In January the oldest students started a “Government” unit. For three-months we have studied the needs and rights of individuals, the rights of a community and different forms of government in existence today. Children were first asked to bring in a newspaper article describing some aspect of government. The diversity of topics, from Speaker Sheldon Silver’s abuses in Albany, to Obama lifting restrictions against Cuba, to a New York State childcare law being proposed, to a landmark Supreme Court case about gay rights were the catalyst to many fascinating discussions. After each article was presented we identified whether the issue related to local, state or federal level of government. We watched a video to support our understanding of the different levels of government.

At the start of this unit we established ground rules for all discussions. These rules are essential if there is to be an informed and respectful dialogue. There are bound to be times when we disagree with one another, but the important point is that we can agree to disagree respectfully.

1.    Everyone participates

2.    We respect the opinions of all.

3.    One voice at a time

4.    We can all work with each person.

Students went on to read articles about monarchy, oligarchy and democracy and then compared each form of government after making a list of their pros and cons. To explore these topics further children were asked to find out what kind of  government existed in 19 different countries. The children noted that there were more Constitutional Monarchies in our small sample of countries.

In March we turned our attention to the US government and its three branches of government. We read articles from High Road, and CobblestoneMagazine and watched a video to help us understand our system of checks and. Studying the Bill of Rights and a number of other amendments to the Constitution offered more rich discussion – especially the right to bear arms. There was definitely dissent about whether this amendment was indeed necessary today.

We will continue studying the constitution, and hopefully go on field trips to see our local government in action – the legislative, executive and judicial branches.