This booklet helps the students in understanding the role of local government. It explores their idea of interests, duties, and characteristics. It also helps you in understanding the purpose of local government.
1. rd 3
Grade
Explorer-Pack
Explorer:
_________________________________
Class:
____________________________________
Exploration:
Why do we have a Local Government?
Created
by
Adam
Chisholm
Social
Studies
Core
Content
4.1
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Topic: local government Activate
Schema:
what
do
you
already
know
about
local
government?
What
is
the
government,
why
do
we
have
one?
What
does
the
government
do?
______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Learning Targets: I
can
identify
the
basic
characteristics
of
local
government
Local
–
the
city
or
county
in
which
a
citizen
lives
is
his
or
her
local
community.
Local
government
is
city
or
county
government
Services
–
actions
that
the
government
does
to
take
care
of
the
citizens
it
represents
Government
–
a
person
or
group
of
people
whose
job
is
to
lead
a
community
and
provide
for
its
safety,
care,
and
growth
1. Youtube
video
linked
later
in
packet
2. Optional
brainpopjr.
Video
on
local
government
3. Article
on
local
government
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Read the News: What is local government? Local Government in the Real-World By Toby McBoodles So, you’re a kid right? Your life right now is all about school, homework, family, and doing activities or sports that you enjoy. Sometimes it might seem like there’s the kid world and there’s the grown-up world that someday you’ll get to be a part of. You might have even gotten the idea that there’s stuff you learn at school, and then there’s the “real-world” that your teachers want you to use all that stuff they teach you in. Wouldn’t it be nice if your teacher, parents, and other kids realized that this time right now is your real world? And even better yet, it’d be nice if they realized that you’re ready to learn about those things in the grown-up world? After all, how are you going to know what to do when you’re an adult, if you don’t learn about the grown-up world as you grow up? Here’s a good example. You’ve probably heard your teacher, parents, or maybe even people bringing the news on TV talking about government. If you’re like most kids, you probably think that things like “government” or “taxes” are words for grownups to understand. Or, if you do know about the government, it probably feels like it’s too big and too far away to affect a kid like you. Not true: here are the basics that you need to know because guess what; government affects you a whole lot! And you need to know how. First of all, the government is a group of people who are supposed to lead and take care of a larger group of citizens. In America, we have a federal government that leads our whole country, a state government that leads your home state, and a
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local government that leads your city or county. Local government is closest to you, so it affects you the most. Why do we need a local government? Well, the local governments job is to make and enforce laws that keep citizens in your community safe and cared for. Laws make sure that people respect each other’s rights and follow through on their responsibilities. The local government studies the community it serves and then makes decisions they think will be good for the community. The big idea for you to remember is this: local governments should be in touch with what the citizens need, and they exist to keep the citizens safe, cared for, and free to enjoy their rights. There are different kinds of local government, but most of them have the following jobs: a mayor to represent the people and inform them of new laws and community issues, a city council of some sort to make laws and put them into place, and a court system that determines if people have broken the law and need to be punished. As a kid, you might think that you can’t be involved in government. You can! If you have a problem in your neighborhood like cars driving too fast, bullies at the park or pollution in your local stream, you can participate in government to make a change. Contacting your mayor’s office or council representative is a good place to start. The main thing is, talk to your government, and remember that you are a citizen too. The government exists to serve YOU!
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Plan Your Exploration: What is local government? Before
you
explore,
make
sure
you
study
this
checklist
and
check
with
your
teacher
if
you
aren’t
sure
where
things
are
located.
You’ll
need
a
pencil
You’ll
need
this
packet
and
something
hard
to
write
on
like
a
clipboard,
whiteboard,
or
book.
You’ll
need
to
make
sure
you
have
access
to
a
computer
or
SmartBoard
that
is
hooked
up
to
the
computer.
You’ll
need
to
have
a
partner
picked
out
for
these
next
several
activities,
so
think
about
whom
you’d
like
to
work
with
that
would
be
a
helpful
partner
and
not
tempt
you
to
play.
Begin
by
watching
the
YouTube
video
on
local
government
linked
at
http://youtu.be/5TBOGhA9hdI
You
can
either
have
your
teacher
open
this
for
you,
or
you
can
go
to
the
computer
and
type
it
in
to
the
address
bar
of
your
browser.
Watch
the
video
once.
Then
use
the
viewing
guide
on
the
next
page
to
reflect.
Watch
the
video
again
if
you
aren’t
sure
of
the
answer.
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Once Upon a Time, Local Government… Viewing Guide: What
was
the
problem
that
the
citizens
had
at
the
very
beginning
of
the
movie?
Where
did
the
first
citizen
go
to
find
out
what
he
should
do
with
the
problem?
When
the
citizen
was
trying
to
get
a
solution
to
his
problem,
what
challenge
did
he
encounter?
How
did
the
government
finally
solve
his
problem?
What
did
the
citizens
at
home
do
while
the
first
citizen
was
away
trying
to
get
a
solution
to
the
problem?
________________________________________________________________
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What
was
the
main
message
about
local
government? What
solutions
did
the
citizens
find
once
they
formed
a
local
government? With
your
partner
or
a
small
group,
discuss
the
video
and
what
you
think
it
means
for
our
classroom,
for
our
school,
and
for
our
community?
What
are
the
“coconuts
falling
from
trees”
that
we
have
to
deal
with?
Who
do
we
go
to
for
help
when
we
need
it?
How
far
do
we
have
to
travel
to
find
our
government?
Write
your
notes
from
this
discussion
below
and
then
move
on
to
the
next
activity.
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Teacher Instruction: On
this
page,
take
notes
or
copy
any
diagrams
that
your
teacher
shows
you
to
help
you
understand
the
purpose
of
local
government.
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Have
you
hit
your
learning
targets?
Discuss
these
targets
with
a
partner
or
small
group.
Which
ones
are
you
most
confident
you
have
mastered?
How
do
you
know?
Targets
I can identify the purposes of local government I can describe the services our local government I can explain how our local government pays for the services it provides.
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1. Which of these defines GOVERNMENT? (A) A group of citizens who live in a community (B) A group of citizens who are really smart (C) A group of people who lead a community (D) A group of people who are from different places 2. Which of these is a purpose of local government? (A) Make laws that keep the community safe (B) Solve problems for citizens in their community (C) Provide services that make the community a better place (D) All of the above 3. Which is true about local government? (A) It should be easy for citizens to get to (B) It should be far from the community (C) It should do whatever it wants (D) It should not let citizens tell it what to do 4. Which is NOT true about local government. (A) It should be close to the citizens it serves (B) It should listen to the needs of the community (C) It is only for grown-ups. Kids must wait to participate (D) It is supposed to represent all citizens.
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ATTENTION! From this point on, do not copy these pages as part of your student packet! These are the answer Keys and Teacher note pages you will need for teaching mastery of the targets covered in this packet. This section contains 1. Video Viewing Guide: Possible Answers 2. Teacher Instruction notes page 3. Quiz Answer Key
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Viewing
Guide
“Look-‐Fors”:
the
packet
tells
your
students
to
watch
the
video
and
complete
the
viewing
guide.
Here
are
some
things
to
look
for
in
your
students’
answers
that
will
indicate
they
gathered
the
intended
understanding. Once Upon a Time, Local Government… Viewing Guide: Possible Answers What
was
the
problem
that
the
citizens
had
at
the
very
beginning
of
the
movie?
Possible
answer:
a
coconut
fell;
they
didn’t
know
what
to
do
with
it.
Where
did
the
first
citizen
go
to
find
out
what
he
should
do
with
the
problem?
Possible
answers:
He
went
to
the
government
far
away.
He
walked
to
the
government
building.
He
walked
a
long
time
to
get
to
the
government.
When
the
citizen
was
trying
to
get
a
solution
to
his
problem,
what
challenge
did
he
encounter?
Possible
answers:
Government
didn’t
understand
his
problem.
Government
was
far
away.
Government
didn’t
know
what
to
do
because
they
didn’t
know
what
a
coconut
was,
government
was
hard
to
get
to
and
intimidating
How
did
the
government
finally
solve
his
problem?
Possible
answers:
government
didn’t
solve
it.
They
just
stamped
his
picture;
government
didn’t
do
anything
for
him
What
did
the
citizens
at
home
do
while
the
first
citizen
was
away
trying
to
get
a
solution
to
the
problem?
Possible
answers:
they
formed
a
local
government.
They
took
a
risk
and
discovered
what
to
do
with
the
coconut.
A
leader
from
their
community
took
charge
and
told
them
what
to
do.
They
solved
their
own
problem.
What
was
the
main
message
about
local
government?
Possible
answers:
Local
government
should
be
close
to
the
citizens.
Local
government
should
take
care
of
its
citizens
and
solve
problems.
Local
government
should
be
accessible
and
should
solve
local
issues.
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Teacher Instruction: Notes Page As
your
students
are
completing
the
packet,
they
will
be
reading,
viewing,
discussing
and
then
completing
an
assessment.
This
page
exists
in
their
packet
for
re-‐teaching
and
direct
instruction
at
your
discretion.
Use
this
notes
page
to
outline
what
your
students
need
to
cover
a
second
time
as
you
score
their
quizzes
and
as
you
observe
their
discussions.
Key
things
you
will
probably
want
to
touch
on
if
your
quiz
results
indicate
you
need
whole
class
instruction.
• Term
definitions:
drive
home
the
point
that
in
our
local
towns,
government
is
a
group
of
elected
community
members
just
like
us
who
make
decisions
intended
to
care
for
our
community
and
keep
us
safe
and
keep
our
rights
protected.
• Proximity:
local
government
is
closest
to
us,
so
it
is
the
level
that
affects
us
the
most,
and
it
is
our
first
opportunity
to
affect
change
in
our
community.
Good
local
governments
listen
to
their
citizens
and
make
decisions
for
the
greater
good.
• Role:
later
packets
in
this
unit
(available
for
purchase
from
my
TPT
store)
address
the
learning
targets
of
what
the
local
government
provides
for
its
citizens. • If
you
have
access
to
brainpopjr.com
this
would
be
a
great
time
to
show
their
video
on
local
and
state
governments.
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Name_____ ANSWER KEY__________ 1. Which of these defines GOVERNMENT? (A) A group of citizens who live in a community (B) A group of citizens who are really smart (C) A group of people who lead a community (D) A group of people who are from different places 2. Which of these is a purpose of local government? (A) Make laws that keep the community safe (B) Solve problems for citizens in their community (C) Provide services that make the community a better place (D) All of the above 3. Which is true about local government? (A) It should be easy for citizens to get to (B) It should be far from the community (C) It should do whatever it wants (D) It should not let citizens tell it what to do 4. Which is NOT true about local government. (A) It should be close to the citizens it serves (B) It should listen to the needs of the community (C) It is only for grown-ups. Kids must wait to participate (D) It is supposed to represent all citizens.
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REMEMBER, THIS IS JUST THE INTRODUCTORY PACKET The other packets in this unit include… Government services Rules and Laws All packets are aligned with core content 4.1 and will be updated once the new social studies standards are released. All purchases of this content packet will be eligible for update once the new versions come available pending the new standards. So, don’t be afraid to purchase now, you’ll get the updated packet FREE with your record of purchase for this packet. “Good teaching is good teaching. Let the kids explore, keep them engaged, and make the abstract something concrete that they can participate in. Make it fun” ~Me, 2012
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