Teacher Resources for Instructional Planning


Grade 7, Civics Std 1.3: Explaining essential characteristics of the political systems of the United States

Lesson Plans: Caucuses and Primaries: The Presidential Nominating System Introduce students to the system of primaries and caucuses by which candidates for U.S. president are nominated by their parties. Hilary G. Conklin's "What is Representative Government?" This 10-week unit (lessons in unit may be used individually) is designed to engage middle school students in a series of creative and multi-disciplinary activities that will help them understand representative government - how the ideas for representative government evolved, how our current Congress functions, and how today's citizens can participate in representative government. An Introduction to Representative Government In this lesson, students compare rule-making by one to rule-making by many through simulations, class discussions, and the creation of a Venn diagram. Dear Presidential Diary: In this creative writing exercise, students develop five first-person diary entries exploring the duties and privileges of the presidency. Government Lesson Plan After completing this lesson, the student will demonstrate understanding of the structure and functions of government and politics in the United States. The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power: Between State and Federal Governments Students compare the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution, analyzing why weaknesses in the former led to the creation of the latter. Then they examine the resulting system of government formed by the Constitution, investigating the relationship between federal and state governments as they exist today. Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Tally of the 1824 Electoral College Vote After completing this lesson students will explain how the U.S. Constitution grants and distributes power to national and state government and how it seeks to prevent the abuse of power. (This lesson can for modified for 7th grade.)

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