Map Skills
Hudson River Ohio River Mississippi River Rio Grande Colorado River St. Lawrence River
R = Rocky Mountains A= Appalachian Mountains
Equator Prime Meridian Greece
Line of Latitude Line of Longitude
Each item on the map is color coded to make it easier. The same color scheme should be used on their maps in their agendas.
Ancient Greece
Venn Diagrams for Ancient Greece.docx
United Stated Government
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=25145&CategoryID=3323
Our country is a democracy where people decide what the government will do.
In some places, citizens go to town meetings and listen to each other. They then vote on what to do. In other communities, people choose others to represent, or speak, for them. They do this by voting in elections. Elections are the process by which citizens vote for people to represent them. The person with the most votes wins the election and represents the people of that town or city in local government.
Local government makes laws and provides services you use every day. The laws and services are for the common good. They help keep people safer.
The government collects taxes to pay for services such as road repair, subways, trash collection, and running water. May communities vote on how much taxes they should pay and how to use the taxes.
Most local governments have three branches. Each branch has a job to do. A council is a group of elected people that make the rules or laws. Another branch that works with the council to help make decisions is usually run by the mayor. The last branch is the courts, where disagreements are settled and people decide if laws have been broken.
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Every state has a government. The government is run by people elected by the citizens. They usually work in the state capitol. Every state has its own constitution, or plan for government. Each state government has three branches that work together to run the state.
Lawmakers run the branch of state government that makes the laws. In Georgia, this is called the General Assembly and it has two parts: The Senate and the House of Representatives. The lawmakers write laws and vote on them. Those that pass go to the governor, who is the head of the state’s second branch. The governor’s job is to carry out state laws. Governors signs laws to make them official or veto (stop) new laws. The third branch of government is made up of the courts. Judges make sure that laws follow the state and national constitutions, as well as what laws have been broken.
The state government pays for its services by collecting taxes. The governor decides how the money will be spent. The governor chooses people to run different departments in the state.
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The national government has three branches. The job of each branch is described in the constitution. The main role is to protect the rights of citizens.
The legislative branch, or Congress, is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. This branch makes the laws.
The executive branch carries out the laws and is headed by the President. The President’s job is to make sure laws are carried out. He also approves or rejects laws made by Congress. American citizens vote to decide who will be President.
The judicial branch decides what the laws mean and whether they obey the Constitution. The Supreme Court heads up this branch.
Taxes pay to support the branches and for the military that protects the country. They also pay for departments that provide services.
Constitution says that all branches need to work together. There is a separation of powers so that all three branches have different powers, but that no branch is stronger than another. This keeps one branch from ruling over the others. Each branch can check, or limit, the other branches. This is called checks and balances. This also keeps our rights intact.
There are also levels of government: local, state, and national. Each level has its own powers and responsibilities.
Many buildings in US government look like those from Athens, Greece. This is because they are symbols of what is important to people. The builders wanted to remind us of what we share with Athens: democracy. The U.S. Supreme Court building was built to look like the Parthenon. There are also many monuments in D.C. These are meant to remind us of important people.
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Athens, Greece was the first place where people decided to try and rule themselves. About 2,500 years ago, they decided to try a democracy, or a government in which people rule themselves. The US also has a democracy, but it is different than that of Athens.
The citizens of Athens had a direct democracy. This is when citizens vote directly for leaders and on issues. Citizens met 3-4 times a month in an assembly. The assembly created a group of about 500 citizens called the council to run the city from day to day. The assembly could suggest new laws. The laws also gave punishments. Only male citizens could vote.
The US has a representative democracy. All citizens have the right to take part in the government. In our government, citizens choose other people to represent, or stand for, them in government. The people who are chosen meet to make decisions for the whole country. Today, all people who are citizens may vote: men, women, black, white, Hispanic, and Asian.
The first Olympic Games were held in Greece in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were holy games to honor their god Zeus and happened every four years. Only men and boys could compete. The winners were crowned with a laurel leaf and were heroes and celebrities. The Olympics occurred for over 400 years, and were banned in 395 BC.
In 1896, a modern version of the Olympics was started in Athens, Greece. We still have the Olympics. Men and women can compete, and contestants come from all over the world to try and win a medal.