Civics

Middle School Civics - Articles

How can we balance the need for order and the desire for freedom? Forming a social contract

How can we balance the need for order and the desire for freedom? Forming a social contract

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Students will be able to: collaboratively consider what life would be like in a state of nature; explain why we need laws and government for order and the desire for freedom; identify the elements and underlying values of social contracts; explain how social contracts balance the need for order and the desire for individual freedom; collaboratively draft an original social contract from an historical point of view; discuss and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of social contract with relation to its stated purpose; analyze and discuss the relationship between ordered liberty, popular sovereignty and limited government.
How Well Have We Met the Promise of Free Expression in the First Amendment?

How Well Have We Met the Promise of Free Expression in the First Amendment?

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The First Amendment prohibits Congress from interfering with: an individual’s ability to express views freely; the ability of the press to write and publish (no censorship); individuals’ ability to assemble (meet with) others;  individuals’ ability to petition the government (send letters, emails, phone calls, meet in person, lobby, protest peacefully).
What are Human Rights?

What are Human Rights?

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Students will be able to define and categorize human rights, explain the source of human rights, and take and defend a position about how to best protect human rights.
What does “Consent of the Governed” Mean?

What does “Consent of the Governed” Mean?

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Students will be able to define and compare implicit and explicit consent, explain how consent of the governed legitimizes government’s authority, and identify ways that citizens give implicit and explicit consent.