Virginia SOL 3.9

3.9 is a Standards of Learning history and social science standard. These are the skills expectations under it.

• 3.9.a

  explaining the purpose of governments and understanding that other countries have governments similar to and different from that of the United States

• 3.9.b

  explaining how the Constitution supports the structure of the United States government

• 3.9.c

  identifying and describing the three branches of government

• 3.9.d

  explaining what governments do at the national, state, and local levels

• 3.9.e

  explaining how local, state, and national governments are organized

01

What Students Need to Do

Students explain why people create governments and how the Constitution sets the framework for the national government. They identify the three branches and connect leaders, services, and responsibilities to local, state, and national levels. They also compare the United States government with another country’s government.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can name each branch, describe its main job, and explain how the Constitution divides government power. They can sort officials and responsibilities by level without treating mayor, governor, and president as one chain of command. They can give an accurate similarity and difference between two national governments.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students often think the president controls every branch and every level of government. They may say courts make laws or treat the Constitution as a list of everyday laws. Some think mayors report to governors and governors report to the president.

04

How to Assess It

Give a five-box exit ticket: one purpose of government, the Constitution’s role, three branches with jobs, one responsibility at each level, and one comparison with another country.

1. 01

   Give pairs cards labeled Congress, president, courts, governor, mayor, schools, defense, and roads to sort by branch or government level.

2. 02

   Prompt: Why should a mayor, governor, and president have different jobs? Use one local, state, and national example.

3. 03

   Play Government Match where teams pair branch and level cards with job, service, and leader cards, then explain each match.

4. 04

   Compare a city council page, a Virginia government page, and a White House page, then record one leader and one service from each.

• CE.8

  The student will apply history and social science skills to examine the political process at the local, state, and national levels of government by

• CE.4

  The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze American constitutional government at the local level by

• CE.3

  The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze how constitutional government functions at the state level by

• CE.2

  The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze how American constitutional government functions at the national level by