Social Studies - United States Government & Citizenship
Educational Links

U.S. GOV Strand 1: FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES

The framework of the United States Constitution and the functions of government are guided by principles essential for our way of life. An understanding of how these principles are applied in the rule of law, government, and politics is vital in order to be a responsible and effective citizen. Students need to be able to see how the ideals found in the Constitution are present in many of the issues of the day.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

• How are the principles of government embedded in the Constitution?
• How did the shortcomings in the Articles of Confederation lead to the development of the Constitution?
• How is e pluribus unum related to the concept of federalism?
• Why is an independent judiciary so essential to our democracy? What are some of the fundamental purposes of judicial review?
• How is judicial review a reflection of, and a response to, changes in our history?
• What are the exceptional characteristics of the United States' form of government?

• American Government: All Politics - CNN
  A World Wide Web page devoted to politics, with breaking news, features, documents, quizzes and links to other Net resources on politics.
• Integrating OurDocuments.gov into the Classroom
  Teachers: Use these ideas for classroom activities on government documents
• U.S. Government
  Students can learn about Democracy, historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the three brances of the U.S. government.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.