Week 2- Level 1 Challenge Option: Civic Vocabulary Search

CIVIC VOCABULARY SEARCH

Many mayors and governors, as well as the President of the United States, have annual obligations to deliver a speech describing the "state" of the city, state, or the United States. Get your flashlights and running shoes out: this Challenge is a scavenger hunt! The field of play is “state of the X” speeches and you must hunt for the vocabulary of American public and civic life. Like any good search, you have to search in a variety of places for a diversity of objects.

Once you have completed the assignment, submit your work on the Module 2 Level 1 Challenge page.

PREPARATION

Review the civics glossary at the Annenberg Institute for Civics at the University of Pennsylvania Links to an external site.. These are the terms you need to look for while viewing the “state of the X” speeches. Be aware that political leaders can use the idea of popular sovereignty (or social movements, or civil liberties, etc.) without actually saying the words. Reading the explanations and definitions will help you recognize these uses (which count!). With the found term, be sure to quote and cite the relevant portion of the speech.
Locate at least two “state of the X” speeches from different levels of government (e.g., a president and a governor). Feel free to search for these speeches however you would like or to use the resources provided for you.

ACTION

Your goal is to find the use of at least seven terms across the two “state of the X” speeches you chose. Read your speeches and identify the terms. For each term, you must provide:

The 4 Ws: Who said it, When did s/he say it, in What speech did s/he say it, and Where did s/he say it (Be sure to include the URL)
The Term and a brief definition from the Annenberg Classroom site
The Quote in which it was said
Your Understanding of the term in the context of the speech.

An example is provided here Download An example is provided here

. Notice how term is “equality” but its usage in the quote is “equal.” Remember: this counts! As long as the usage matches the meaning or concept of the term from the Annenberg Classroom site, it counts!

REFLECTION

Write a 4- to 5-sentence paragraph evaluating how political leaders use the vocabulary of civic life when communicating with the American people.

RESOURCES

Title	Terms, Annenberg Classroom
URL	http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/terms Links to an external site.
Annotation	Online dictionaries for civics can be too brief, poorly written, or ideologically charged. This dictionary from The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics at the University of Pennsylvania has collected some of the best explanations of common civics-related vocabulary in their “terms” section.

Title	The American Presidency Project, “State of the Union Addresses and Messages”
URL	http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php Links to an external site.
Annotation	This resource from the University of California-Santa Barbara includes every State of the Union ever given by a U.S. President.

Title	Project VoteSmart “Public Statements/Gubernatorial/Florida/Officials”
URL	http://votesmart.org/public-statements/FL/G/?section=officials Links to an external site.
Annotation	The State of Florida Archives only has State of the State speeches from 1921 to 2001 and copies are only available after the payment of the fee. Project VoteSmart has copies of all of the public statements of the Florida Governor, including State of the State addresses, for the current sitting governor.

RUBRIC

	No credit	Below expectations	Meets expectations
The Speeches	Only one speech is used.	Two speeches used, but they both come from the same level of government.	The student uses at least 2 speeches from 2 different levels of government.
The Vocabulary	The student identifies 4 or fewer terms.	The student identifies 5-6 terms.	The student identifies 7 terms.
Understanding	The student does not properly quote each term AND/OR does not thoughtfully explains his/her understanding of the term in the context of the speech.	The student properly quotes each term and but fails to thoughtfully explains his/her understanding of the term in the context of the speech.	The student properly quotes each term and thoughtfully explains his/her understanding of the term in the context of the speech.
Reflection	The student did not complete the Reflection portion of the Challenge.	The student responds to both reflection prompts, but the responses are not fully developed and appear to be lacking detail or thoughtful reflection.	The student provides a complete and thoughtful response to the Reflection prompt.