U.S. Government: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Students understand the nature of citizenship, politics, and governments, understanding the rights and responsibilities of citizens and how these are part of local, state, and national government. Students examine how the United States Constitution protects rights and provides the structure and functions of various levels of government. Students examine how the United States interacts with other nations as well as the government's role in world affairs will be examined.

Nature of Politics and Government

Foundations of Government in the United States

Purposes, Principles, and Institutions of the Government of the United States

Relationship of the United States to Other Nations in World Affairs

Roles of Citizens in the United States

Define civic life, political life, and private life, and describe the activities of individuals in each of these spheres.

Define the terms and explain the relationship between politics, government, and public policy.

Interpret and analyze the purposes and functions of government found in the Preamble of the United States Constitution. (E)

Compare and contrast types of government including representative democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, totalitarianism, and anarchy.

Compare and contrast unitary, confederate, and federal systems of government.

Define and provide examples of constitutionalism, rule of law, limited government, and popular sovereignty in the United States Constitution, and explain the relationship of these constitutional principles to the protection of the rights of individuals. (E)

Evaluate how the United States Constitution establishes majority rule while protecting minority rights and balances the common good with individual liberties. (E)

Summarize the colonial, revolutionary, and Founding-era experiences and events that led to the writing, ratification, and implementation of the United States Constitution (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791).

Understand the concept of compromise and evaluate its application during the Constitutional Convention.

Analyze and interpret central ideas on government, individual rights, and the common good in founding documents of the United States. (E)

Explain the history and provide examples of foundational ideas of American government embedded in the Founding-era documents, such as natural rights philosophy, social contract, popular sovereignty, constitutionalism, representative democracy, political factions, federalism, and individual rights. (E)

Explain how a shared American civic identity is based on commitment to foundational ideas in Founding-era documents and how it has changed through subsequent periods of United States history to present day.

Explain the history and provide historical and contemporary examples of fundamental principles and values of American political and civic life, including liberty, security, the common good, justice, equality, law and order, rights of individuals, diversity, popular sovereignty, and representative democracy. (E)

Analyze the United States Constitution, and explain characteristics of government in the United States, which define it as a federal, presidential, constitutional, and representative democracy.

Explain the constitutional principles of federalism, separation of powers, the system of checks and balances, and republican government. Provide examples of these principles in the governments of the United States and Indiana. (E)

Compare and contrast the enumerated, implied, and denied powers in both the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution.

Explain the relationships among branches of the United States government and Indiana government, which involve separation and sharing of powers as a means to limited government. (E)

Explain how a bill becomes law in the legislative process of the United States and the state of Indiana. (E)

Describe the procedures for amending the United States and Indiana Constitutions, and analyze why it is so difficult to amend these Constitutions.

Analyze the functions of the judicial branch of the United States and Indiana governments with emphasis on the principles of due process, judicial review, and an independent judiciary. (E)

Explain the electoral process in terms of election laws and election systems on the national, state, and local level. (E)

Analyze the election of Benjamin Harrison, Indiana's only president, his approach to the presidency, his relationship to the legislative branch, and his re-election defeat, considering the effects of party politics and public opinion.

Examine the progression of political parties and their ideologies and the broad political spectrum in the American governmental system, and analyze their functions in elections and government at national, state, and local levels of the federal system. (E)

Explain and evaluate the original purpose and role of the Electoral College and its relevance today. (E)

Explain the organization of state and local governments in Indiana and analyze how they affect the lives of citizens.

Describe the influence of the media and technology on public opinion and public policy.

Analyze powers the United States Constitution gives to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in the area of foreign affairs.

Identify and explain world issues, including political, cultural, demographic, economic, and environmental challenges that affect the United States foreign policy in specific regions of the world.

Discuss specific foreign policy issues that impact local community and state interests. (E)

Define the legal meaning of citizenship in the United States, identify the requirements for citizenship in the United States and residency in Indiana, and differentiate between the criteria used for attaining both. (E)

Analyze the roles and responsibilities of citizens in Indiana and the United States.

Identify and describe the civil and constitutional rights found in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, describe how they are expanded by decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Analyze and evaluate landmark cases of the Supreme Court concerning civil rights and liberties of individuals. (E)

Identify when it is constitutional for our government to limit the rights of individuals and explain the reasons why the government would want to do this. (E)

Explain and give examples of important citizen actions that can impact local, state, and federal government as individuals and members of interest groups.

Explain how citizens in the United States participate in public elections as voters and supporters of candidates for public office. (E)

Describe opportunities available to individuals to contribute to the well-being of their communities and participate responsibly in the political process at local, state, and national levels of government.

Use information from a variety of sources to describe and discuss current American political issues.