Civics & Government · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

The Structure of Local Governments

Ever wonder who decides where a new park goes or why your school has a different vacation schedule than the next town over? This week, we investigate the governments closest to home.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3 Framework: D2.Civ.1.9-12: Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.

• 30–90 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Town Hall Meeting
• 90 min · Pairs

Local Government Map

Students research and create a visual map or infographic of their own community's government. They must identify their county, municipality, school district, and at least two other special districts, along with the key elected officials for each.

Identify the different types of local governments that serve your community.

Facilitation Tip

Provide students with a list of official local government websites to start their research.

What to look for

An exit ticket where students must list one service provided by their county, one by their city, and one by a special district.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Town Hall Meeting
• 45 min · Small Groups

Mayor vs. Manager Role-Play

Divide the class into two groups, one representing a strong-mayor system and the other a council-manager system. Present both groups with a community problem (e.g., budget shortfall for parks) and have them role-play a public meeting to solve it according to their assigned government structure.

Compare the mayor-council and council-manager forms of city government.

Facilitation Tip

Use name cards to help students remember their roles, such as 'Mayor,' 'City Manager,' and 'Council Member.'

What to look for

Students create a detailed diagram or presentation that maps the structure of their local government, identifying key leaders and explaining the function of each major component.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Town Hall Meeting
• 30 min · Individual

A Day in the Life

Students keep a 24-hour log of their activities and then identify which local government entity is responsible for the services they used. Examples include driving on a county-maintained road, drinking water from a municipal utility, and attending a school run by a school district.

Explain the purpose and function of special districts, such as school districts or water districts.

Facilitation Tip

Start the activity with a whole-class brainstorm of daily activities to get students thinking.

What to look for

Students complete a K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart about local government at the beginning and end of the unit to reflect on their learning.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Begin by connecting to students' direct experiences, asking them to list services they use daily. Use a graphic organizer to visually separate the roles of counties, cities, and special districts. Emphasize that these structures can look very different from one community to the next, making their own local research essential.

By the end of this topic, you will be able to identify the different local governments that serve you and explain who is responsible for key community services.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• The mayor is the 'boss' of the city, just like the President is for the country.

  The mayor's power varies greatly. In a 'strong mayor' system, they have significant executive authority, but in a 'council-manager' system, the mayor may be a largely ceremonial figurehead, with a professional city manager running daily operations.

• The city government runs everything in town, including the schools.

  While cities provide many services, schools are almost always managed by a separate entity called a school district. This is a type of 'special district' with its own elected board and budget, independent of the city or town council.

• Counties are just for rural areas; cities are what matter.

  Counties are a primary unit of local government for everyone, providing key services like public health, court administration, and election oversight to both rural and urban residents. In many areas, residents live under the jurisdiction of both a city and a county government.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Town Hall Meeting