U.S. Government & Citizenship: Grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Foundational Principles

Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and Responsibilities

Distribution of Power

Fiscal Policies and Decisions

The U.S. and Our Relationship to the World

Students will explain how documents, challenges, events, and ideas such as the rule of law, the social contract, compromise, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, Shays' Rebellion, and the Federalist Papers significantly influenced the United States Constitution.

Students will describe the structure of the United States' form of government as a compound constitutional republic, including the ideas of federalism; checks and balances; separation of powers; commerce, elastic, and supremacy clauses; popular sovereignty; and limited government.

Students will explain the organization, functions, and processes of the United States government, such as the purpose of the President's cabinet, the function of judicial review, and how a bill becomes a law, and apply that understanding to current issues.

Students will use historic and modern case studies, including Supreme Court cases, amendment initiatives, and legislation to trace the application of civil liberties, civil rights, and responsibilities spelled out in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other amendments.

Students will examine various perspectives on a current rights-related issue; take a position; defend that position using the Constitution and Bill of Rights, historical precedents, Supreme Court decisions, and other relevant resources; and share that position, when possible, with relevant stakeholders.

Students will explain the purpose and importance of fulfilling civic responsibilities, including serving on juries; voting; serving on boards, councils, and commissions; remaining well-informed; contacting elected officials; and other duties associated with active citizenship

Students will explain the distribution of power among national, state, tribal, and local governments in order to identify how needs are met by governance systems.

Students will explain the role that local elected officers fulfill, such as mayors, council members, auditors, treasurers, surveyors, assessors, recorders, clerks, sheriffs, county commissioners, and district or county attorneys and how local government roles differ from state and federal roles.

Students will explain the processes and motivations for how and why people organize to participate in civic society, such as developing political affiliations, joining political parties, and supporting special interest groups and other non-governmental or non-partisan civic organizations, and evaluate the political impact of those affiliations.

Students will use data to evaluate election results and explain election processes and strategies.

Students will explain how the individual roles of the members of the President's cabinet are designed to meet various purposes in government.

Students will explain how the administrative rule-making process functions within the federal system and the extent and impact of these rules.

Students will examine the fiscal decisions governmental agencies must make and the economic philosophies that guide those decisions.

Students will explain how government services and other budget priorities are funded through various forms of revenue streams, such as fees, bonding, and regressive and progressive taxes, including property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes.

Students will propose and defend budget priorities at either the local, state, tribal, or federal level; and share their findings with appropriate stakeholders.

Students will analyze the constitutional process of creating foreign policy and the structures through which the federal government interacts with foreign governments, such as the Department of State, treaties, agreements, and alliances.

Students will analyze the justification for, and effectiveness of, specific foreign policy positions, such as military intervention, isolationism, alliance formation, economic sanctions, or other security measures.

Students will evaluate how global economic interdependence and international trade policies affect the economy of the United States.

Students will craft an argument for an appropriate role for the United States to take in addressing a global economic, environmental, or social issue such as humanitarian aid, migration, pandemics, or the loss of wildlife habitat.