This
information has been taken directly from the Accelerate
U - Standards and Resource Guides (with approval) from the K-12
Education, NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT site. No information
in this document has been changed.
Learning Standards for Social
Studies at Three Levels
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship,
and Government - Intermediate
Students will use a variety
of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the
necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system
of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution;
the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and
the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including
avenues of participation.
1. The study of civics, citizenship, and government
involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government
and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across
time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law. (Adapted
from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994)
Students:
- analyze how the values of a nation affect
the guarantee of human rights and make provisions for human needs
- consider the nature and evolution of constitutional
democracies
- explore the rights of citizens in other
parts of the hemisphere and determine how they are similar to
and different from the rights of American citizens
- analyze the sources of a nation's values
as embodied in its constitution, statutes, and important court
cases.
This, is evident, for example, when students:
- using computer databases or the public library
locate constitutions from other nations and compare the rights
provided by these constitutions with those found in the Bill of
Rights and other amendments of the United States Constitution
- discuss reasons why all citizens should
be concerned with issues that relate to people in other countries.
- create a play about a society without any
government and without rules. Would students like to live in such
a society?
- research the organization and goals of the
United Nations, explaining how they represent an international
agency which is based on democratic principles
- identify and explain how men and women,
through their lives, writings, and work helped to strengthen democracy
in the United States and throughout the world (Adapted from The
National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994)
discuss and explore governance and citizenship,
focusing on why and how people make and change rules and laws.
2. The state and federal governments established
by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New York
embody basic civic values (such as justice, honesty, self-discipline,
due process, equality, majority rule with respect for minority rights,
and respect for self and others, and property), principles, and practices
and establish a system of shared and limited government (Adapted from
The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994)
Students:
- understand how civic values reflected in
United States and New York State Constitutions have been implemented
through laws and practices
- understand that the New York State Constitution,
along with a number of other documents, served as a model for
the development of the United States Constitution
- compare and contrast the development and
evolution of the constitutions of the United States and New York
State
- define federalism and describe the powers
granted the national and state governments by the United States
Constitution
- value the principles, ideals, and core values
of the American democratic system based upon the praises of human
dignity, liberty, justice, and equality
- understand how the United States and New
York State Constitutions support majority rule but also protect
the rights of the minority.
This is evident, for example, when students:
- create a list of basic civic values and
explore how these values are reflected in key United States Supreme
Court decisions
- explore laws dealing with the rights and
responsibilities of young people to determine the underlying values
on which these young people's rights are based
- examine core values supporting our system
of justice and compare these values to those of other nations
- consider examples from the history of the
United States which show the changing nature of federalism, separation
of powers, protection of individual rights, and the amendment
process
- working in small groups, examine a copy
of the original New York State Constitution and a copy of the
present State constitution and identify changes that have been
made and discuss possible reasons for the changes
- analyze an excerpt written by Alexander
Hamilton, John Jay, or James Madison dealing with federalism.
Explain the positions each take
analyze key Supreme Court cases to determine
how they embody constitutional values; apply these values to real
life situation.
3. Central to civics and citizenship is an understanding
of the roles of the citizen within American constitutional democracy
and the scope of a citizen's rights and responsibilities.
Students:
- explain what citizenship means in a democratic
society, how citizenship is defined in the Constitution and other
laws of the land, and how the definition of citizenship has changed
in the United States and New York State over time
- understand that the American legal and political
systems guarantee and protect the rights of citizens and assume
that citizens will hold and exercise certain civic values and
fulfill certain civic responsibilities
- discuss the role of an informed citizen
in today's changing world
- explain how Americans are citizens of their
states and of the United States.
This is evident, for example, when students:
- define the concepts of rights and responsibilities
of citizens
- investigate the ways a person can become
a citizen and the ways in which the rights of citizenship can
be lost
- compare and contrast historic documents
such as the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiment? (1848) and
the Declaration of Independence (1776)
- analyze a collection of cartoons that address
the roles of citizens
- investigate historic examples of citizenship
in action and create
- a scale showing the gradations from minimal
to basic (voting, jury, voluntary activities) to more complex
responsibilities (organizing a reform movement)
examine the role of the average citizen in critical
American events, such as the American Revolution, abolitionism,
Progressive reforms, support for and protest of American wars, key
political campaigns, environmental reforms, and anti-tax protests.
4. The study of civics and citizenship requires
the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical
questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments,
evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and
refine participatory skills.
Students:
- respect the rights of others in discussions
and classroom debates regardless of whether or not one agree with
their viewpoint
- explain the role that civility plays in
promoting effective citizenship in preserving democracy
- participate in negotiation and compromise
to resolve classroom, school, and community disagreements and
problems.
This is evident, for example, when students:
- use value-based dilemmas to provide
students with open-ended situations (e.g., witnessing a crime,
serving on a jury in a murder trial) that could force them to
evaluate their feelings concerning the difficult responsibilities
of citizenship
- discuss the options open to people who disagree
with a particular political solution to an issue
- conduct mock local, state, and national
elections, compare the school's results with the real outcome
of the election
- analyze how complex issues can be addressed
when individuals are willing to try to come to agreement through
negotiation and compromise (Adapted from The National Standards
for Civics and Government, 1994)
- describe how citizens can participate in
governmental decisions and how they can monitor and influence
their actions and policies
using historic and current issues or incidents
and actual Supreme Court decisions hold mini model trials, appellate
arguments, or debates to enhance citizenship skills and knowledge.
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