Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Political theories and documents provided the foundation for the US Constitution.
• The purposes and design of the US government impact individuals and society.
• Citizens must be able to analyze Constitutional conflicts.
• Citizen of the United States are either native born or naturalized.
• Civic participation involves roles, rights, and responsibilities.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• What is a constitution? How does a constitutional government work? What is a constitutional government?
• What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
• What are the purposes of government? How does government impact life today? What is the role of government in a citizen’s life?
• How and why must a citizen be able to analyze Constitutional issues?

• What are the beliefs associated with each? How do the two major political parties differ?

Standards and Benchmarks

Civics 1: Students understand the purpose of government, and the basic constitutional principles of the United States republican form of government.

Benchmark 1A: Students understand the principles of the United States constitutional government.

Benchmark 1B: Students know the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government.

Benchmark 1C: Students know and understand what government is and what purpose it serves.

Benchmark 1D: Students know the distinctive characteristics of political culture of the United States.

Benchmark 1E: Students know the fundamental democratic principles inherent in the US concept of a constitutional democratic republic.
Civics  2: Students know the structure and function of local, state and national government and how citizen involvement shapes public policy.
Benchmark 2A:  Students know the organization and functions of local, state and national governments.
Benchmark 2B:  Students know how power, authority, and responsibility are distributed, shared, and limited through federalism as established by the US Constitution.
Benchmark 2C:  Students know and understand the place of law in the Colorado and US Constitutional systems.
Benchmark 2D:  Students know how public policy is developed at the local, state, and national levels.
Civics 3:  Students know the political relationship of the US and its citizens to other nations and to world affairs.
Benchmark 3A:  Students know how and why governments and nongovernmental agencies around the world interact politically. 
Benchmark 3B:  Students understand how the US government develops foreign policy.
Benchmark 3C:  Students understand the domestic and foreign policy influence the US has on other nations and how the actions of other influence politics and society of the US.
Civics 4:  Students understand how citizens exercise the roles, rights, and responsibilities of participation in civic life at all levels.
Benchmark 4A:  Students know what citizenship is.
Benchmark 4B:  Students know how citizens can fulfill their responsibilities for preserving the constitutional republic.
Benchmark 4C:  Students know how citizens can exercise their rights.
Benchmark  4D: Students know how citizens can participate in civic life.

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

The Pledge of Allegiance; a Duty, a Goal, or a Dream? - You may have recited this pledge over a thousand times by now, but who wrote it, what does it mean, how has it changed over time, and does it speak of a duty, a goal, or a dream. Through a Socratic Seminar you will analyze this important piece of American cultural history.

Parent Resources

To help make this course more relevant for your son or daughter, consider sharing your political views and beliefs about what it means to be a responsible and informed participant in civic life. Describe your greatest political concerns and share how changes in law and the role of government have changed during your lifetime.