Educational Initiatives Committee
Purpose:
For most students, the local community is more accessible, more tangible, and more comprehensible than the State or national levels. For example, it is more likely that over the lifespan a student will be appointed to a committee or be elected to office in a city or county than to a State or national committee or office. The Minnesota City/County Management Association has been working for several years to develop curriculum units that will help students understand how their local community works. A number of strands and substrands in the Minnesota Academic Standards lend themselves to local government applications. Further, all cities and counties have websites and most post information to those sites that can be used to bring the local community into the classroom. This site provides links to a number of curriculum components created by MCMA members for classroom use, and from other sites on the Web (notably the Michigan Civics Institute). This page is regularly updated as new components are developed and tested.
MN Academic Standards in History and the Social Studies: Links to Lesson Plans
- Strand V: Geography
- Substrand C:
Spatial Organization
- Standard 1: The student will understand the regional
distribution of the human population at local to global scales and its
patterns of change.
- Standard 4: The
student will analyze the patterns of location, functions, structure, and
characteristics of local to global settlement patterns and the processes
that affect the location of cities.
- Build
a BlockA lesson that teaches students the issues involved in the subdivision
of land and providing the space for services that will be needed.
- Balancing
Working and LivingA lesson in which students
create a local economy which matches employment opportunities
with household characteristics.
- Standard 5: The
student will use regions and the interaction among them to analyze the
present patterns of economic activity in the
- Substrand D:
Interconnections
- Standard 1: The
student will describe how humans influence the environment and in turn
are influenced by it.
- Design
with NatureA lesson that asks students to assess the
environmental tradeoffs in locating building sites.
- Strand VI: Economics
- Substrand A:
The Market Economy
- Standard 7: The
student will understand the economic role of government in a free market
economy.
- Landowners
GameA lesson, based on the Prisoners Dilemma and The Tragedy of
the Commons, that points up the difference between private goods and
public goods in trying to supply good quality rental housing.
- Substrand B:
The National Economy
- Standard 1: The
student will understand the economic activities of government.
- City
SurfingA lesson on the range and diversity of services provided
by local government, using city websites.
- Activities
and Services Provided by Local Governmental UnitsA lesson assessing
the differences between services focusing on health, safety, or general
welfare.
- Municipalities: Is It Time for a Change?A
lesson assessing the quality of services provided by municipalities.
- City
Services and OperationA lesson linking city services to the
budgets for providing them.
- Local
Government FundingA lesson identifying the source and amount of
revenue raised by ones local community
- Truth
in Taxation/Budget LessonsA lesson using the annual
- Substrand E:
Economics and Public Policy
- Standard 1: The
student will apply economic theories and concepts to public policy
issues.
- Minapple GameA role-playing simulation in
which the students attempt to resolve an issue that wraps economics and
political issues in the same package.
- Strand VII: Government and Citizenship
- Substrand A:
Civic Values, Skills, Rights and Responsibilities
- Standard 3: The
student will analyze various methods of civic engagement needed to
fulfill responsibilities of a citizen of the republic.
- How
to Make Representative Government Work for YouA lesson in
representative government and organizing for change.
- Get
InvolvedA lesson on the variety of ways to be involved in the
local community
- Citizenship
LessonsA lesson for creating a mock city council and creating a
process for solving a local issue.
- Guidelines
for running a public meeting (City of
- Substrand B:
Beliefs and Principles of
- Standard 3: The
student will understand tensions that exist between key principles of
government in the
- Poor
HannahA lesson that asks students to balance the conflicting
demands of individual liberty and preserving the public health and
safety.
- Home
Rule or not Home Rule, That Is the QuestionA lesson that balances
the principle of home rule against the
principle of efficiency.
- Substrand D:
Governmental Processes and Institutions
- Standard 4: The
student will understand the role and influence of political processes
and organizations.
- Minapple GameA role-playing simulation in
which the students attempt to resolve an issue that wraps economics and
political issues in the same package.
- Evaluating
the Relationship between Local GovernmentsA role-playing
simulation through which students assess the relationship between local
units of government.
- Change
in the Air: The Uncertain Future
of Smelly Lake VillageA lesson on the procedures for passing a
local ordinance.
- Standard 6: The
student will understand
- What
Would Happen IfA lesson on the structure of local government and
its relation to the US Constitution.
- Teaching
the Types of Local Government in Michigan:
- The
Law in Your CommunityA lesson in which students assess local
community ordinances
- Local
Government EmployeesA lesson on the types of work done by local
government employees, and how those roles interrelate.
Committee Members:
Dianne Miller,
City of
Mike Ericson, City of
Rebecca Erickson, League of Minnesota Cities
Tony Filipovitch,
Urban Studies,
Kevin Frazell, League of Minnesota Cities
Ron Johnson,
City of
Phil Kern, City
of
Kay Kuhlmann, City of
Michael
Redlinger, City of
Clinton Rogers,
City of
Bob Therres, City of
Dave Unmacht,
This site is being developed and maintained by the Urban & Regional Studies Institute (URSI) at Minnesota State University, Mankato as a service to the Minnesota City/County Management Association.
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© 2004 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 29 December 04