in on the Monday of each new week. If there are extenuating circumstances where a student misses an entire week of school due to illness or an emergency, then the student may turn in the make-up work with no penalty the following week (or the week they return).
Makeup Opportunity: Students who neglect to turn in a current event on a required week may still regain full credit for that missed week. They must simply submit two completed current event forms to make up for the missed required week. This opportunity for full credit retrieval is not available on extra-credit weeks. If you miss an extra credit week, that opportunity is lost - there is no makeup opportunity in this case - not even for partial credit.
The opportunity to retrieve credit for a missed required current event only lasts one week. For example, if a student in Period 3 forgets to turn in a required current event for week 1, then that student may turn in two completed current-event forms by the following Friday. If the Friday for week 2 arrives and the student has forgotten to complete the makeup work, then the opportunity to retrieve credit for the assignment has passed, and the student will receive a zero for that week's assignment.
If this seems confusing, the system will soon be understood as we get started in the school year. I have been running the current event assignment schedule like this for 5 years, and the students quickly adapt to the arrangement.
Please notice on the form itself that there is a place to report about a Criminal Justice article or an Economics article. Students are not given the choice to choose one or the other. I teach both Criminal Justice and Economics, and I use the same form for both classes. If you are in the Criminal Justice class, please report on a criminal justice issue. If you are in the Economics class or AP Economics class, please report on an economic issue. It is just easier to use a standard form for both classes than to create and distribute two different forms.
Please also notice that the article should relate to an issue that is affecting or taking place in the United States. Please do not report on issues occurring outside of the United States. I am looking for students to read articles that are directly relevant to them. Articles about the unemployment rate in Greece for example may be interesting, but the direct consequence for America may be tenuous at best. If the main thrust of the article however is how Greece's unemployment rate will affect the American economy (and the entire article focuses on how a foreign issue will impact the United States in particular), then that article will be acceptable. Very few articles focusing on foreign issues, however, are written from this perspective.
Required current event assignments are due every other week. The weeks when a current event is not required, students may complete an optional current event assignment for 10 extra credit points. Current event assignments on required weeks are worth 25 points.
Current event forms must be printed outside of class - at home, the library, or some other venue. All forms must be completed in the student's own handwriting as I need to avoid the temptation for students to cut and paste most of the assignment. Please read and understand the instructions on the form itself. Also, please notice that the article must be of sufficient length (300 words) and that a hard copy of the article must be stapled to the back of the assignment sheet.
The required current event week matches the odd or even character of the student's period number. For example, students in period 1 (an odd-numbered period) only have required current events due on odd-numbered weeks. Hence, a student in period 1 would turn in his required current events on week 1, week 3, week, 5, week 7, etc.... A student in period 2 (an even-numbered period), however, would have his required current events due on even numbered weeks - week 2, week 4, week 6, week 8, etc...
Current events are due "by Friday" of each week. This means that they will be accepted all week long (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), including the actual day it is due (Friday).
If a student opts to turn in the current event on the Friday it is due, it must be turned in within the first 15 seconds of class. Otherwise, it will be considered late. Students who are absent on the due date (for any reason - including illness, emergency, or a school related function) WILL NOT be given an opportunity to turn it in the following week for full credit, as they are encouraged to turn it in on the Monday of each new week. If there are extenuating circumstances where a student misses an entire week of school due to illness or an emergency, then the student may turn in the make-up work with no penalty the following week (or the week they return).
Makeup Opportunity: Students who neglect to turn in a current event on a required week may still regain full credit for that missed week. They must simply submit two completed current event forms to make up for the missed required week. This opportunity for full credit retrieval is not available on extra-credit weeks. If you miss an extra credit week, that opportunity is lost - there is no makeup opportunity in this case - not even for partial credit.
The opportunity to retrieve credit for a missed required current event only lasts one week. For example, if a student in Period 3 forgets to turn in a required current event for week 1, then that student may turn in two completed current-event forms by the following Friday. If the Friday for week 2 arrives and the student has forgotten to complete the makeup work, then the opportunity to retrieve credit for the assignment has passed, and the student will receive a zero for that week's assignment.
If this seems confusing, the system will soon be understood as we get started in the school year. I have been running the current event assignment schedule like this for 5 years, and the students quickly adapt to the arrangement.
Please notice on the form itself that there is a place to report about a Criminal Justice article or an Economics article. Students are not given the choice to choose one or the other. I teach both Criminal Justice and Economics, and I use the same form for both classes. If you are in the Criminal Justice class, please report on a criminal justice issue. If you are in the Economics class or AP Economics class, please report on an economic issue. It is just easier to use a standard form for both classes than to create and distribute two different forms.
Please also notice that the article should relate to an issue that is affecting or taking place in the United States. Please do not report on issues occurring outside of the United States. I am looking for students to read articles that are directly relevant to them. Articles about the unemployment rate in Greece for example may be interesting, but the direct consequence for America may be tenuous at best. If the main thrust of the article however is how Greece's unemployment rate will affect the American economy (and the entire article focuses on how a foreign issue will impact the United States in particular), then that article will be acceptable. Very few articles focusing on foreign issues, however, are written from this perspective.
Suggested Current Event Links to Find Relevant Articles
AP Economics and Economics - Current Event Links
1) www.usatoday.com
2) www.money.cnn.com
3) www.abcnews.com
4) www.foxnews.com
5) www.time.com
6) www.newsweek.com
7) www.usnews.com
8) www.wsj.com (Wall Street Journal -limited “free features”; otherwise subscription)
9) www.msnbc.com
10) www.wsjclassroomedition.com -
Excellent Site for Young Adults!
11) www.ft.com - financial times
12) www.forbes.com
13) www.NYtimes.com - New York Times
14) www.fool.com - Motley Fool Financial Advisors and Stock Analysts
15) www.onlinenewspapers.com - link to almost every
newspaper in the world
16) http://news.google.com
17) www.thestreet.com - Investment and Wall Street News
18) www.economist.com - Mostly good for international news, some American too
19) www.currentevents.com
20) www.USAeconomist.com
21) http://www.americabusinessdaily.com/
22) http://www.nysenews.com/ - New York Stock Exchange News
23) www.fortune.com
24) www.businessweek.com
25) www.reuters.com
26) www.ap.org
27) www.azcentral.com
28) http://finance.yahoo.com
29) http://news.yahoo.com/business/us
30) http://money.cnn.com
31) http://money.cnn.com/news/economy
32) http://www.usatoday.com/money/front.htm
33) http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business
34) http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/home.asp
35) http://www.efinancialnews.com
36) http://www.economist.com
37) http://news.ft.com/home/us
Criminal Justice - Current Event Links
1) www.usatoday.com
2) www.cnn.com
3) www.abcnews.com
4) www.foxnews.com
5) www.time.com
6) www.newsweek.com
7) www.usnews.com
8) www.msnbc.com
9) www.reuters.com
10) http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=crime (google news with keyword "crime")
11) http://www.foxnews.com/national/crime/
12) http://www.topix.com/news/violent-crime
13) http://www.crimenews.info/
AP Economics and Economics - Current Event Links
1) www.usatoday.com
2) www.money.cnn.com
3) www.abcnews.com
4) www.foxnews.com
5) www.time.com
6) www.newsweek.com
7) www.usnews.com
8) www.wsj.com (Wall Street Journal -limited “free features”; otherwise subscription)
9) www.msnbc.com
10) www.wsjclassroomedition.com -
Excellent Site for Young Adults!
11) www.ft.com - financial times
12) www.forbes.com
13) www.NYtimes.com - New York Times
14) www.fool.com - Motley Fool Financial Advisors and Stock Analysts
15) www.onlinenewspapers.com - link to almost every
newspaper in the world
16) http://news.google.com
17) www.thestreet.com - Investment and Wall Street News
18) www.economist.com - Mostly good for international news, some American too
19) www.currentevents.com
20) www.USAeconomist.com
21) http://www.americabusinessdaily.com/
22) http://www.nysenews.com/ - New York Stock Exchange News
23) www.fortune.com
24) www.businessweek.com
25) www.reuters.com
26) www.ap.org
27) www.azcentral.com
28) http://finance.yahoo.com
29) http://news.yahoo.com/business/us
30) http://money.cnn.com
31) http://money.cnn.com/news/economy
32) http://www.usatoday.com/money/front.htm
33) http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business
34) http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/home.asp
35) http://www.efinancialnews.com
36) http://www.economist.com
37) http://news.ft.com/home/us
Criminal Justice - Current Event Links
1) www.usatoday.com
2) www.cnn.com
3) www.abcnews.com
4) www.foxnews.com
5) www.time.com
6) www.newsweek.com
7) www.usnews.com
8) www.msnbc.com
9) www.reuters.com
10) http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=crime (google news with keyword "crime")
11) http://www.foxnews.com/national/crime/
12) http://www.topix.com/news/violent-crime
13) http://www.crimenews.info/