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Foundations of Government
Students will examine the purpose, forms, and limitations on government. They will learn about key philosophers like John Locke and explore practical examples of government functions. Students will complete this unit with an understanding of different forms of government, key influences on American democratic principles, and distinguishing features of governments around the world.
Lesson Plan
Students participate in an interactive PowerPoint presentation, gathering information on the features of the state and the function of government. Mini-quizzes along the way assess understanding. Students then create a profile for a fictional, sovereign state, and determine how specific features of the state affect the functions of government. Students must then set the agenda and budgetary priorities for the new state.
Lesson Plan
Through a PowerPoint presentation or reading, students explore several different forms of government ranging from democracy, to oligarchy, to anarchy. Students use a semantic features analysis chart to analyze the key features of each form of government. Using information from the chart, they then complete, compare, and contrast sentences. As a vocabulary review, students match vocabulary terms with their definitions using a self-assessing magic square activity. Finally, students reflect on and share their own opinions about forms of government.
Lesson Plan
This lesson begins with a reading on the Peruvian government under President Alberto Fujimori. Students identify limits on President Fujimori’s government, ways that President Fujimori changed the government to establish greater power, and the outcomes of an unlimited government. Students are given an interactive presentation introducing them to the concepts of “limits on government.” Students then look at narratives about fictional governments and determine what limits they have in place.
Lesson Plan
By illustrating and sorting captions, students follow the development of John Locke's theory on natural rights. They then become familiar with Thomas Hobbes’ statement about life in a state of nature by exploring their own opinions in comparison to those of Hobbes. Students learn the vocabulary associated with the philosophy of the purpose of government through an activity called “word math.”
Lesson Plan
Students learn about the rule of law and how it protects individual rights and freedoms. By performing short, scripted skits that illustrate what life might be like without the rule of law, students identify six factors that make up the rule of law and analyze how each factor affects daily life. Students then make connections between the rule of law and America’s founding documents and think about the relationship between the rule of law factors.
Lesson Plan
Through a narrative reading, students explore influential individuals and groups that helped shape five key features of American democracy: consent of the governed, representative democracy, rule of law, individual rights, and checks and balances. Students create a timeline of influences and correctly identify examples of the five features of American democracy in action. Finally, students participate in a memory matching game that requires them to match purpose of government terms, definitions, and fill-in-the-blank sentences.
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