Government
• Examine the meaning of fundamental ideas such as equality, authority, power, freedom, justice, property, responsibility, and sovereignty. (A1, A2)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the former U.S. government under the Articles of Confederation. (A1, A3, A4, B2)
• * Analyze the rights, responsibilities, and roles of citizenship (e.g., obligations to obey the law, serve as a juror, pay taxes). (E1, E2, E3, E6, C2)
• Analyze the role of the individual in politics, such as evaluating rules and laws, selecting political leaders, and resolving conflict. (E4, E5, E7)
• Demonstrate understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights; memorize the first 10 Amendments and the Preamble. (A1, A2, B1, B2, B3)
• Demonstrate basic factual understanding of the legislative branch as outlined in Article I of the Constitution (e.g., organizational structure and powers of the legislative branch, length of terms, age requirements, law making processes, impeachment proceedings). (B3, A3)
• Demonstrate basic factual understanding of the executive branch as outlined in Article II of the Constitution (e.g., powers of the President and Vice President; federal departments and agencies; budget; war powers; foreign policy). (D1, F6, A3)
• Demonstrate basic factual understanding of the judicial branch as outlined in Article III of the Constitution (e.g., number of justices; length of term; major Supreme Court rulings: Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Marbury v. Madison, Plessy v. Ferguson, McCulloch v. Maryland, Arizona v. Miranda). (B3, B7, E4, B8, F1, A3)
• Explain how the U.S. Constitution reflects a balance between the classical republican concern with promotion of the public good and the classical liberal concern with protecting individual rights. (B5, B6)
• Describe the systems of separated and shared powers, checks and balances, the importance of an independent judiciary, enumerated powers, rule of law, and federalism. (B3)
• Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy). (B1)
• Understand that law codes reflect the values of civilizations (e.g., American Bill of Rights; Supreme Court rulings: Roe v. Wade, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education). (B3, B7, E3, E4)
• Understand, compare, and contrast how powers and responsibilities are distributed, shared, or limited in government. (B3, C8)
• Demonstrate an understanding of federalism. (B4, C8)
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the Alaska Statehood Act, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and the Alaska Permanent Fund. (C3, C5, D3)
• Analyze the origin, development, and role of political parties in the United States. (B5, B9)
• Analyze trends in voter turnout. (E1, E2)
• Analyze the causes and effects of reapportionment and redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities. (B6, B9)
• Analyze the function of the Electoral College. (E5) |