Michigan State and Local Government Curricula

The Civics Institute’s State and Local Government Curricula increases the level of knowledge about state and local government for teachers and students and develops and refines student social studies process skills such as inquiry, public discourse and decision making. The premise is that when youth become knowledgeable about state and local government, understand state and local government’s impact in their lives, and understand their potential impact on their state and local government, they will engage in active citizen involvement and participate in governance at the state and local levels of government.

It is imperative that we reconnect students with their state and local government to provide them the knowledge necessary to be enthusiastic, participative members of their local communities.

From 2001-2003, through two separate projects, The Civics Institute created state and local government curricula for the high school level of instruction. This curricula is comprised of 27 units on state and local government. Each unit is closely aligned with the Michigan Curriculum Framework and includes procedures for instruction, writing activities, rubrics, and all other instructional components needed for implementation.

All designed units incorporate the following educational initiatives:

The best practice approaches for teaching and learning standards
The incorporation of appropriate elementary and middle school civics standards and benchmarks as well as social studies process strands associated with powerful and authentic social studies as outlined in the Michigan Curriculum Framework
The incorporation of assessment for each unit that utilizes the Michigan Curriculum Framework seven standards for assessment

In order to address both the content strand of civics knowledge as well as the process strands, each unit meets specific criteria.

Each designed unit contains evidence of the following criteria.

Higher-Order Thinking: Instruction on state and local government must involve synthesis, generalization, explanation, evaluation, and analysis through independent and group-centered tasks.
Deep Knowledge: Instruction on state and local government must address central ideas as well as supporting details.
Substantive Conversation: Students must be provided opportunities to engage in extended conversational exchanges with the teacher and peers about issues and concepts in state and local government in a manner that builds an improved and shared understanding of ideas or topics.
Connections to the World Beyond the Classroom: Students must be provided the opportunity to make connections between substantive knowledge and either public policy issues and problems or personal experiences.
MCF Alignment: At least one benchmark within the civic perspective of the content standard for social studies is addressed within the lesson.
Emphasis on Technology: Opportunities for students to acquire, organize, analyze, or present information using technology must be incorporated.
Lifelong Skill Link: Opportunities will be provided for students to recognize and refine skills and knowledge that will be used in the workplace.

Quotes about the high school curricular units

“ The development of this innovative and ground breaking curricula is excellent news for Michigan students and citizens. It is important for young people to learn about our state and local government function. The curricula will enable them to become active participants in our democracy and help them learn how their votes and actions can affect public policy.”
~Tom Watkins, Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction

“ The Civics Institute has equipped teachers with the tools and resources they need to teach about state and local government. The development of this curricula has been a Michigan Local Government Management Association (MLGMA) priority since 1997 and will help provide for a well-rounded education by increasing students’ knowledge of the workings of state and local government.”
~Michael Young, Director of Community Education Committee at MLGMA

“ City governments deal with so many issues that affect our quality of life. Michigan cannot thrive without healthy cities, nor can the nation as a whole. This curricula will instill in students a greater respect for the importance of local government.”
~George Goodman, Executive Director of Michigan Municipal League

“ The students of today are tomorrow’s leaders. They need to understand that their input and involvement in local government is essential in order for wise governance to prevail in their communities.”
~Timothy McGuire, Executive Director of Michigan Association of Counties

“ Students should understand how much of a difference they can have in affecting local policies. It’s ironic that far more people show up at the polls for federal elections than local elections when you consider that each individual can exert much more policy influence at the township and local level. This curricula will drive that point home.”
~Larry Merrill, Executive Director of Michigan Townships Association

Elementary and Middle School Curricula Project

The Civics Institute is planning to complete its Michigan-specific curricula in 2007 by publishing instructional units for elementary and middle school teachers.

This project will create curricular units on Michigan local government that will be made available through the Institute’s web site. There are two primary outcomes from the development of these curricular units. The first outcome is to increase the level of knowledge about local government for elementary and middle school students and teachers. The second outcome is to develop and refine social studies process skills such as inquiry, public discourse and decision making. Ultimately, these outcomes will promote active citizen involvement from students in Michigan.

Curriculum specialists and classroom teachers will create these units. The lessons will include classroom activities, simulations surrounding local government issues, assessments, and activities to promote citizen involvement in local communities. Each unit will be designed around a topic of local government and will contain several lesson plans along with accompanying procedures and all resources and web links needed to teach the unit.

Each unit will be closely aligned with the Michigan Curriculum Framework and will include procedures for instruction, writing activities, rubrics, and all other instructional components needed for implementation.