PASS Objectives

The student will:

1. demonstrate process skills in social studies.
    
2. define government as the formal institution with the authority to make and implement binding decisions about such matters as distribution of resources, allocation of benefits and burdens, and management of conflicts.
    
3. analyze the philosophical and historical development of government as an institution.
    
4. describe the purpose of government and analyze how its powers are acquired, used, and justified.
    
5. compare and contrast how governments are organized in terms of the number of people who have access to power (i.e., despotism, oligarchy, republic, and democracy), where power is located (i.e., unitary, federal, and confederal), and the relationship between the legislative and executive branches (i.e., presidential and parliamentary).
    
6. analyze and describe examples of fundamental United States constitutional principles contained in the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist Papers, and the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments.
    
7. identify and explain the fundamental concepts of the system of government of the United States.
    
8. analyze the United States Constitution.
    
9. compare and contrast the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government at the national, state, and local levels.
    
10. analyze how the Constitution has evolved since 1789.
     
11. explain and give contemporary examples of how political parties, interest groups, the media, and individuals influence the policy agenda and decision-making of government institutions.
     
12. describe the components of campaigns for national, state and local elective office, including the nominative process; campaign funding and spending, the influence of the media, advertising, and polling; reapportionment and redistricting; the role of the electoral college; and the term-limitation movement.
     
13. explain the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of citizenship in the United States, such as voting, jury duty, obedience to lawful authority, and private ownership of property.
     
14. compare and contrast the political and economic systems of the United States with those of major democratic and authoritarian nations.
     
15. identify and distinguish among the units of local government in Oklahoma (i.e., counties, cities, towns, and regional authorities) by analyzing local public issues.
     
16. develop and practice the skills needed for informed participation in public affairs, including analyzing public issues, examining candidates for public office, evaluating the performance of public officials, and communicating with public officials.
     

  Research Links

Oklahoma PASS Objetives

Standard 1: The student will demonstrate process skills in social studies.

1. Identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary sources, such as artifacts, letters, photographs, art, documents, newspapers, and contemporary media (e.g., television, motion pictures, and computer-based technologies) that reflect events in United States government and politics.

2. Interpret economic and political issues as expressed in maps, tables, diagrams, charts, political cartoons, and economic graphs.

3. Make distinctions among propaganda, fact and opinion; evaluate cause and effect relationships; and draw conclusions in examining documentary sources.

4. Develop discussion, debate, and persuasive writing and speaking skills, focusing on enduring issues (e.g., individual rights versus the common good, and problems of intolerance toward cultural, ethnic, and religious groups).

Standard 3: The student will analyze the philosophical and historical development of government as an institution.

1. Discuss the development of democracy in ancient Greece and Rome, the United Kingdom, and the American colonies.

2. Examine and interpret the contributions of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Blackstone to contemporary political theory and governmental structure.

1. Distinguish between civic life (i.e., the public life of the citizen concerned with community and national affairs) and private life (i.e., the personal life of the individual devoted to the pursuit of private interests).

2. Examine political authority, its sources and functions, and the difference between authority and power without authority.

3. Distinguish between and explain the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited governments, and identify historical and contemporary examples of each.

4. Research examples of formal institutions with the authority to control and direct the behavior of those in a society (e.g., tribal councils, courts, monarchies, and democratic legislatures).

Standard 6: The student will analyze and describe examples of fundamental United States constitutional principles contained in the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist Papers, and the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments.

Standard 7: The student will identify and explain the fundamental concepts of the system of government of the United States.

1. The equality of all citizens under the law

2. Majority rule and minority rights

3. The fundamental worth and dignity of the individual

4. The necessity of compromise

5. Individual freedom

6. The rule of law

7. Constitutionalism and limited government

8. Democracy and republicanism

9. Consent of the governed

10. Liberties, privileges, rights, and responsibilities

1. Purposes expressed in the Preamble

2. Branches of government

3. Powers and limitations

4. Amendment process

1. Structures, functions, and authority

2. Federalism

3. Separation of powers

4. Checks and balances

5. The extent to which power is shared rather than divided or separated (i.e., concurrent powers)

6. Procedures for constitutional and charter amendment

1. Examine the constitutional amendments, the conflicts or issues they addressed, and the reasons for their adoption.

2. Identify and explain the basic rulings in landmark Supreme Court cases, including Marbury v. Madison (1803), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Furman v. Georgia (1972), United States v. Nixon (1974), and Gregg v. Georgia (1976).

Standard 12: The student will describe the components of campaigns for national, state and local elective office, including the nominative process; campaign funding and spending, the influence of the media, advertising, and polling; reapportionment and redistricting; the role of the electoral college; and the term-limitation movement.

Standard 13: The student will explain the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of citizenship in the United States, such as voting, jury duty, obedience to lawful authority, and private ownership of property.

Standard 14: The student will compare and contrast the political and economic systems of the United States with those of major democratic and authoritarian nations.

Standard 15: The student will identify and distinguish among the units of local government in Oklahoma (i.e., counties, cities, towns, and regional authorities) by analyzing local public issues.

Standard 16: The student will develop and practice the skills needed for informed participation in public affairs, including analyzing public issues, examining candidates for public office, evaluating the performance of public officials, and communicating with public officials.