Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.14
The Standard
Compare and contrast major American political ideologies.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Citizenship and Civic Participation
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare liberal, conservative, and libertarian views on government's role in the economy and personal life. They use the same policy question to explain where those views agree and differ.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a proposal to raise the minimum wage, a student can describe how each ideology might respond and why. They can name a point of overlap without assuming that everyone with the same party label agrees.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often treat ideology and party affiliation as the same thing. They may assume liberals always want more government and conservatives always want less. Some treat libertarian and conservative as synonyms, missing differences over personal freedom.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A state proposes raising its minimum wage. Give one likely liberal view and one likely conservative view, explain each, and name a concern both might share.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs nine printed stance cards on taxes, school funding, and privacy; have them sort by likely ideology and flag overlaps.
Ask: How might a liberal, conservative, and libertarian each respond to a federal school lunch program, and where might they agree?
Play claim check: teams get one point for fixing statements like 'Libertarians oppose all government' and citing a policy example.
Show a state news article with opposing arguments about a proposed tax change; students underline each argument and link it to a view of government.
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