Introduction and Brief Summary of Unit

I am willing to say that there is no subject in the world being taught in schools that
applies more to both past and future content better than that of United States Government. United
States Government takes a look at the history of our government and its trend over time to
become what it is today, while also taking the time to thoroughly explain how our government
works in fine detail. Students get to examine how the United States stumbled upon the
government system we still use now and why it has been so fundamental in making our country
the powerful nation that it is today. Students also get to learn how they can make instrumental
decisions down the road that could help determine the direction that our country goes in the
future. The particular unit that I taught took a closer look at state government, which is an area
that most United States Government classes do not get to, but it is an area that we need to focus
more on going forward. During my unit, I noticed that many students had no clue about any
representation they have at the state level and some had no idea that each state government
functions separately. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the
ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally
diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.1 What better way to do that than by
informing students how they can be involved within their own state governments?

The following unit is meant to educate students on state government by examining the three
branches that were set in place by the U.S. Constitution as they apply to the states. First, the unit
has students examine state constitutions and their resemblances to the U.S. Constitution, while
also noticing that each states constitution is unique to its own state. The unit then takes a look at
the legislative branch at the state level, where students have the opportunity to learn about state
legislators and the work that goes on behind the scenes to produce laws for their states. The unit
offers the students the opportunity to get a hands on feeling for what legislative committee
meetings and congressional hearings are like. After the legislative branch, the students are given
the assignment to teach each other about the executive branch at the state level (governor and
state administration) by doing their own research and presenting it in slides to the rest of the
class. The unit then moves into the final branch, the judicial branch, which is discussed in the
final two sections from chapter 24 in the Pearson American Government textbook. The students
will learn about how the judicial branch works at the state level, while being provided the chance
to serve in their own mock court case and interview people they may know who have served on a
jury. The overall goal of the unit is for students to realize the importance of being civic-minded
and being informed on what goes on at the state level of government that affects them more than
they may realize.

1 NCSS Task Force on Standards for Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies, 1993, p. 213