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Teacher Resources for Civic Education

 

WHO REPRESENTS YOU IN GOVERNMENT?

Grade Level: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

 

Subjects:

Social Studies: U.S., State, and Local Government

Language Arts: : Reading, Writing

 

Duration: 1-2 class sessions

 

Description: Many students know that citizens elect representatives to represent the public's interest in government, but few students actually know who their representatives are, or which representative to go to when they have a question, issue or cause. Students learn and contact many of their representatives.

 

ISBE Standards:

 

1. Social Science

• 14A: Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.
• 14B: Understand the structures and functions of the political systems of Illinois, the United States and other nations.
• 14D: Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States and other nations.

 

2. Language Arts

• 1B: Apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency.
• 1C: Comprehend a broad range of reading materials.
• 3A: Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and structure. ·
• 3B: Compose well-organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences.
• 3C: Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes. · 4A: Listen effectively in formal and informal situation.
• 4B: Speak effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.
• 5A: Locate, organize, and use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems and communicate ideas.

 

 

Objectives:

• Explain who represents the students at each level of government;
• Understand the basic roles and differences between each level of government.

 

Materials:

Who Represents You Handout

Instruction and Activity:

In explaining all the different levels, have the students follow along with the chart handout. Ask students what they think each level is for before revealing the answers. The levels of government are layered like an onion or a gobstopper. Each level has a different purpose.

A. Federal Level: deals with problems affecting nation as a whole - commerce, foreign relations, military, treasury

1. Executive

a. President: George W. Bush (R) (2000-2004)

b. Vice President: Dick Cheney (R) (also Senate President)

c. Non-elected officials: The president's cabinet including the secretaries that head up the various administrative departments.

2. Congress

a. Senate

1. 100 Members - two from each state

2. Six year terms

3. IL Senators - Dick Durbin (D) & Peter Fitzgerald (R)

b. House of Representatives

1. Number of representatives is determined by the population of the state. The population is recounted in a census every 10 years.

2. There are 435 total representatives currently in the House. House members have two-year terms.

3. A state is divided into local population districts. Each district has a Congressional representative. DuPage County is in districts 6, 13, and 14 in Illinois.

3. Judicial - Non-elected

a. US Supreme Court - nine justices nominated by the President and confirmed by a 2/3 majority of the Senate.

b. Federal Appellate and District Courts - appointed by the President and confirmed by 2/3 of the Senate.

c. Federal judges serve a life term

B. State Level: deals with state issues like highway construction, in-state business, traffic, education, voting, etc.

1. Executive

a. Governor: Rob Blagojevich (D) (4 year term)

b. Lieutenant Governor: Pat Quinn (D)

c. Secretary of State: Jesse White (D)

d. Attorney General: Lisa Madigan (D)

2. State Legislature - General Assembly of Illinois

a. Senate - 59 members

b. There are 5 Senators from DuPage County

c. House - 118 members

d. There are 12 House members from DuPage County

3. Judiciary - elected

A. Circuit Judges - 21 circuits in Illinois.

B. DuPage County is home of the 18th judicial circuit court. Illinois is divided into 21 different judicial circuits.

C. County Level: deals with specific issues like water and sewage, health services, regional planning.

1. 102 Counties in Illinois

2. DuPage County is divided into 6 districts with 18 county representatives in the State legislature. Elmhurst is in district 2. Reps are elected every 4 years.

3. Other county level officials include the sheriff, clerk, treasurer, state attorney, clerk of the court, auditor, assessor (assesses property values), and coroner.

D. Township Level: provides general assistance, does tax assessment, and maintains local roads.

1. Smaller than the county, there are 85 townships in Illinois and 9 in DuPage.

2. The purpose of the township level is to maintain roads and assess local property taxes. These taxes help to fund public services like schools and road repair.

E. Municipal Level: deals with local laws (ordinances) related to building codes, liquor control, zoning, and regulating nuisances like noise

1. Townships are divided into Municipalities. Municipalities are cities, towns, and villages.

2. There are 36 municipalities in DuPage

F. Special Districts

1. Even smaller districts are created for specific purposes like the school district, park district, library district, police district, etc.

Activity One: Who can help you?

Goal: Identify which level of government is most appropriate to address students' day-to-day problems and issues.

Activity: Brainstorm a list of issues that are facing students, their friends, and their families today. Then decide which level of government is most appropriate to deal with that issue. For example, you wouldn't go to a federal representative for assistance in putting a stop sign at the end of your block, just as you would not go to your mayor to protest a war.

• Want to build a skate park - City or village Property taxes - Township
• Need a stop sign at end of street - City or village
• School Funding - State legislature
• Possibility of a draft - US Congress
• Issues dealing with war - US Congress
• Need for recycling - City or village

 

Activity Two: Who Represents You Locally?

Goal: Identify who represents students in their state and local governments.

Activity: Either as an assignment or in-class, have students find out who is representing them at the state and local level. Resources are found in the library and online. (see handout). A good way to do this activity would be to divide the students up into Federal, State, County, Township, and Municipality groups, or a assign a couple of levels to each group. Each group is then responsible for finding the necessary information and then all groups should exchange the information with one another in a larger setting.

Resources:

• IL Government Handbook
• About DuPage Government Resource Guide
• Legislative Directory
• DuPage County Election Commission
• Phone books (for elected officials in municipalities)
• State Board of Elections
• www.vote-smart.org www.state.il.us (State of IL website)

WORKSHEET

HOW MANY REPRESENTATIVES DO YOU HAVE AND WHO ARE THEY? Give the number of representatives for each level of government and who your representatives are for that level of government.

©Copyright 2003 Citizen Advocacy Center. All rights reserved. No part of this lesson plan may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior, written permission of the Citizen Advocacy Center.