SS.7.CG.3.1

This is Lesson 1 in a unit integrating Spanish, coding and civics. Students will organize ideas, speak and write about democracy, dictatorship and monarchy, then apply the knowledge and relate it to other words learned about family and school in order to design and create an original meme in Scratch.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will apply the principles and characteristics of dictatorship, democracy, or monarchy. They will create a video game in Scratch (Spanish version) on forms of government, enhancing their knowledge of basic programming concepts, development of design and creativity skills, problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, and the acquisition of technical knowledge.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the final lesson in a 3-lesson unit. In this integrated civics lesson, students will learn about conditional logic through an unplugged activity and complete the Scratch code for a game that uses conditional statements to determine what form of government the user is thinking of.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 2 in a 3-lesson unit that culminates in a Scratch project. The students conducted research on types of government during the previous lesson. In this lesson, students will review the traits of different forms of government by flowcharting using programming logic in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the first lesson in a 3-lesson unit plan. In this lesson, students will research different forms of government, describe their traits, identify a famous example of each, and explain why a constitutional representative democracy is most advantageous to our country in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 2 in a Spanish, civics and coding integrated unit.  Students will reinforce their knowledge about flowcharts and identify the symbols used to represent algorithms in flowcharts (oval, rectangle, diamond, and arrow). They will research and organize relevant information to write short phrases in Spanish. Students will use symbols to make a flowchart that identifies the type of government of Spain and Latin American countries.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will fill in a worksheet that is provided to them as the teacher goes through a PowerPoint that describes the different systems of government and compares the systems of government to an octopus. As the teacher goes through the PowerPoint, the teacher should be sure to stop and ask questions. There is also a quiz that can be administered after students have finished the assignment.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will analyze the advantages of the United States’ constitutional republic by comparing and contrasting different forms of governments and evaluating different scenarios.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will learn to define the rule of law and explore its key principles while completing guided notes that accompany a teacher-presented slideshow. Students will then show what they know by completing and submitting a short written response to a provided prompt.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will trace the principles underlying America’s founding ideas on laws and government while completing guided notes that accompany a teacher-presented slideshow. Students will then show what they know by completing and submitting a short written response to a provided prompt.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will be introduced to different economic systems. Through collaborative learning, students will explore economic system scenarios and complete a written response to show their understanding of the various economic systems, and which one provides the best opportunity for economic prosperity.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this interactive tutorial, learn about the forms governments take, including monarchy, democracy, autocracy, and oligarchy.  You'll also learn about the advantages of a constitutional republic, the chosen form of government of the United States.   

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this interactive tutorial, compare and contrast different forms of government, including democracy, socialism, communism, monarchy, oligarchy, and autocracy.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This Grade 7 Civics Family Guide provides some ideas and activities to support civics education when at home, out and about, and in the community. The activities provided align to the civics learning benchmarks within Standard 3 at this grade level.

Type: Teaching Idea

Ardian Zika grew up in communist Yugoslavia (now Kosovo). He immigrated to the United States, became a U.S. citizen, and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2018.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Former U.S Senator and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martínez shares his journey to freedom in the United States. Mr. Martínez was part of Operation Pedro Pan in which unaccompanied Cuban children were sent to the United States to escape the newly formed communist regime of Fidel Castro. Before leaving Cuba, he spent time with his father who shared life lessons with his son. Mr. Martínez distinctly remembers the pilot announcing that they were in America. After moving around the state of Florida in settlement camps, Mr. Martínez was placed in foster care. After four years he and his family were reunited. Mr. Martínez helped his father become a veterinarian in the U.S and as a family they were highly active in the community. His family’s spirit of activism was the foundation of Mr. Martínez’s career as a public servant. He graduated from Florida State University Law School in 1973 and began his political career. He was appointed the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 2001 and became a United States Senator in 2005.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Alejandro Brice and his family immigrated from Cuba at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. His father was jailed as a counter-revolutionary sympathizer and upon release, the family fled the country. Dr. Brice shares his memories of his “freedom wings”, the culture shock of growing up in Ohio as immigrants, learning English in elementary school, watching his family start over, and becoming a U.S. Citizen. Dr. Brice is a college professor specializing in the education of immigrant children and English language learners.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Ivonne Blank immigrated to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus on unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. Ms. Blank talks about how difficult it was waiting for her parents and living in an orphanage in Denver, CO. Her parents later left the island by boat, were rescued by the Coast Guard, and resettled in the United States. After the family was reunited, they were able to rebuild their lives with support from their community. Ms. Blank went on to become a lifelong educator and U.S. citizen.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation