Overview
The students will compare the basic roles of the federal, state and local governments with those of their school district.

Standards — Social Studies
Grade 5
Government, Benchmark A

1. Explain major responsibilities of each of the three branches of the U.S. government:

a. The legislative branch, headed by Congress, passes laws.
b. The executive branch, headed by the president, carries out and enforces the laws made by Congress.
c. The judicial branch, headed by the Supreme Court, interprets and applies the law.

Grade 8
Government, Benchmark B

6. Explain how specific provisions of the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, limit the powers of government in order to protect the rights of individuals with emphasis on the following:

a. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
b. Right to trial by jury and the right to counsel.
c. Due process and equal protection of the laws.
7. Explain how the Northwest Ordinance established principles and procedures for the orderly expansion of the United States.

Standards — Language Arts
Grade 5, Writing
Writing Process, Benchmark A

2. Conduct background reading, interviews or surveys when appropriate.

Writing Applications, Benchmark D

5. Write informational essays or reports, including research, that organize information with a clear introduction, body and conclusion following common expository structures when appropriate (e.g., cause-effect, comparison-contrast) and include facts, details and examples to illustrate important ideas.

Writing Process, Benchmark A

2. Conduct background reading, interviews or surveys when appropriate.

Research, Benchmark A

1. Generate a topic, assigned or personal interest, and open-ended questions for research and develop a plan for gathering information.
Grade 8

Writing Process, Benchmark C

6. Organize writing with an effective and engaging introduction, body and a conclusion that summarizes, extends or elaborates on points or ideas in the writing.

Research, Benchmark A

1. Compose open-ended questions for research, assigned or personal interest, and modify questions as necessary during inquiry and investigation.

Materials
• History text

Procedure

1. Students summarize the role of each power of government (federal, state and local) after reading history text or doing research on the Web.

2. Review with the class the chart in this section that compares federalism to school systems.

3. Teachers and students compile a list of interview questions for the superintendent, the principal and a teacher regarding the role they each play in creating and enforcing rules (laws). For more information on interviewing, go to http://www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org/constitution/intervie.htm.

4. Students interview the superintendent, principal and teacher. If the students do not have access to actual interviews, a variation could be that a list of questions for the whole class can be sent to the superintendent, principal and teacher for them to answer in writing.

5. Students take notes based on interviews.

6. Students create a Venn diagram to compare the types of governing bodies.
   • Federal versus superintendent
   • State versus principal
   • Local versus teacher

Evaluation
Scoring Rubric for Venn Diagram