Oil On Ice - Bullfrog Films

Oil on Ice
A Film by Bo Boudart
and Dale Djerassi
STUDY GUIDE
A GUIDE TO THE FILM FOR TEACHERS AND DISCUSSION LEADERS
Introduction from Carl Pope,
Sierra Club executive director
www.sierraclub.org
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of America’s last unspoiled wild places. This stunning film documents the majesty
and grandeur of the Refuge, its wildlife, and native cultures and its place in the center of America’s national energy debate.
Oil on Ice gives a front row seat in the battle to protect our
natural heritage against oil speculators, and the rigs, pipelines
and roads that it brings with them. Beautiful and engaging, Oil
on Ice will not only educate you on this important issue - it will
motivate you to act.
Carl Pope
- Sierra Club Executive Director
Oil on Ice a one-hour
film airing in select
markets on public televiThe DVD version contains
a fully interactive DVD ROM
grassroots action toolkit
and special features.
www.oilonice.org
Oil on Ice can be
purchased or rented
on DVD.
Contact:
Bullfrog Films
P.O. Box 149
Oley PA 19547
Phone: (800) 543-3764
(610) 779-8226
Fax:
(610) 370-1978
[email protected]
www.bullfrogfilms.com
Oil on Ice
1
From the Filmmakers:
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of America’s last great wild
places. Our dependence on fossil fuels for energy is a global crisis.
The development and implementation of clean, renewable energy
sources is an objective upheld by people across the political spectrum.
The disappearance of indigenous cultures on our planet is decried by
anthropologists and humanitarians around the world.
In Oil on Ice, we have attempted to show the viewer that these issues,
although frequently considered separately, are in fact inextricably
intertwined.
Oil on Ice is a 57-minute documentary film that undertakes to explore the story behind the headlines about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the debate over drilling for oil there. The abundance
and variety of wildlife that lives in, or annually migrates to, the Arctic
Refuge is featured. Existing oil extraction and transportation activities in neighboring regions are seen. Our dependence on fossil fuels
produces air pollutiants that lead to negative health effects and global
climate change. Conservation and efficiency measures that greatly
reduce these emmissions, combined with cleaner, safer, renewable
alternatives to fossil fuels, are considered by a variety of experts and
policy-makers. The Gwich’in Athabascan and Inupiat Eskimo cultures
are revealed by Alaskan Natives, themselves.
These are a lot of subjects to try to cover in less than one hour.
Rather than deal with each issue exhaustively, we have tried to touch
on the range of issues as an interconnected whole.
As a variety of interests attempt to influence policy and as policymakers debate these issues, it is important for the public to stay informed
and involved. In Oil on Ice, we hope and believe that we have made a
positive contribution toward that goal.
Dale Djerassi
Oil on Ice
2
From the Filmmakers:
Not many Americans have had a chance to see Alaska’s Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge and probably not many ever will. When this place was
chosen for oil drilling by the U.S. Congress, we chose to produce this
documentary as a way to show many the beauty and the importance
of an irreplaceable arctic wilderness whose diversity of wildlife is
unparalleled on this continent. What we show in Oil on Ice is that one
cannot necessarily trust our Congress to make the right decisions for us.
Not long ago, the federal government had also made a decision to flood
the Grand Canyon with a hydroelectric dam, but because many more
Americans voiced their opposition it was stopped.
As you will see, Alaska native cultures have also witnessed dramatic
changes on the lands and waters they still use for hunting and fishing.
They are worried about how oil development could jeopardize and even
destroy their way of life. Protecting wildlife and wild places around the
world has become a struggle to protect health and their well-being of all
peoples on the planet.
We chose experts who state that burning too much oil already is
affecting our way of life and also the earth’s climate. Oil on Ice
presents the voices of common sense, indigenous peoples’ wisdom,
and scientists’ data. We also see politicians present their arguments for
and against oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge. The solutions to our energy
needs really lie in demands to adopt better energy technologies and
transportation that burn much less oil or none at all.
We have tried to show that issues concerning wildlife conservation,
energy use, human rights, health, and protection of the environment are
all related to how we each consume energy.
Saving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will depend on our individual
willingness to develop a new attitude toward energy use. We can choose
more efficient technologies that are now available in the market place—
whether it is solar-energy home appliances or hybrid vehicles.
By adopting these new values and attitudes, we will become more
conscious of our energy consumption, and places like the Arctic Refuge
will be permanently protected for all us.
Bo Boudart
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3
TEACHER GUIDE
CONTENTS
“The Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge is a
national treasure. It
should be protected. But
there’s also and energy
storehouse that America
needs to have access to.”
Tony Knowles,
Former Alaska Governor
Overview, Objectives, Length, Target Grades
Materials, Instructor Prep
Viewing Activities
•
Day 1: To Drill or Not to Drill
•
Day 2: Who Needs the Fuel?
Extension Activities
•
A Sense of Place (Geography, Life Sciences)
•
Running the Numbers on Fuel Consumption (Math, Economics)
•
Take Action! (Writing, Civics)
Springboards
•
What Happened to the Herring?
•
Fish Crashes and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
•
Global “Weirding”
•
The Kyoto Protocol
•
You Make the Public Service Announcement (PSA)
Resource Materials
•
Sample Student Viewing Worksheet
•
Maps from Oil on Ice
•
Web Map Links
--Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain
--National Petroleum Refuge Area
--“1002” Area
•
Academic Alignments and Benchmarks
•
Endnotes
“Once the oil is gone and
the oil companies are
gone, then what’s going
to happen after that?”
Charlie Swaney
Gwich’in Tribe
OVERVIEW
The fate of migrating caribou, the Gwich’in people, and a fragile ecosystem in the Arctic
National Refuge is tied to the decisions we make thousands of miles away about energy policy
and transportation.
However, the issues run deeper than to drill or not to drill. Even without oil drilling, the arctic
wilderness is affected by the burning of fossil fuels all over the planet. Because of global
weather patterns, the first effects of global warming are seen in the Arctic. An average
temperature increase of 7 degrees over the last thirty years has thinned the arctic ice pack by
40%. Glaciers are shrinking and the coastline is retreating, dramatically affecting the patterns
of plant and animal life.
Increased fuel efficiency could eliminate the need for any new source of oil from the Arctic.
And with predictions that known oil stocks will run out by mid-century, alternatives are
necessary.
There are two days of Viewing Activities and three Extension Activities in this Teacher’s Guide.
There is also a wealth of additional information for educators. Look in the Springboard area for
topics of additional interest.
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4
We can depend on the
land, we can’t depend on
the jobs. The jobs don’t
feed us all winter long…”
--Rosemary
Ahtuangaruak
Mayor, Nuiqsut
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
•
Review Oil On Ice documentary actively, using critical thinking and viewing skills to
examine a complex situation.
Day 1: Drill or Not to Drill?
Day 2: Who Needs the Fuel?
•
Utilize information from Oil On Ice as a starting point for extension activities.
A Sense of Place (Geography, Life Sciences)
Running the Numbers on Fuel Consumption (Math, Economics)
Take Action! (Writing, Civics)
ACADEMIC ALIGNMENTS and BENCHMARKS
The viewing activities and extension activities in this Teacher Guide have been aligned with
the McRel1 Academic Benchmarks. For details, see the Academic Alignments and Benchmarks
section.
LENGTH
Viewing: two 45 or 55-minute class periods. Extension activities: 45 minutes each. Teachers
are encouraged to mix-and-match viewing Oil On Ice with extension activities as appropriate
for their classrooms.
TARGET GRADES
This unit is targeted for grades 9-12, though they can be adapted for younger students.
MATERIALS
DVD copy of Oil on Ice, DVD player, TV. To order the DVD, see the Bullfrog Films web site:
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com . To see online video clips from the documentary, see
http://www.oilonice.org .
INSTRUCTOR PREP
Review DVD, the activities in this Teacher’s Guide and the Oil on Ice web site before class.
The full-length documentary is 60 minutes long.
The DVD contains:
•
A short overview of the documentary
•
The full version of the documentary
•
Special Features (additional interviews, the Gwich’in song heard in the documentary,
a Gwich’in elders’ statement, comments from middle and high school students,
biographies, and credits)
•
Grassroots Action Toolkit
•
Information on how to use the DVD
Review worksheet sample, maps, and other support materials and make copies or adapt as
needed for your students.
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VIEWING ACTIVITIES
“We don’t have to
choose between drilling
for oil in the Arctic
Refuge or…driving our
cars to work. All we have
to do is ask the auto
industry to use modern
technology and stop
wasting gas.”
--Carl Pope, Sierra Club
These Viewing Activities are aligned with McRel benchmarks in Economics,
History/Historical Understanding, Language Arts and Life Sciences. For details,
see the Academic Alignments and Benchmarks section.
Time codes given are approximate, as they vary among DVD players.
Day 1: To Drill or Not to Drill….
Tell students that they will be watching a DVD and taking notes on the pros
and cons of drilling for oil on the people, wild lands and wildlife, and energy.
If appropriate, indicate that the DVD will take more than one class period
to view and discuss. Pass out worksheets. (See sample in the Resource
Materials.) As they view Oil On Ice, students will be looking for and taking
notes on the pros and cons per drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge--for the community, wildlife and wild lands and energy.
Start DVD. Stop DVD when you see an oil-soaked bird and hear “…and when
the spill happened the entire sound became silent…” (13:18).
Students use their notes to answer discussion questions. Possible discussion
questions--
“When oil was discovered
in Prudhoe Bay, they
needed to resolve issues
of Alaska Natives’ claims
to the land before they
could proceed with oil
development…so the
Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act was
Passed very, very
quickly.”
--Adeline Peter Raboff
Gwich’in Author and
Activist
•
Are oil companies proposing drilling for oil all over the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge? (A small chunk of the refuge is under dispute—the
1002 area.)
•
Why is it a problem if only a small area will be used for oil
exploration? (No right or wrong answers—this question sets up
additional viewing and discussion.)
•
What might Oil on Ice might look like if an oil company was making
the film? (No right or wrong answers—this question sets up the next
block of viewing.)
Students will continue making notes. Start DVD. STOP you see a cabin
overshadowed by the Kuparuk oil development and you hear George
Ahmaogak say, “…and I use Nuiqsut as an example because they’re the ones
that are now totally surrounded by pipe.” (32:14)
Students use their notes to answer discussion questions. Possible questions-•
How long do you think this family will keep returning to their cabin?
•
If the caribou aren’t coming by the family cabin, where are they
going?
•
What would some possible effects be if the oil companies pulled out
of Alaska…tomorrow? (Loss of jobs and revenue, long term effects of
drilling….)
•
Do you think that all Alaska natives participated in the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act?
•
Where does Alaska’s oil go? (Sets up Day Two viewing.)
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VIEWING ACTIVITIES
“The US oil dependence
is not going to be
substantially affected
by drilling in the arctic
refuge.
Recognize that once the
oil is tapped, it is not our
oil, it is owned by…oil
companies.
…oil owned by Chevron
in the Arctic Refuge is
no different than oil
owned by Chevron in
Kazakstan…it’s part of a
world oil market.
--Severin Borenstein
University of California,
Energy Institute
Day 2: Who Needs the Fuel?
Start DVD where you left off on day one and play DVD to the end. Students
will continue making notes today on worksheets. Students use their notes to
answer discussion questions. Possible discussion questions-•
Where does Alaska oil go? (Oil companies sell their oil wherever they
wish to.)
•
Where will the caribou move to if there is oil development in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
•
Is there a choice between drilling for oil or saving the wildlife refuge?
(Don’t have to choose between drilling or the refuge—things than can
be done to protect the environment are not costly, but they are not
profitable.)
•
Why do you think that the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol?
•
What can YOU do to reduce oil/gas consumption?
Calculate your own Ecological Footprint and/or do an Energy Audit of your
home or school.
The Earth Day Network has an online Questionnaire1 to calculate an
individual ecological footprint. Go a step further and calculate the Ecological
Footprint of a country. 2
The Home Energy Saver 3 has an online do-it-yourself home energy audit
and also has a comprehensive area for educators.
1
http://www.myfootprint.org/
2
http://www.ecouncil.ac.cr/rio/focus/report/english/footprint/
3
http://hes.lbl.gov/
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EXTENSION ACTIVITY
A SENSE OF PLACE
“..You know when you
study dance you gotta
repeat the motions over
and over again ‘til you
know how to do this
motion. This is my body
becoming part of this
tundra. And so I know
this motion…and it feels
good.”
Adeline Peter Raboff
Gwich’in Author, Activist
This Extension Activity is aligned with McRel benchmarks in Geography and
Life Sciences. For details, see the Academic Alignments and Benchmarks
section.
REVIEW Oil on Ice to:
•
create a timeline for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
(review material from approximately 8:33 to 10:41). Use the
information from this video to explore what is going on in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today.
•
compare and contrast the competing uses for the Refuge, including
tracking the migration of the Porcupine Caribou herds. (See the Map
Resources on page 9.)
•
look at the ties of the people to the land—both Native and nonnative. Review interviews with fisherman Robbie Maxwell (starts
13:20); Eyak Activist Dune Lankard (13:15 and 19:00); Gwich’in
author/activist Adeline Peter Raboff and Gwich’in Charlie Swaney
(20:19 through 24:00); and George Ahmaogak, Leonard Lampe, and
Rosemary and Rodney Ahtuangaruak (27:54 – 33:38)
•
What did the Gwich’in hunt? What do you think they ate season to
season? What is their diet like now?
•
Compare your sense of “place” with that of the Gwich’in. Have you
lived in the same place all your life? Have you moved around? Is
there anywhere that you would consider your “ancestral” home?
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EXTENSION ACTIVITY
RUNNING THE NUMBERS ON FUEL CONSUMPTION
“A car puts out it’s own weight on
CO2 every year. The World burns
about a cubic mile of oil every
year. America burns about 10,000
gallons a second.”1
“In the period of dramatic oil
savings…that was 1977 to 1985,
the U.S. economy grew 27%. Oil
use fell 17%, oil imports fell by
half. Oil imports from the Persian
Gulf fell 87%. If we had kept that
up for one more year, into 1986,
we would have eliminated imports
from the Gulf…and we wouldn’t
have needed any ever since.”3
This Extension Activity is aligned with McRel benchmarks in
Mathematics and Economics. For details, see the Academic
Alignments and Benchmarks section.
Break down the numbers.
•
How much does a car weigh? (Subcompacts, compacts,
sedans, SUVs, trucks, etc.)
•
What is the annual CO2 output of your car and/or your
family car? Start by looking at the Earth Trends 2 web site.
You’ll find a graph of average CO2 emissions by vehicle type
(subcompact-pickup truck) and by manufacturer (BMW,
Food, GM, Honda and others). Go a step farther—what is the
CO2 output of a school bus?
•
Estimate how many cars are in use in your school, block,
town, neighborhood, etc. How much CO2 is being produced
where you live?
•
How much, in gallons, is a cubic mile of oil?
•
10,000 gallons of oil burned a second equals how many
gallons of oil burned in a year?
•
How does America’s oil consumption match the world’s oil
consumption?
•
What fuel-saving measures were used from 1977 to 1985?
•
What fuel-saving measures are in use today?
•
How many cars were in use in the U.S. between 1977 and
1985?
•
How much oil (in barrels or gallons) was being imported
from the Persian Gulf?
•
How does this compare to the amount of oil coming from the
Persian Gulf today?
•
How does the amount of oil coming from the Persian Gulf
compare to the amount of oil coming from Alaska?
Discussion Question: do you think that if the U.S. had kept using fuel
economy measures that the U.S. would no longer be dependent on
foreign oil—or need to drill for Alaska oil?
“The revenues from hydrocarbons
in Alaska have created a
permanent fund from which every
resident in Alaska receives an
annual payment. And 85% of the
general revenue in Alaska comes
from oil and gas royalties. And
that’s pretty addictive politically.
It’s hard to wean yourself from
that kind of dependence.” (Amory
Lovins)
How much money does each Alaska resident receive? Does every
resident receive the same amount of money? How much money does
the state of Alaska receive for oil and gas royalties?
Discussion Question: How would the state of Alaska make up the
dollars lost from oil and gas royalties?
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EXTENSION ACTIVITY
TAKE ACTION!
“Oil on Ice is the result of ordinary
people realizing that action is necessary
to protect our vital interests. In a
democracy, it is our responsibility
to speak up if the system is not
representing our concerns.” http://
www.oilonice.org/act/general.php
This Extension Activity is aligned with McRel benchmarks in Language
Arts (Writing) and Civics. For details, see the Academic Alignments and
Benchmarks section.
Review the Grassroots Action Toolkit on the Oil on Ice DVD or online at
http://www.oilonice.org/act/ .
You will find:
•
A downloadable Oil on Ice poster (2 sizes)
•
information on how to write letters, faxes and email to your
federal representatives—including a sample letter.
•
How to arrange meetings with elected officials.
•
How to make your point at public meetings.
•
Information on hosting a house party
•
A Grassroots Fundraising Guide for Social Justice Organizations.
Review the segment on Betsy Rosenberg and “Don’t Be Fueled” (47:00).
She organized “soccer moms” to protest the rejection of higher mileage
standards for SUVs.
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10
SPRINGBOARDS
Topics of additional interest to educators.
TOPIC
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HERRING?
Herring are a cornerstone species in Prince William Sound.
TIME CODE
13:18 – 14:30
“We haven’t fished herring since then (1991) and I used to fish herring every single year.”
Robbie Maxwell, Cordova Fisherman
FISH CRASHES AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
After the Exxon Valdez oil spill, fish populations dropped dramatically in Prince William Sound.
16:45
“…scientists began looking at what’s called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons….Exxon is calling
these compounds environmentally benign…In fact, they cause long term reproductive damage
to birds, fish and mammals….seeing decreased productivity of our coastal ecosystems over
time, until finally, where did everything go?” Dr. Riki Ott, Marine Toxicologist
GLOBAL “WEIRDING”
Global warming is affecting arctic areas first. Why?
42:45-44:17
“I like the…term ‘global weirding’ for climate change. Global warming is a bit too much
shorthand because it will get warmer in some places , colder in other places, wetter in some,
drier in some…” Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute
THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
Who are the countries who accepted the Kyoto Protocol? Besides the United States, what other
countries rejected the Protocol? Why?
50:51
“Unlike the United States, which rejected the Kyoto Protocol, other countries are developing
more efficient transportation technologies.”
YOU MAKE THE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT (PSA)
Oil on Ice shows two points of view about what happened after the Exxon Valdez oil spill—one
from Exxon showing that everything was fine, another from researchers showing that just the
opposite was true. Challenge students to create Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) showing
opposite points of view.
14:45-15:08
“The very next year Exxon started pumping out glossy brochures…to convince people that
everything had recovered in Prince William Sound.” Dr. Riki Ott, Marine Toxicologist
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11
RESOURCES
Sample Oil On Ice Student Worksheet
NAME
DATE
COMMUNITY
PRO
CON
WILD LANDS and WILDLIFE
PRO
CON
PRO
CON
ENERGY
(Sample) Questions
(1) Are oil companies proposing drilling for oil all over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
(2) What would some possible effects be if the oil companies pulled out of Alaska…tomorrow?
(3) Where does Alaska oil go – and why?
(4) Is there a choice between drilling for oil or saving the wildlife refuge?
(6) Why do you think that the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol?
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12
RESOURCES: Maps
TIME CODES FOR THE MAPS SEEN IN OIL ON ICE.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arctic National Refuge, Prudhoe Bay (8:17, 8:24, 8:33)
Section 1002 (11:16)
Gwich’in Lands (19:48)
Gwich’in Lands, Caribou Migration (19:59)
1002 Area and Caribou Calving Area (23:59)
Kaktovik Island (33:38)
MAP RESOURCES FROM THE WEB
Oil and Gas Development: Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain
For the complete map and map legend, see InfoRain, http://www.inforain.org/maparchive/anwr_2.htm
National Petroleum Reserve Area
For more information, see Defenders of Wildlife
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/arctic/fws/images/oildevel.jpg
1002 Area
See the USGS web site for several views of the 1002 are.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-0028-01.pdf
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13
RESOURCES: Academic Standards
Source: McREL (Mid Continent Research for Education and Learning) Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp
VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Economics
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=15
•
•
•
•
•
Understands
Understands
incentives
Understands
Understands
Understands
that scarcity of productive resources requires choices that generate opportunity costs
characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic
the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy
basic features of market structures and exchanges
the roles government plays in the United States economy
History and Historical Understanding
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=3
•
•
Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns
Understands the historical perspective
Language Arts (Viewing, Reading and Writing)
Click on the standard below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7
•
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
Life Sciences
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=2
•
•
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
EXTENSION ACTIVITY: A SENSE OF PLACE
GEOGRAPHY
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at.
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=8
The World In Spatial Terms
•
Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools and technologies
•
Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment
•
Understands the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of Earth's surface
Places
•
•
•
And Regions
Understands the physical and human characteristics of place
Understands the concept of regions
Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions
Environment and Society
•
Understands how human actions modify the physical environment
•
Understands how physical systems affect human systems
•
Understands the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources
LIFE SCIENCES
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=2
•
•
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
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14
EXTENSION ACTIVITY: RUNNING THE NUMBERS ON FUEL CONSUMPTION
Math
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=1
•
•
•
•
Uses a variety of strategies in the problem-solving process
Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of numbers
Uses basic and advanced procedures while performing the processes of computation
Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of measurement
Economics
Click on the standards below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=15
•
•
•
•
•
Understands
Understands
incentives
Understands
Understands
Understands
that scarcity of productive resources requires choices that generate opportunity costs
characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic
the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy
basic features of market structures and exchanges
the roles government plays in the United States economy
TAKE ACTION!
Language Arts: Writing (Viewing, Reading and Writing)
Click on the standard below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7
Writing
•
•
•
•
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions
Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Civics
Click on the standard below to find more detailed descriptions. The complete list of topics in this academic area are at
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=14
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American
Democracy?
• Understands what is meant by "the public agenda," how it is set, and how it is influenced by public opinion
and the media
• Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations and groups in American
politics
• Understands the formation and implementation of public policy
What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?
•
•
Understands how participation in civic and political life can help citizens attain individual and public goals
Understands the importance of political leadership, public service, and a knowledgeable citizenry in
American constitutional democracy.
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