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G R A D E S     5   -  8    

NSS-C.5-8.1 CIVIC LIFE, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
What are Civic Life, Politics, and Government?
  • What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary? What purposes should government serve?
  • What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government?
  • What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?
  • What are alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments?
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NSS-C.5-8.2 FOUNDATIONS OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
What are the Foundations of the American Political System?
  • What is the American idea of constitutional government?
  • What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?
  • What is American political culture?
  • What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?
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NSS-C.5-8.3 PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?
  • How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?
  • What does the national government do?
  • How are state and local governments organized and what do they do?
  • Who represents you in local, state, and national governments?
  • What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?
  • How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?
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NSS-C.5-8.4 OTHER NATIONS AND WORLD AFFAIRS
What is the Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs?
  • How is the world organized politically?
  • How has the United States influenced other nations and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?
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NSS-C.5-8.5 ROLES OF THE CITIZEN
What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?
  • What is citizenship?
  • What are the rights of citizens?
  • What are the responsibilities of citizens?
  • What dispositions or traits of character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy?
  • How can citizens take part in civic life?
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