Get to Know Our Government

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Get to Know Our Government!

• By Mr. DeVries
• 2nd Grade

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Overview 2nd Grade Social StudiesUS
Government Unit

• The United States has three levels of government
  They are local, state, and national. You will
  learn about each level and a few other tidbits!

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Introduction

• The United States is a big country that is made
  up of 50 states and each state has their own
  government also! Click here to see a map of the
  US.
• The state governments meet in the state capital.
  Do you know what Iowas state capital is?
• Each state is made up of many counties and in
  each county there are many cities and towns.
  Each county and city/town also has their own
  government. Do you know what county Spirit Lake
  is in?

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What is Government?

• To keep order and keep people safe, each
  community has a government. A government is a
  group of citizens that runs a country.
• Most people in government are elected. They are
  elected when people vote for them into office.
• Voting is a right that citizens have to elect
  their leaders.

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Local Government

• Local governments can be county or city
  governments. Click here to find the county
  Spirit Lake is in.
• Spirit Lake is the county seat. The county seat
  is where the court house is at.
• Towns also have mayors and city council. Click
  here to find out who our mayor is in Spirit Lake.
• The local government also has many other people
  to help you. Take a look here to learn more
  about them.

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State Government

• The United States has 50 states!! Each state has
  their own capital. Click here to find Iowas
  capital!
• Each state has government has a leader called a
  governor. Find Iowas governor here.
• Each state also has a legislature which is like a
  city council but much larger.
• The picture of the bird is Iowas state bird
  which is the American Goldfinch. To learn more
  about Iowa click here.

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National Government

• Our countrys government has worked well for over
  200 years!
• Our nations capital is Washington D.C. Click
  here to learn about it!
• The state and national government is made up of
  three branches. Click here to learn about each
  branch.
• The president works in the White House. Here is
  some information about the White House.
• The congress meets in the US Capital building.
  Here is a picture of the Capital.
• Here is a picture of where the Supreme Court
  sits.

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Poster/Assignment

• I will have you make a poster with a partner
  describing two things you learned about each
  level of government.
• Split the poster paper into three sections and
  label one section local, one section state, and
  one section national.
• Feel free to draw and color pictures and design
  it however you want.
• Have fun!!

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Checklist for Evaluation

• ____ Student found the county Spirit Lake is in.
  
• _____ Student learned the three levels of US
  government.
• ____ Student found out who the Spirit Lake mayor
  is.
• ____ Student found out the state capital of Iowa.
• ____ Student found learned the governor of Iowa.
• ____ Student learned about the three branches of
  government.
• ____ Student made a poster showing they learned
  information about each level of government.

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Congratulations!!

• You have finished the web quest on US Government.
  Thank you for coming along! If you want to
  learn more about the US Government visit this
  website.