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Teaching the major, national political events is great fun, but as Tip O'Neill famously said, "All politics is local." Just as students should understand our federal institutions, they should also understand the day-to-day impact of local government on their lives. Counties employ 3.6 million to provide services to almost 308 million residents. Use our new and engaging resources to support your students in learning about how it's all organized, who's in charge, what it means, and how they can get involved.

Summer is just around the corner, so keep calm, carry on, and #TeachLocal

New! My County Works Activity Book for Elementary School

“My County Works” is a county government activity book for children. It is designed to introduce students to counties’ vast responsibilities and the important role counties play in our lives every day.

Local Government Unit

This new high school unit covers county, municipal, and tribal governments. Students investigate their own local governments and look at case studies that highlight the roles of these governments in everyday life.

County Contributions Infographic

From Public Safety to Parks and Recreation—keep track of the many services provided by county government with this printable infographic for your classroom!

County Solutions for High School

We’ve given our middle school civic action unit, County Solutions, a makeover for our growing high school audience. Students work their way from identifying a problem in their community to creating solutions, then are shown how to advocate for their voices to be heard. In this 10-step lesson series, students learn and practice research, analysis, and advocacy skills as they develop a plan to “move the needle” on their chosen issue.

County Solutions for Middle School

County Solutions is a nine-step process for creating an action plan to resolve a community issue. In this series of lessons, students learn about current events, the role of local government, and the variety of outreach methods available to average citizens working to influence public policy.

Counties Work

Counties Work lets you learn about local government by giving you the important job of county official, responsible for juggling citizen requests. Keep citizens happy and manage county resources responsibly! You will have to decide if citizens are making sensible requests and determine which department of local government has the solution. Make the call on whether to raise or lower taxes to keep a balanced budget. How will citizens react? What’s the best action when a crisis strikes? Challenges and opportunities come from all directions in this fast-paced game!
These resources were made with support from NACo   
Check out NACo’s County Explorer tool to learn more about your county.