Some controversies arise when our shared values and principles conflict with one another. Police “stop-and-frisk” policy is one such issue. In stop-and-frisk, police officers stop, question, and conduct a pat-down search of pedestrians or occupants of cars. This unit will allow students the opportunity to explore and evaluate this issue through a variety of nonfiction sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the authors’ arguments. The focus of this unit is on the close reading of texts, and on building and supporting an argument.

This Unit contains 4 lessons:
Lesson 1: Stop-and-frisk Overview
Lesson 2: Analysis of Court Opinion
Lesson 3: Stop-and-frisk Evaluating the Positions
Lesson 4: Stop-and-frisk Debate

You have learned that there are different areas of social studies and different kinds of social scientists. You learned that geographers study geography and economists study economics. This chapter is about civics, another important area of social studies. Civics is the study of government and the role people play in government. But who studies civics??? Civicsers? Civicsists? It’s a little more complicated this time. Political scientists study civics! Politics is just another name for government. But wait, what is government? Government is a system that people use to provide order and make decisions. It is also a system for distributing power like the power to make laws and the power to enforce laws. It is also a system for regulating the conduct of people, or how people
behave.

" In this course we examine the relationship between public policy and urban design through readings, discussions, presentations, and papers. We also analyze the ways in which policies shape cities, and investigate how governments implement urban design. Students gain a critical understanding of both the complex system of governance within which urban design occurs and the effective tools available for creative intervention."

Virtual Field Trip to Washington, D.C. including the 3 branches of government, monuments and museums. Students keep a digital scrapbook to demonstrate their learning.