Page 121 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

CHAPTER 4 What Social Studies Planning Tools Are Available? 93
• A state is made up of many communities.
• Citizens of voting age have the opportunity to elect leaders for the state.
• Our state government focuses on the services such as higher education, recreation,
state highways, a system of justice, and licensing regulations. The state government
handles matters that affect people throughout the state.
• The U.S. government is defined as people running the country.
• The law-making branch of our U.S. government is made up of men and women
elected by the people from the state that they represent. They are called senators and representatives. They are also called legislators. Together they are known as the U.S. Congress.
• The leader of our government is elected by the people of our country who are of voting age. The leader is known as the president.
• Our president is Barack Obama. He lives and works in the White House. The president is elected by the voters in the United States to serve as the leader of our country. The president’s position is voted on by the people every four years, and the same person cannot serve more than eight years.
• The power of the presidency goes with the office. When Barack Obama leaves the office, the new president will have the power and Mr. Obama will be an ordinary citizen.
• In the United States, we have two major political parties: Democrats, who tend to want more services and more taxes to pay for them, and Republicans, who tend to want fewer services and fewer taxes.
• Any U.S. citizen can run for office when he/she becomes an adult. The person running for office is called a candidate.
• The candidate has a platform—a list of ideas that he/she supports. In speeches and printed campaign materials, the candidate explains what he/she wants government to do and why. On election day, voters decide who they want to represent them and why. Candidates who receive the most votes win.
• The U.S. government makes the rules and laws that affect everyone in the United States.
• The U.S. government does many useful things that keep our country running smoothly.
• A lot of people work for the United States in an effort to make life better for its citizens.
• Voting is a method by which people choose among several alternatives.
• A democracy is a form of government in which people take an active role in the decision making.
• A ballot is the list of names and offices (and sometimes ideas about certain issues) on which voters make their choices.
• It would be difficult and confusing for people to try to live and work together with no rules or laws—no government.
• The earliest societies were small ones ruled by tribal leaders. Later, societies grew to become nations ruled by kings or queens.
• People came to America long ago because they were unhappy with their home countries. They came seeking liberties and happiness.
• At first, they lived in colonies [Show map of colonial United States] that were controlled by the King of England. But they wanted to govern themselves, so they declared their independence and fought a war against England to gain their freedom. They won the war and became a new country called the United States.
• The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are important governmental documents that guarantee rights and freedoms to the people.
• Governments can be classified as democracies or dictatorships.
• Customs and beliefs (part of culture) are reflected in governments around the world.
• Government services are needed to do the things that the people cannot do by
themselves.
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