Civics

=Grade 8 Civics=

The Grade 8 Civics curriculum has students identify and explain democracy's basic principles, including individual rights, responsibility for the common good, equal opportunity, equal protection of the laws, freedom of speech, justice, and majority rule with protection for minority rights. Students will also understand how laws are developed, how the purposes of government are established, and how the powers of government are acquired and maintained. This is done by having students establish and maintain a classroom government that approximates the processes of government establishment here in the United States and in countries throughout the world.

Though the students are allowed flexibility in the kind of government they establish, the United States government is used as a foundation for understanding democratic principles. In addition, students examine constitutional governments from across the world in order to compare and contrast various governing philosophies, and indicate which model most closely aligns to their classroom government.

The establishment of the classroom government operates in three phases. First, the students develop a classroom Declaration of Independence to identify the reasons the students have for separating from the traditional governance (teacher-directed) of the classroom. Second, the students draft and approve a Classroom Constitution which explains the governing process for the classroom government. Third, the students govern the classroom described in the Classroom Constitution.

The student government establishes laws and procedures that govern almost every facet of the student day, including homework rules, free time, and taxation of classroom businesses.


 * Resources:**
 * Declaration of Independence Links **
 * [|Declaration of Independence]
 * [|Declaration of Independence (Interactive)]
 * [|Declaration of Independence Video]
 * Constitution Links**
 * [|interactive Constitutional Convention]
 * [|World Constitutions]
 * [|Constitution Center]
 * [|Make Your Own Constitution]
 * [|Consitution Quiz]
 * [|Bill of Rights Game]
 * [|Electoral College Maps]

**United States Government** **Links**   
 * [|House of Representatives]
 * [|United States Senate]
 * [|White House]
 * [|United States Supreme Court]
 * [|Bensguide]
 * [|Congress for Kids]
 * [|Electoral Maps]
 * [|Electoral Maps II]
 * Previous Classroom Declarations of Independence**
 * Declaration 1
 * Declaration 2
 * Previous Classroom Constitutions**
 * Constitution 1
 * Constitution 2