HSS Framework for Grade 12, Ch. 17, "Principles of American Democracy" pp. 447-448

1998 History-Social Science Content Standards, grade 12 pp. 54-59

California Common Core State Standards

• Why are powers divided between different levels of government?

• What level of government is the most important to me – local, state, tribal, or federal?

• What level of government is the most powerful – local, state, tribal, or federal?

• What are the major responsibilities of the various levels, and what are their revenue sources? What kinds of issues does each level of government handle?

• What happens when there is overlapping jurisdiction among states and federal governments?

• How is public policy made at these various levels? How do regulatory departments and agencies function, and how do state and local regulatory agencies differ from those at the federal level?

Federalism

From C3Teachers.org, http://www.c3teachers.org/inquiries/federalism/

Content: .

Inquiry: Who has the power?

Purpose: This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the perennial power struggle between federal and state governments to legislate. By investigating the compelling question “Who has the power?” students will consider the role of state government in initiating the best legislation for its citizens, even in cases where state law conflicts with federal law. In investigating evidence from historic and contemporary sources, students develop an interpretation of federalism and begin to evaluate both the historic and contemporary arguments and issues that are, in the words of Chief Justice John Marshall, “perpetually arising, and will probably continue to arise, as long as our system shall exist.”

Southern California Rivers: Recreation or Protection?

From CHSSP (California History-Social Science Project)

Content: Students evaluate and take and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of civil society are (i.e., the autonomous sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relations that are not part of government), their interdependence, and the meaning and importance of those values and principles for a free society (12.3).

Inquiry: “How can too much water be a problem for California? And what can we do about it?”

• Lawyers, judges, or public officials can be invited into the classroom to participate in simulations and activities concerning the justice and court systems or municipal government. Examples of local government may be the school board, city council, county supervisors, and superior courts.

• Participation in democracy including participation in campaigns, voter registrations, and voting drives, as well as assistance in writing policy for local and state agencies. Students may attend and participate in public hearings.

• Students can be assigned project-based learning in which they identify and analyze a community problem in terms of its causes, effects, and policy implications; propose solutions; and take civic actions to implement those solutions, including the creation of evidence-based and multimedia presentations.