Unit 2
Rights and Responsibilities
Essential Question: Has the evolution of American principles and practices
promoted greater democracy?
Unit 2 Inquiries
- What are the differences among rights, freedoms, and liberties? What is an example of a debate in U.S. History that defines each concept?
- How can your rights change as a result of a change in context? From state to state, outside to home, on the street to inside a school?
- How can I exercise the right to vote? Does every vote count the same? Why don’t more people vote?
- Do we pay too much or too little of our income in taxes?
- What does it mean when you are called for jury duty? What are the roles of a jury in civil and criminal trials?
- How does informed citizenship support democratic government?
Each chapter reading assigned below corresponds with the lesson and an essential question. Students are expected to complete each chapter reading when assigned and will be responsible for the contents of the chapter. Dates are not included because pacing tends to vary from class to class; due dates shall be assigned in class.
Lesson 21 - You've Got Rights
Students learn about the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and other important constitutional amendments. First they consider what rights they believe are important, then they read and analyze the real text of each amendment. This lesson also helps students analyze the impact that the Bill of Rights has on their daily lives.
Read Text: Chapter 4 Defining Individual Rights: The American Citizen Today
Download Handouts: You've Got Rights
Assignment: The Bill of Rights Position Paper
Lesson 22 - Road to Civil Rights
Discover the people, groups, and events behind the Civil Rights Movement. Learn about means of non-violent protest, opposition to the movement, and identify how it took all three branches of the federal government to effect change. Protest posters, fictional diary entries, and a map of the movement's major events develop a greater understanding of the struggle for civil rights.
Read Text: Chapter 4 Defining Individual Rights: The American Citizen Today
Download Handouts: Road to Civil Rights
Lesson 23 - Voting Rights
Explore the evolution of voting rights in the Unites States through an interactive PowerPoint presentation highlighting landmark changes. Following the presentation and class discussion, students apply the new knowledge of voting legislation to individual scenarios through a class activity.
Read Text: Chapter 4 Defining Individual Rights: The American Citizen Today
Download Handouts: Voting Rights
Lesson 24 - The Facts of Citizenship
In this lesson, students get the basics of U.S. citizenship. As a foundation for studying the rights and responsibilities of citizens, they’ll learn what it means to be a citizen and how people become U.S. citizens. Students also look at related symbols and traditions, such as the flag, U.S. holidays, and patriotism, and they examine how the right of U.S. citizenship has changed over time.
Read Text: Chapter 4 Defining Individual Rights: The American Citizen Today
Download Handouts: The Facts of Citizenship
Lesson 25 - Got Ballot?
Covering everything from referendums to recalls, this lesson takes students to the voting booth and explains what they might see on a typical ballot. Students will discover how voters have the opportunity to initiate change in state and local government.
Read Text: Chapter 5 The American in the American Political System
Read Text: Chapter 6 The Voters Role in the Electoral Process
Download Handouts: Got Ballot?
Instructional Video 2012 from Mr.Biscardi on Vimeo.
Lesson 26 - Citizen Me
Students learn that they are citizens at many levels of society: home, school, city, state, and nation! Students create a graphic organizer that diagrams rights and responsibilities at these different levels of citizenship. They also learn the sources of their rights and responsibilities at each level. This lesson stands alone or may be used to reinforce the iCivics game Responsibility Launcher.."
Read Text: Chapter 5 The American in the American Political System
Read Text: Chapter 6 The Voters Role in the Electoral Process
Download Handouts: Citizen Me
Lesson 27 - Supreme Decision
In this lesson, students compare Ben Brewer’s fictional case in “Supreme Decision” with a real-life case involving a student. They also look at a variety of historic landmark cases to understand why precedents and judicial review are important in peoples’ everyday lives.
Read Text: Chapter 15 U.S. Court System
Download Handouts: The "Supreme" in Supreme Decision
Case Studies: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Study Protocols: U.S. Supreme Court Study Protocols
Lesson 28 - Money Doesn't Grow On Trees
Students learn the role of the executive branch in creating and carrying out laws. Through role-play, the class models the legislative and execution processes as they create a new coin in order to learn how the executive and legislative branches work together. They follow the new coin from its inception as an idea in the executive branch to its creation at the U.S. Mint.
Read Text: Chapter 10 Congress and the Control of Fiscal Policy
Download Handouts: Money Doesn't Grow On Trees
Lesson 29 - The Government and The Economy
This lesson uses the topic of cell phone service to illustrate how government and the economy are related. Students learn the difference between market, command, and mixed economies. Building on the idea of a mixed economy, the lesson discusses government limits on economic activity, including anti-trust laws, tariffs, and consumer protection. Having studied cell phone service as an example, students apply what they’ve learned by showing how the principles of a mixed economy work in the food production industry.
Read Text: Chapter 10 Congress and the Control of Fiscal Policy
Download Handouts: Government and the Economy
Lesson 30 - Taxation
This lesson teaches the basics of taxes: what they are, who pays them, what kinds exist, and what they’re used for. Students learn how people’s income is taxed, how much revenue taxes generate, and how taxes and government services are related. Activities based on real life show students how to analyze a pay stub and how to calculate sales tax.
Read Text: Chapter 10 Congress and the Control of Fiscal Policy
Download Handouts: Taxation
Lesson 31 - State Power
Students discover that states have their own governments and powers separate from the federal government. They learn what those powers are, how they’re different from the federal government’s powers, and that state governments also give power to smaller, local governments. Students critique a set of fictional state laws, create a story involving state powers, and look at some differences between state and local power.
Read Text: Chapter 17 Government in the Fifty States
Download Handouts: State Power
Lesson 32 - Capable County
Students explore the many roles filled by their county government and the role of county governments in a federalist system. After a close examination of the county, students create their own fictional county! Students are familiarized with fun facts about county government and analyze the transition of county development through the lense of westward expansion.
Read Text: Chapter 18 Governing America's Counties and Cities
Download Handouts: Capable County