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Social Studies Grade 8 Assignment Week of 5-18-20 Directions: Go to studentintranet.bpsma.org Log into Clever using your BPS username and password Click on Newsela Copy and paste this link into your browser: https://newsela.com/subject/other/2000266146 Instructions: Read the 3 articles below. Highlight in PINK any words you do not understand (or write them down). Complete the activities that follow. Activity 1: Define the following vocabulary terms: · mayor · city council · municipality · advocate · establish · fundamental · petition Activity 2: Brainstorm ideas about the different responsibilities of city governments. Name Brockton's Mayor and/or City Council members. If you do not know them, brainstorm ways you can find out this information. Why is it important to know the name of your city's elected officials? As you read, highlight in YELLOW details about the structure of city governments and the responsibilities of city councils. Annotate anything you find that is an example of action taken by a mayor or city council member. Activity 3: Imagine you are a newspaper reporter. Create a mock interview with someone who has been denied voting rights, asking them the following questions (if you don't know anyone who has been denied voting rights, have them imagine what it might be like if this happened to them): · What rights do you have? · How were your rights denied? · Why were your rights denied? · How are you planning to take action to prevent your voting rights from being violated? · Why do you consider it important to participate in civic life? Activity 4: Think about the one change you'd like to see in your community or state. How would you go about making this change? What action steps would you need to take to make your change happen? Explain in detail. How Government Works: State and local power By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.16.17 Word Count 599 Level 790L State and local governments do everything from creating laws to helping run municipal services. That means they help take care of our water, our streets, our public libraries, our schools and much more. Image by: Newsela staff. The United States has one national government. It also has 50 state governments and 89,000 local governments. Most government employees work for local and state governments. Ordinary citizens interact with these officials every day. For example, teachers and policemen are state and local workers. Some people believe that local government helps bring government closer to the people. In turn, it makes our government more democratic. In order for this to be true, others argue, citizens must get involved in local politics. State And Local Officials Governors, lawmakers and other elected officials lead state governments. Judges sit on both state and local courts. Local officials include mayors, city council members and school board members. Many local officials are nonpartisan. In other words, they do not run for election with a party, or political group. They just run on their own good names. Often local officials belong to both This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. political parties. Not Much Interest In Local Politics How invested are Americans in their local politics? Do they vote and attend meetings? Do they phone their local officials and keep up with the news surrounding local politics? In general, citizens are not very interested in or informed about their local governments. They tend to be much more interested in the national government. They also know much more about what is happening at the national level. In the last few presidential elections, a little more than half of eligible voters showed up at the polls. Far fewer people show up to vote in local elections, such as school board and city council elections. For these, only about one in every 10 eligible voters turns out to vote. Yet these elections have a much bigger impact on voters' daily lives. So why is there such a big difference in voter turnout? Many Important Issues Involve Local Governments Some of the reasons are understandable. After all, local governments are involved with everyday things. These governments provide fire and police service. They keep the roads in shape. They try to bring more jobs to the community. When these things are working correctly, they are not too exciting. People tend to let local officials do their jobs until something happens that directly affects their lives. For example, people might be more likely to get involved after a neighbor's house is robbed. Then, they will want to know how their local officials are going to respond. Overall, most people seem to have very little interest in local politics. If they were more interested, they would be more involved. Still, many important issues today directly involve state and local governments. People need protection from crime and violence. They depend on state and local officials for that. All governments have to deal with drugs, racism and poverty. Education, the protection of the environment and health care are all big problems in the United States today. All across the United States, thousands of people are trying to solve them. But to work properly, a democracy needs all of its citizens to participate. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Students sue for the right to learn civics By Christian Science Monitor, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.24.20 Word Count 972 Level 1050L Image 1. Students, parents and lawyers cheer "Civics!" after a hearing in federal court on December 5, 2019, in Providence, Rhode Island. Through a lawsuit, they hope to establish a constitutional right to an adequate public education that prepares students for civic life. Photo: Riley Robinson/The Christian Science Monitor Photo: Riley Robinson/The Christian Science Monitor On December 5, 2019, a federal judge began considering whether students have a constitutional right to a public education that prepares them for civic life. The matter has deep implications for the future of democracy. Dozens of teenagers crammed the gallery of the U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island. The lead plaintiff on the lawsuit was Aleita Cook, a recent graduate of a Providence high school. Fourteen named plaintiffs, both students and parents, filed the class-action lawsuit, Cook (A.C.) v. Raimondo, against Governor Gina Raimondo and other state officials last year. It argues that Rhode Island violates students' constitutional rights. Many have been left without the skills they need to participate in American citizenship. The case goes to the heart of the relationship between education and the success of the American experiment. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. "I didn't learn my voting rights through school," Cook says. Nor was she taught about the balancing roles of the three branches of government. Instead, the gaps in her civics education were filled by a youth activist group. Real Life As Civics Lesson The lawsuit noted many insufficiencies. One is that many immigrant students in Providence are not taught English well enough to serve on juries. Also, low-income schools lack activities such as debate and student newspaper, the types of training grounds that wealthier districts typically offer. Working with lawyers and being involved in the case has already been the civics lesson of a lifetime for the young plaintiffs. "You're really the national test case," Michael Rebell told the students. He is the head lawyer and an education equality advocate at Teachers College, Columbia University. "If we can win this, then all kids throughout the United States will have a federal constitutional right." The current case could depend on how Judge William Smith interprets the 1973 Supreme Court opinion in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez. The 5-4 decision left the funding equality matter in the state's hands and noted that the U.S. Constitution does not mention education specifically. Rebell argued that Rodriguez left an opening for future cases. Lawyers just need to show a link between an inadequate education and the ability to exercise constitutional rights. A Constitutional Right To Education Anthony Cottone, representing Rhode Island education officials, countered that Rodriguez closed the door on federal involvement. There is "no fundamental right to education under the Constitution," he said. Cottone argued that educational standards and funding are up to state and local school districts. Judge Smith brought up a study showing that 86 percent of U.S. students lacked complex reading comprehension skills. They could not distinguish between fact and opinion in complex texts. He asked Cottone whether that might raise reasonable concerns about the future of the democracy. Such concerns are valid, Cottone said, but a federal lawsuit is not the solution. Two lawsuits in Rhode Island's state court to establish a state constitutional right to civics education have already failed. Local community groups are now bringing the case to the federal level. Students Show Up For Court Hearing Plaintiff June, a third-grader, sat in the jury box to observe with her mother, Moira Hinderer, and Cook. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Hinderer is lucky that she can take time off to bring her daughter and talk to her about court. "For a lot of families that's just not reality," she said. She believes schools need to provide an equal experience where students can learn how to participate in democracy. For many of the teens attending the hearing, it was their first visit to a courthouse. "The experience was really amazing," said Jayson Rodriguez, a junior at the Met High School, adding that the hearing added to his desire to become a lawyer.

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