Social Studies Worksheets and Study Guides Fourth Grade. State Government

The resources above cover the following skills:

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS)
POWER, AUTHORITY, AND GOVERNANCE
SOCIAL STUDIES PROGRAMS SHOULD INCLUDE EXPERIENCES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE STUDY OF HOW PEOPLE CREATE, INTERACT WITH, AND CHANGE STRUCTURES OF POWER, AUTHORITY, AND GOVERNANCE.
PROCESSES - Learners will be able to:
Ask and find answers to questions about power, authority, and governance in the school, community, and state.
National Standards for Civics and Government (NSCG)
What is Government and What Should It Do? What is government?
Defining government: Students should be able to provide a basic description of government. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Describe government in terms of the people and groups who make, apply, and enforce rules and laws for others in their family, school, community, and nation and who manage disputes about them, e.g.,
Governors and state legislatures make, apply, and enforce rules and laws for their states
Courts at all levels apply laws, manage disputes, and punish lawbreakers
What is Government and What Should It Do? Where do people in government get the authority to make, apply, and enforce rules and laws and manage disputes about them?
Defining power and authority: Students should be able to explain the difference between authority and power without authority, and that authority comes from custom, law, and the consent of the governed. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Explain that authority is power that people have the right to use because of custom, law, or the consent of the governed
Governors of states have the authority to carry out and enforce laws; this authority comes from law and the consent of the people who have elected the governors
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy? What are the major responsibilities of state governments?
Organization and major responsibilities of state governments: Students should be able to explain the most important responsibilities of their state government. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Distinguish between the national and state governments
Describe the major responsibilities of each branch of their state government
Legislative branch—makes state laws, decides how the state will spend tax money, approves appointments made by the governor
Executive branch—carries out and enforces laws made by the state legislature, e.g., laws providing for education, health care for needy children, protection of fish and game
Judicial branch—interprets law and manages conflicts about the law
Describe important services their state government provides, e.g., education, law enforcement, health services and hospitals, roads and highways, public welfare
Describe how state government officials are chosen, e.g., elections, appointment
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy? What are the major responsibilities of local governments?
Organization and major responsibilities of local governments: Students should be able to explain the most important responsibilities of their local government. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Distinguish among national, state, and local governments
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy? Who represents you in the legislative and executive branches of your local, state, and national governments?
Identifying members of government: Students should be able to identify the members of the legislative branches and the heads of the executive branches of their local, state, and national governments. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Name the persons representing them at state and national levels in the legislative branches of government, e.g., representatives and senators in their state legislature and in Congress
Name the persons representing them at the executive branches of government, e.g., mayor, governor, president
What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy? How should Americans select leaders?
Selecting leaders: Students should be able to explain and apply criteria useful in selecting leaders in their school, community, state, and nation. To achieve this standard, students should be able to
Identify the major duties, powers, privileges, and limitations of a position of leadership, e.g., class president, mayor, state senator, tribal chairperson, president of the United States