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UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN®

Enduring Understandings

  • Governments are formed to maintain order and regulate activities in a geographic area.
  • Governments have different levels of involvement in the economy depending on the type of economic system that is in place.

Essential Questions

  • What are the purposes of government?
  • What principles guide different types of government?
  • What is the role of government in different types of economic systems?

Students will know:

  • the basic functions of government are to provide leadership, maintain order, provide public services, provide national and economic security, and provide economic assistance.
  • the difference between a nation and a state.
  • the essential features of a state are population, territory, sovereignty, and government.
  • the major theories on the origins of the state, including social contract theory.
  • the advantages and disadvantages of unitary, confederate, and federal systems of government.
  • the meaning of constitutional government.
  • the characteristics of historical and contemporary forms of government.
  • the differences between authoritarian and democratic forms of government.
  • the principles of democracy.
  • all economies have producers, distributors, consumers, labor, resources, and capital.
  • economies may be classified as traditional, market, or command.
  • how government influences the economy.
  • the goals and characteristics of capitalism and a free market or free enterprise economy.
  • how mixed economies combine elements of capitalism and socialism.
  • the goals and characteristics of socialism.
  • the theory of communism.

Students will be able to:

  • describe the features of a state.
  • explain why governments were created.
  • categorize the functions of government.
  • define essential political terms and concepts, such as nation, state, government, and sovereignty.
  • explain the difference among unitary, confederate, and federal systems of government.
  • differentiate between a monarchy and a democracy.
  • describe the goals of capitalism.
  • explain Adam Smith’s belief in a laissez-faire economic approach.
  • summarize Karl Marx’s basic theory about communism.

Predictable Misunderstandings

Students may think:

  • that most government functions are carried out by the national government. The national government is so often the focus of the media that it is easy to forget that most government services are provided at the state and local level.
  • that the public welfare has always been the primary concern of modern governments. Encourage students to learn and share some of the details of how modern authoritarian governments have ruled and the sacrifices some people have made in those countries to achieve freedom. In this way, they may come to a greater appreciation of democratic systems.
  • that government should provide for all the needs of its citizens. Students may find it difficult to understand that there are some practical limits to the services that most governments can provide and that negative effects can sometimes result when a government gets too involved in managing the lives of its citizens.

Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks:

  • Hands-On Chapter Project

Other Evidence:

  • Guided Reading Activities 
  • Vocabulary Activity
  • Lesson Quizzes
  • Chapter Tests, Forms A and B

SUGGESTED PACING

½ Day — Introducing the Chapter
 1 Day — Lesson 1 Purposes and Origins of Government
 1 Day — Lesson 2 Types of Government
½ Day — Lesson 3 The Role of Government in Economic Systems
½ Day — Chapter Wrap-Up and Assessment

3.5 Days — Total

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

The activities presented are suitable for all levels. Modifications for student ability levels are available for many of the activities. The type of modifications available are indicated by the icons below.

DI for AL Approaching Level

DI for BL Beyond Level

DI for ELL English Language Learner

All students benefit from activities that utilize different learning styles. Activities are designated with the labels below to help you differentiate teaching by the types of learners.

Intrapersonal
Logical/Mathematical
Visual/Spatial
Verbal/Linguistic
Interpersonal
Auditory/Musical
Kinesthetic
Naturalist

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

Expand All

  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

    Below are the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills covered in this chapter.

    (1) History. The student understands how constitutional government, as developed in America and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution, has been influenced by ideas, people, and historical documents. The student is expected to:

    (A) explain major political ideas in history, including the laws of nature and nature’s God, unalienable rights, divine right of kings, social contract theory, and the rights of resistance to illegitimate government

    (B) identify major intellectual, philosophical, political, and religious traditions that informed the American founding, including Judeo-Christian (especially biblical law), English common law and constitutionalism, Enlightenment, and republicanism, as they address issues of liberty, rights, and responsibilities of individuals

    (C) identify the individuals whose principles of laws and government institutions informed the American founding documents, including those of Moses, William Blackstone, John Locke, and Charles de Montesquieu

    (F) identify significant individuals in the field of government and politics, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan

     

    (5) Economics. The student understands the roles played by local, state, and national governments in both the public and private sectors of the U.S. free enterprise system. The student is expected to:

    (A) explain how government fiscal, monetary, and regulatory policies influence the economy at the local, state, and national levels

    (B) identify the sources of revenue and expenditures of the U. S. government and analyze their impact on the U.S. economy

    (C) compare the role of government in the U.S. free enterprise system and other economic systems

    (D) understand how government taxation and regulation can serve as restrictions to private enterprise

     

    (7) Government. The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the U.S. Constitution and why these are significant. The student is expected to:

    (A) explain the importance of a written constitution

    (F) identify how the American beliefs and principles reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution contribute to both a national identity and federal identity and are embodied in the United States today

     

    (8) Government. The student understands the structure and functions of the government created by the U.S. Constitution. The student is expected to:

    (C) analyze the structure and functions of the judicial branch of government, including the federal court system, types of jurisdiction, and judicial review

    (D) identify the purpose of selected independent executive agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and regulatory commissions, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

    (E) explain how certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution provide for checks and balances among the three branches of government

    (G) explain the major responsibilities of the federal government for domestic and foreign policy such as national defense

     

    (9) Government. The student understands the concept of federalism. The student is expected to:

    (A) explain why the Founding Fathers created a distinctly new form of federalism and adopted a federal system of government instead of a unitary system

     

    (11) Government. The student understands the role of political parties in the U.S. system of government. The student is expected to:

    (A) analyze the functions of political parties and their role in the electoral process at local, state, and national levels

     

    (12) Government. The student understands the similarities and differences that exist among the U.S. system of government and other political systems. The student is expected to:

    (A) compare the U.S. constitutional republic to historical and contemporary forms of government such as monarchy, a classical republic, authoritarian, socialist, direct democracy, theocracy, tribal, and other republics

    (B) analyze advantages and disadvantages of federal, confederate, and unitary systems of government

     

    (13) Citizenship. The student understands rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The student is expected to:

    (A) understand the roles of limited government and the rule of law in the protection of individual rights

    (C) identify the freedoms and rights guaranteed by each amendment in the Bill of Rights

    (D) analyze U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution in selected cases, including Engel v. Vitale, Schenck v. United States, Texas v. Johnson, Miranda v. Arizona, Gideon v. Wainwright, Mapp v. Ohio, and Roe v. Wade

     

    (14) Citizenship. The student understands the difference between personal and civic responsibilities. The student is expected to:

    (B) evaluate whether and/or when the obligation of citizenship requires that personal desires and interests be subordinated to the public good

    (C) understand the responsibilities, duties, and obligations of citizenship such as being well informed about civic affairs, serving in the military, voting, serving on a jury, observing the laws, paying taxes, and serving the public good

     

    (15) Citizenship. The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the U.S. constitutional republic. The student is expected to:

    (A) analyze the effectiveness of various methods of participation in the political process at local, state, and national levels

    (B) analyze historical and contemporary examples of citizen movements to bring about political change or to maintain continuity

    (C) understand the factors that influence an individual's political attitudes and actions

     

    (16) Citizenship. The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a constitutional republic. The student is expected to:

    (A) examine different points of view of political parties and interest groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the National Rifle Association (NRA), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on important contemporary issues

     

    (20) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

    (A) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

    (B) create a product on a contemporary government issue or topic using critical methods of inquiry

    (C) analyze and defend a point of view on a current political issue

    (D) analyze and evaluate the validity of information, arguments, and counterarguments from primary and secondary sources for bias, propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference

    (E) evaluate government data using charts, tables, graphs, and maps

     

    (21) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

    (A) use social studies terminology correctly

    (C) transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate

    (D) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information

     

    (22) Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:

    (B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision