October 19, 2015

Welcome to our AP Government class blog! Our activities on the blog will be in the green box located below. Read the activity and follow its instructions. When you are ready to answer the questions required, scroll down to the bottom of the blog page and click on add comment. Type your answers in the box that pops up and at the end of your answers, include your name. You MUST have your name in the comments box or you will NOT receive credit for your work. This is just like putting your name on your paper! ALSO, you must click anonymous from the drop down boxes listed below the comments box, since the comments are submitted to me for review and not published. If you leave the box for Google ID checked, your answers will be lost in space for all eternity (until you redo it!). If you have ANY questions, please let me know! Tip: If you have any doubts or fears about losing your work, do as I do, and copy and paste your answers into a Word document, Notepad, e-mail to yourself, etc., so you have an electronic copy as backup. I will be posting to the class blog on a weekly basis from now on, so stay tuned and check back frequently!

Be reminded that you lose participation points when you are caught on YouTube, Facebook, and similar sites. You may listen to music on a site like www.grooveshark.com that does NOT have videos. If music starts to interfere with your ability to complete your work or stay on task, you will lose that privilege.

Activity:

AP Government – Here are the objectives for today: I can explain what the goals are of a specific interest group. I can do research about an interest group to learn more about them. Tasks: Choose an interest group from the list below. Find their website to learn more about them. Click on the comments box on the blog and write a paragraph explaining what you have learned. You will look for stories that pertain to your interest group throughout the year. When you are done, look into history of the special interest you have chosen. How long has that issue been a concern? Examples of topics may include, the economcy, women’s issues, the environment, foreign affairs, healthcare, and so forth.

Interest Groups List

1.    American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

2.    American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

3.    American Dental Association (ADA)

4.    American Federation of Teachers

5.    American Shareholders Association

6.    American Wind Energy Association

7.    Americans for Prosperity

8.    The Center for Education Reform

9.    The Center for International Policy

10. Clean Water Action

11. Conservative Review

12. Council on American-Islamic Relations

13. Food Policy Action

14. Human Rights Campaign

15. The Humane Society of the United States

16. Keep America Safe

17. League of Women Voters

18. Marijuana Policy Project

19. National Association of Counties

20. National Association of Manufacturers

21. National Association of Police Organizations

22. National Farmers Union

23. National Organization for Women (NOW)

24. National Retail Federation

25. National Rifle Association (NRA)

26. National Right to Life Committee

27. National Trust for Historic Preservation

28. Partnership for America

29. People for the American Way

30. The Sierra Club

31. Tea Party Express

32. United Mine Workers of America

33. United States Chamber of Commerce

34. Women Employed