Judy G. Cox, Ada High School, Ada, OK
Appropriate for grades 712.
OVERVIEW: A study of government usually brings a collective "UGH"
from most upper level high school students. They've had many
civics lessons since elementary grades, and they are sure they
know enough to function in society or at least know where they can
find a book to look up the facts necessary to answer a question.
Yet too few have understood the necessity of government. They
assume government, especially a democratic one, has always existed
and always will. Why we have a government that holds us together
yet doesn't crush us is taken for granted. This unit helps
students understand the philosophy of politics and government. It
is a good introductory unit to the study of government for any
grade level.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this unit is to force students to think
about the basic questions of government. Why do we need
government, what should it do, and what form should it take?
OBJECTIVES: As a result of completing the activities in this
unit, students will demonstrate the following skills and
understandings:
1. Describe an imaginary situation where a state of nature
exists.
2. Define republic, democracy, anarchy, autocracy, aristocracy,
and plutocracy.
3. Understand the ne
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"ލɅRY(URITIES: Divide students into groups of five. Groups should
NOT be instructed to elect a leader or appoint a recorder. All
actions in the group should be a natural outcome of the
personalities in the group.
1. Define a state of nature, an imaginary situation where no
government exists.
2. Imagine that all the students in your school were transported
to an island where there were enough natural resources for
you to live on, but where no one had lived before. When you
arrived you had no means of communicating with people in
other parts of the world. On the basis of this situation
have students decide what actions they would take for their
stay on the island. (Share findings with the whole class.)
3. Present the groups with a new set of facts. Imagine that at
this point you discover other groups of people living near
you. (You may make this a rival school or leave it to their
imaginations.) Have each group discuss their actions upon
possibilities could include isolationism, war, or cooperation
in the form of a treaty. How would their community go about
adapting to the changes now present. (Share findings with
the whole class.)
4. Introduce a new scenario. Pirates have been raiding all
groups on the island. Their actions have been quite
effective. They appear to be stronger than any single group
living on the island. How would your community react to the
problem of outsiders and the potential destruction of your
community? (Share findings with the whole class.)
5. Define republic, democracy, anarchy, autocracy, aristocracy,
and plutocracy. Each group should devise examples of when
each of these forms of government could at some time exist in
their community.
6. Have each group redefine their government. How would they
incorporate others on the island? How would they deal with
outside enemies? How would they get the community to accept
their government?
RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED: No special resources needed for this
activity.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: It is important in this activity to give
each group ample time to reveal their ideas to other groups. With
very little time passing it will be easy to recognize a distinct
personality for each group. This can easily lead to a discussion
of political parties and their varying philosophies when you end
the unit. You can also spend some time guessing and theorizing
who would provide the food, etc. Students will be able to name
names of students in school. Interestingly enough, they usually
realize that the best leaders in school are not always the ones
elected to leadership positions in school organizations.
Another interesting way to finish this activity is to see the
similarities in establishing a colony, recognizing other colonies,
and uniting to fight a common enemy. The brighter students will
recognize the similarities of our struggle with Great Britain for
independence as a guide in developing their group.
Students usually become quite territorial about their group. They
will name it, take great pride in it, etc. Occasionally some
members will ask to move to another group because they are always
in the minority. This proves to be an excellent lesson on
"majority rules."
Our students are so indoctrinated in democracy that they seldom
see advantages of other forms of government. This exercise helps
them see the efficiency of dictatorships and conversely the
cumbersome wheels of democracy. However, they always prefer to
establish a clone government of the United States.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org