Civics is the study of our national government, constitution, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Topics include democracy and other forms of government; legislative, executive, and judicial functions; the political process; and foreign and domestic policies. It also includes a summary of Washington State History and local native sovereignty.

Social Studies Targets:Forms of governmentNature/Purposes of governmentIdeologies of governmentComparative governmentEconomic systems and governmentLearning Targets:Understand how the world is organized politically and nations interact (civics)Identify the differences in philosophy, structure, and the nature of different types of government (civics)Understand the role of sovereignty in the development of different governments and within governments (civics)Compare and contrast democracies with other forms of government.(civics)Understand individual rights and their accompanying responsibilities including problem solving and decision making at the local, state, and international level. (civics)Understand how cultural forces and factors influenced and were influenced by changes in government (Cultural Geography)Identify ways that power can be distributed geographically within a state (Physical Geography)Identify the different types of economic systems (Economics)Understand how different government and economic systems influence one another (Economics)Students will recognize and analyze the ideologies inherent in different economic systems. (Economics)

Teacher's Guide: The Sovereign State by iCivicsTime Needed: Two class periodsMaterials Needed:Student WorksheetsPower Point w/projector (optional)Colored pencils (optional)Copy Instructions:Anticipation & Closing Activities (half pages back to back; class set)Guided notes organizer (1 page; class set)Create a State Worksheets (2 pages; class set)Learning Objectives. Students will be able to:Identify and describe the four features of a state.Differentiate between a sovereign state and the “states” in the United States by deciding whether the four features of a state apply to each.List the four roles of government.Apply the features and roles of a state by creating a profile of a new, fictional sovereign state and deciding on its priorities.

This course is intended as an introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life are focused upon: the polis experience (Plato, Aristotle), the sovereign state (Machiavelli, Hobbes), constitutional government (Locke), and democracy (Rousseau, Tocqueville). The way in which different political philosophies have given expression to various forms of political institutions and our ways of life are examined throughout the course.