Education Standards
2. Chp. 7 Teacher Guide (doc)
3. State We're In Washington - Chapter 7
4. Student Handout-Launch
5. Student Handout - Focused Notes
6. Student Handout Text Dependent Questions
7. Student Handout - Focused Inquiry
The State We're In: Washington - Teacher Guide Ch. 7: Local Government
Overview
This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.
Chapter 7 focuses on local government: counties, cities, towns and special districts and their role, organization, duties and services they provide to communities.
Local Government: Counties, Cities, Towns and Special Districts
General Overview
This chapter focuses on local government: counties, cities, towns and special districts and their role, organization, duties and services they provide to communities.
Enduring Understanding
Local governments provide services and keep us safe in many ways. Local governments are smallest, closest to us, and usually the first place we turn when we need help. Because they are so close to us, local governments are also the easiest for citizens to affect.
Supporting Questions
Students consider these questions - finding and using evidence to support the Enduring Understanding.
- What is the role of county governments in the lives of its citizens?
- Why do counties, cities and towns have to work together?
- How do special purpose districts serve a community? Are they important? Why or why not?
Learning Targets
Students will be able to…
- explain the role of the state in establishing the structure, function and responsibilities of local government.
- explain and analyze the local units of government including the duties of counties, cities, towns, and special districts.
- describe the role local governments play in providing services to individuals and the community.
- differentiate how local governments operate both within and beyond their jurisdiction.
Tasks
- Launch
- Focused Notes
- Text-Dependent Questions
- Focused Inquiry
Attribution and License
Attribution
This Teacher’s Guide for Chapter 7: The State We’re In Washington was developed by Melissa Webster, Everett Public Schools
The downloadable digital version of The State We're In: Washington. Your guide to state, tribal and local government by the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License. Print copies of The State We’re In: Washington, may be purchased from the League of Women Voters of Washington website.
License
Except where otherwise noted, this Teacher Guide for The State We’re In Washington Chapter 7, copyright Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Sections used under fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) are marked.
Launch
Hooking students into the content of the chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Launch to students.
- Guide students in answering the prompts on the handout individually and in partners.
- There is no “correct” answer. Encourage the students to explain their thinking with each other
Focused Notes
Activating student thinking about the content of the entire chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Focused Notes to students.
- As students read, they will record their understanding, thinking, and questions about the content using the handout. This can be done individually or collaboratively in pairs or small groups.
Text-Dependent Questions
Engaging students in a close reading activity about specific content in the chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Text Dependent Questions document to students.
First Read
Have the students read the section and answer the First read questions on the Text Dependent Questions document.
Second Read
Use the Second read questions below to facilitate a small or whole group discussion about the reading section. When they are done have them use the Text Dependent Questions handout to record their notes.
- What category surprised you the most about this graph? Explain why?
- What category surprised you the least about this graph? Explain Why?
Post read
After students have done a first and second read of the page, use the following questions to facilitate a class discussion. Have students capture their notes on the student handout:
- If you were mayor, which category on the graph would you raise or lower spending for? Explain why.
- If you were mayor, is there a category you would add to your budget? If so why and what for?
Teacher note: You may want to use some or all the Second read or Post read questions. The purpose of the Text Dependent Question activity is to have students do multiple close reads of the text leading to discussion that engages all students. Therefore, you may need to add reading strategies that meet the needs of your students.
Focused Inquiry
A focused inquiry is a one to two-day lesson that will have students engaging in the C3 Framework’s Inquiry Arc. The link below includes both teacher and student documents.
Compelling Question
What additional service should be provided by my local government for my community or individuals?