Students explore the structure of government at the local, state, and national levels, as well as the services the government provides, and the financing for the services. Students compare the three branches of government focusing on the executive branch, how the levels work together and the enforcement of rules and laws.

Students revisit the traits of a good citizen using historical figures as examples (Thurgood Marshall, Abigail Adams, and Sojourner Truth). Students also examine choices they make that can lead to good citizenship in the classroom and in the community.

Student look closely at historical people who were first to make discoveries or create inventions or innovations that changed communities at that time, now, and in the future, focusing also on local heroes who are good citizens and first responders. Students make use of technology as a resource for research, to summarize and write what is learned, and place information into a timeline format.

In this lesson, students discuss examples of civic engagement projects and participate in a civic engagement project.

In this lesson, students will create a five part letter exploring the following themes: What is responsibility? What is the importance of responsibility? How can we be responsible? How does personal responsibility affect our world?

Students will take a trip to a community meeting and think about the experience with suggested questions. This is designed to work with the League of Women's Voters but can adapted to work with other community groups.

Students learn about local, state, county and national group decisions on taxation, as well as consent of the governed and how leaders can be elected who will fulfill the wishes of the people as designed by the Founding Fathers through the United States Constitution. Students also review traits of good citizenship and consider how they can help their own communities.

Students learn about historical and contemporary figures who contribute to a community's culture by introducing ideas that change, expand, or shape communities. Students learn through historical figures who exemplify good citizenship the importance of the characteristics of good citizenship and acts of civic responsibility.

This resource contains lyrics to What Does the Pledge Mean? to teach students about the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. Click on the Listen button to hear the melody of the song.

Students will build background and show understanding about government elections at the local, state, and national levels in the United States.

Students will write, revise, and edit an informational piece to demonstrate mastery of the topic of elections incorporating key academic content vocabulary.

Students will create a PPT with a teacher's model to demonstrate understanding and mastery of key content area vocabulary words.

Students will complete activities during independent work time or literacy stations. Provides a QR code for students to listen to stories (2 non-fiction and 1 fiction) about elections. After they listen to the stories they choose one of the non-fiction texts to write facts about, find the main idea and key details, and define new words

In this activity, students will create a pin to honor a female role model in their lives. This is connected with the Smithsonian Museum collection.

Students will create a piece of mail and then visit a post office in the neighborhood. This is connected with the Smithsonian Museum and the story of a young girl writing President Lincoln.

This teacher's guide describes service learning as a form of project based learning in which academic goals are accomplished through community service. The guide covers the role of the teachers and the components of a successful service learning project and provides project examples and recommended resources.

In this lesson, students identify how people can make a difference in the civic life of their community.

In this unit, students gain an understanding of the development, structure, and function of local government. Students also gain an understanding of how citizens participate in their communities.

In this lesson, students celebrate student engagement. The introductory read aloud, Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand, shows the students how one idea can grow and make a difference. The We the Civics Kids magazine highlights the efforts of three students and one elementary class in making a positive impact in their community and state. In this lesson, students are asked to think about ways they can become engaged in their school, community, or state.

This bookmark prompts students to consider ways to make a difference in their community.

Students will use three Web sites to gather data about the people in their home state and those who represent them in Congress, then use an online tool to visually compare the data.