Week 10: Your Town, Your Rules
The Government Closest to You
You've been learning about the United States government — the President, Congress, the Supreme Court. Last week, you learned how elections let the people choose who fills those roles.
But here's something most people don't realize: the government that affects your daily life the most isn't in Washington, D.C. It's right here in your city, town, or county.
Who decides when the streetlights turn on? Who picks which books go in the library? Who fixes the potholes on your street? Your local government does.
The big idea:
Local government is the team of people who make decisions about your schools, parks, roads, libraries, and community. They're your neighbors — and they work for you.
- You do not need to teach every bullet on the page. Use the learning goal and one or two activities for the session you are teaching today.
- If time is short, teach one guided session well and leave the rest for later. The lessons are designed to stretch across the week.
- The independent session works best after the learner has already explored the main idea with you once.
Teacher Preparation
- Look up your own local government structure (city, town, or county). Find out: Who is the mayor? How many council members are there? When do they meet?
- Find your local government's website — most have one. Note the meeting schedule and any public agendas.
- Bookmark Ben's Guide: Local Government for background.
- Prepare paper, markers, or a whiteboard for mapping local government.
- Prepare a visual timer for sessions.
This week is about making government real. Every lesson should connect to places and people the student actually knows — their school, their park, their library. The more local, the better.
Guided Session 1
Who Runs Your Town?
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- identify the key roles in local government (mayor, city council, school board)
- compare local government structure to the federal government
- analyze how local decisions directly affect their everyday life
Activities
1. The Government You Can See (8 minutes)
Start with a question:
"Name five things you use, see, or do every day that the government controls."
Guide them toward local things:
| What You See | Who Decides? |
|---|---|
| School schedule and rules | School board |
| Park hours and playground equipment | Parks department / City council |
| Road repairs, traffic lights | City/town government |
| Library books and hours | Library board / City council |
| Fire trucks and firefighters | City government |
| Trash pickup | City government |
| Zoning (what can be built where) | City council / Planning board |
Ask:
"Who do you think has more impact on your daily life — the President or the mayor? Why?"
2. Local Government Structure (10 minutes)
Remember the school analogy from Week 6? The school board makes the rules, the principal enforces them, and a mediator settles disputes. Local government works the same way — just for your whole town.
Explain the basic structure:
Mayor — The leader of a city or town. Like a President, but for your community. They often:
- Propose the local budget
- Lead city meetings
- Make sure city departments are doing their jobs
City Council (or Town Council / Board of Aldermen) — A group of elected people who:
- Vote on local laws (called ordinances)
- Approve the budget
- Listen to citizens at public meetings
School Board — An elected or appointed group that:
- Sets rules for local schools
- Hires the superintendent
- Decides how education money is spent
"Notice something? Some of these people were elected by voters. Others were appointed by elected officials. Many more people who work in local government — like police officers, firefighters, and office staff — are hired employees, not elected or appointed. The elected leaders are supposed to oversee how government works, but the chain from voters to every government worker is not always direct."
3. Draw Your Local Government (10 minutes)
Have the student draw a simple organizational chart:
[Mayor]
|
[City Council] --- [School Board]
| |
[Departments] [Superintendent]
(police, fire, [Schools]
parks, roads)
Label each part with what it does. If you know the actual names of your mayor or council members, add them.
In many communities, the school board is completely separate from the city government — they're elected independently and have their own budget. The chart above is simplified to show all the local government bodies in one place.
Reflection Questions
- "How is local government similar to the three branches of the federal government?"
- "Why do you think local government meetings are open to the public?"
- "What's one thing your local government does that you're glad about?"
Guided Session 2
Where Does the Money Come From?
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- explain the basic concept of taxes and how local government is funded
- evaluate how budget decisions affect the community
- justify why citizens should care about how public money is spent
Activities
1. The Community Piggy Bank (8 minutes)
Ask:
"If the city needs to build a new playground, where does the money come from?"
Explain:
"Local government doesn't have its own money. It collects money from the people who live there. This is called taxation."
Types of local taxes (simplified):
- Property tax — What homeowners pay based on the value of their house. This usually pays for schools, police, and fire departments.
- Sales tax — A small extra amount you pay when you buy things at a store. This helps pay for city services.
- Fees — Things like library card fees, building permits, parking meters.
"Taxes are how communities pool their money to pay for things that benefit everyone."
2. The Budget Game (12 minutes)
Think back to the island community. Your islanders had to decide how to share limited resources. Real towns face the exact same challenge — except with real money.
Give the student a made-up budget scenario:
"You're the city council. Your town has $100 to spend this year. Here's what needs funding:"
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Police and fire departments | $30 |
| Schools | $25 |
| Road repairs | $15 |
| Parks and recreation | $10 |
| Library | $10 |
| New community center | $20 |
| Total needed | $110 |
"You only have $100. What do you cut? What do you keep? Can anything be reduced instead of eliminated?"
Let them make decisions and explain their reasoning. This is a real dilemma that every city council faces.
Then ask:
"Do you think everyone in town would agree with your choices? Why or why not?"
3. Taxes: Fair or Unfair? (8 minutes)
Ask a discussion question:
"Is it fair that everyone pays taxes, even if they don't use every service?"
Use examples:
- "Should people without kids pay for schools?"
- "Should people who don't drive pay for roads?"
Help students understand the reasoning behind publicly funded services, while noting that people genuinely disagree about how much should be funded through taxes versus other means. Present the argument that shared services can benefit the whole community — for example, a well-educated community tends to be safer, and good roads help businesses that provide jobs — but note that how much to fund through taxes is a real debate that thoughtful people disagree about. The goal is for students to understand the arguments, not to adopt a specific conclusion.
Reflection Questions
- "Why can't a city just spend as much money as it wants?"
- "If you had to explain taxes to a younger kid, what would you say?"
- "What public service would you be most upset to lose? Why?"
- "Did anything in today's lesson change your mind about taxes or budgets? What?"
Independent Session
My Local Government Research
Instruction
Research your own local government and create a fact sheet.
Find out:
- What type of local government do you have? (City, town, county, village?)
- Who is the mayor or top leader? (What is their name?)
- How many council members are there? (What are their names, if you can find them?)
- When does the council meet? (Day, time, and location — it's almost always open to the public.)
- What's one issue they've discussed recently? (Check the city website for meeting agendas or minutes.)
- How much is the annual budget? (An approximate number is fine.)
Put your answers on a single page — a fact sheet anyone could read to learn about your town's government.
Bonus: If your local government has a website, find the page where meeting agendas are posted and bookmark it.
Skills Reinforced
- researching local government structure and officials
- analyzing how public decisions affect daily life
- understanding taxation and public budgets
- connecting abstract government concepts to real community impact
Setup
- computer or tablet with internet access
- your local government's website (search "[your city name] city government")
- paper for the fact sheet
- visual timer
- Local government — The group of leaders and workers who make decisions for your city, town, or county. They handle things like roads, parks, schools, and public safety.
- Mayor — The elected leader of a city or town, similar to a president but for your local community.
- City council — A group of elected people who vote on local laws (called ordinances) and decide how to spend the community's money.
- School board — An elected or appointed group that makes decisions about local schools, including budgets and rules.
- Tax — Money that people pay to the government so it can provide services like schools, roads, and fire departments.
- Budget — A plan for how money will be spent. Local governments create budgets to decide how tax money is used.
- Ordinance — A local law passed by a city council or town board. It only applies to that community.
Your local government is the team of people who take care of your town — they fix the roads, run the schools, and keep the parks open. These leaders are your neighbors, and they were chosen by voters in your community. You can learn about them, attend their meetings, and even tell them what you think!
Check for Understanding
- What are three things your local government is responsible for?
- How is a mayor similar to — and different from — the President of the United States?
- Why do communities collect taxes? What would happen if they didn't?
- If you could attend a city council meeting and ask one question, what would it be?
Core vs. Stretch
- Core: Identify the main roles in local government (mayor, city council, school board) and explain how local government affects daily life. Complete the budget activity.
- Stretch: Research your own local government officials by name, find a recent meeting agenda, and compare your local structure to the federal three-branch model.
Adapting for Different Ages
- Keep the org chart simple — Mayor, City Council, and School Board are enough. Skip department-level details.
- For the budget game, reduce the number of items to 4–5 and the budget to a rounder number (like $50 total needed, $40 available).
- Focus the "Draw Your Local Government" activity on labeling just three parts: "Who makes the rules," "Who carries them out," and "Who runs the schools."
- Add the full budget game with all six items and the $10 shortfall.
- Challenge them to research the actual budget of your city or town — even a rough number from the city website makes the concept real.
- Ask: "If you could attend one city council meeting, what issue would you want them to discuss? Why?"
- For the independent session, have them locate the actual meeting schedule for your local governing body and read at least one agenda item.
🔍 Civic Inquiry Spotlight: Who Actually Decided That?
When you hear someone say "The city should fix that!" or "Why doesn't the mayor do something?" — practice checking who is actually responsible:
Example claim: "The mayor closed our neighborhood pool."
- What is the claim? The mayor personally closed the pool.
- Is that how it works? In most cities, the city council votes on budget decisions. The mayor may have proposed the cut or signed off on it, but the council voted.
- Where can I check? City council meeting minutes — they're public records.
- Key question: "Did one person decide this, or was it a group decision following a process?"
This week's skill: When someone blames a single person for a government decision, ask: "Who actually voted on this, and what was the process?"
Offline Option
If internet access is not available for the independent session, use printed or verbal descriptions of local government instead of website research. The facilitator can share what they know about the local government structure — who the mayor is, how many council members there are, and when they meet. The student can build their fact sheet based on this conversation and any printed materials (like a local newspaper or community newsletter) available at home.
Local Adaptation Note
This week is especially important to adapt to your own community. Every local government is a little different, and that's the whole point.
- "What is your local government called? Does your area have a mayor, a town manager, or something else?"
- Some communities have a city council; others have a board of selectmen, a board of trustees, or a county commission. Help the learner discover what applies to them.
- Use real names and real places whenever possible — the more local, the more meaningful.
- Local government structures vary widely. Cities, towns, villages, counties, and townships can all work differently. Don't teach one model as "the" model — help the learner discover how their community is organized.
- The budget activity can spark strong opinions. That's great! Let the learner wrestle with trade-offs. There are no wrong answers — the goal is to understand that every choice has consequences.
- Taxes can be a sensitive topic in some households. Keep the discussion focused on the concept (pooling resources for shared services) rather than on whether taxes are too high or too low.
- If you can't find your local government's website, check with your public library — librarians are excellent resources for local civic information.