Illinois Social/Emotional Learning Standards

Overarching:

Social Emotional Learning Standards

C. Contribute to the well-being of one’s school and community.

3C.5a. Work cooperatively with others to plan, implement, and evaluate a project to meet an identified school need.

3C.5b. Work cooperatively with others to plan, implement, and evaluate a project that addresses an identified need in the broader community.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 1: A Different Kind of Government Course
introduces students to CAP. First, students learn that one of the main purposes of public education is to prepare future citizens to participate in our democracy. Then they are given an overview of CAP. Finally, they brainstorm the attributes of an effective citizen.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

Illinois Standards
Lesson 2: Introduction to Public Policy
introduces the link between policy and problems. First, students read and discuss a short article defining policy. Then they discuss policy and its connection to problems. Next, in small groups, they do a newspaper search to find examples of public policy.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 3: Problems, Policy, and Civic Actions
gives students further background in problems, policy, and civic action to prepare them for CAP. First, students analyze problems in terms of causes and effects. Next, they explore how policy can be linked to problems. Finally, they list possible civic actions that can be taken to when working on a problem.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

C. Contribute to the well-being of one’s school and community.

3C.5a. Work cooperatively with others to plan, implement, and evaluate a project to meet an identified school need.

3C.5b. Work cooperatively with others to plan, implement, and evaluate a project that addresses an identified need in the broader community.

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

State Goal 18: Understand social systems.

B. Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

18.B.5 Use methods of social science inquiry (pose questions, collect and analyze data, make and support conclusions with evidence, report findings) to study the development and functions of social systems and report conclusions to a larger audience.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 4: Introducing Policy Analysis
helps students develop a deeper understanding of public policy and the interaction between government and citizens in making policy. They look at case studies and are introduced to policy analysis.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand Political Systems

A. Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.

4.A.5 Analyze ways in which federalism protects individual rights and promotes the common good and how at times has made it possible for states to protect and deny rights for certain groups.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

State Goal 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

A. Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions.

18.A.5 Compare ways in which social systems are affected by political, environmental, economic and technological changes.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 5: Policymaking in the Three Branches of Government
introduces students to executive, legislative, and judicial policymaking and to policy evaluation. First, students discuss how policy can be made by each of the branches. Then they read about and discuss how the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to suppress gang activity and how each branch of government was involved in the policy. Finally, students are introduced to a policy-analysis rubric (GRADE) and apply it to the Chicago gang ordinance.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 6: Analyzing Anti-Gang Policies
provides students with practice in analyzing policy. First, as a whole group, they evaluate an anti-gang policy using GRADE. Then in small groups, they are given policies that address gang violence and they evaluate each.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 7: Policymaking at the Local Level
gets students to examine an instance of policymaking at a school board, one of the most common institutions at the local level. First, students read about and discuss a common local (and national) problem, the dropout rate. Then they role play subcommittees of a hypothetical school board, examine documents about the dropout problem, and craft a policy to address the dropout problem. Finally, they exchange policies with other groups and evaluate one another’s policies using the GRADE rubric.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 8: Law & Policy
informs students about how existing law can influence public policy and policymaking. First, students read about and discuss how existing law can influence public policy. Then in small groups, they role play members of a public policy law firm and decide whether a policy of evicting renters violates existing law and whether a new law is needed to protect renters.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 9: Persuading
introduces students to the art of persuasion. First, they read about and discuss the three types of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos. Then students prepare two-minute persuasive talks on why the issue that they have chosen to address in CAP is important. Finally, in pairs, students present and critique one another’s talks.

Social Emotional Learning Standards

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

A: Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions.

3A.5a. Apply ethical reasoning to evaluate societal practices.

3A.5b. Examine how the norms of different societies and cultures influence their members’ decisions and behaviors

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 10: Building Constituencies
introduces students to the importance of building a constituency to support or oppose public policies. First, students read and discuss about how a historically significant movement gained support in the community. Then in small groups, students brainstorm how they can get support for their CAP issue.

State Goal 14: Understand Political Systems

A. Understand and explain basic principles of the United States government.

4.A.5 Analyze ways in which federalism protects individual rights and promotes the common good and how at times has made it possible for states to protect and deny rights for certain groups.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

F. Understand the development of United States political ideas and traditions.

15.F.5 Interpret how changing geographical, economic, technological and social forces affect United States political ideas and traditions (e.g., freedom, equality and justice, individual rights).

State Goal 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.

D. Understand Illinois, United States and world social history.

16.D.5 (US) Analyze the relationship between an issue in United States social history and the related aspects of political, economic and environmental history.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 11: Setting the Public Agenda
introduces students to the public agenda and its importance to policy. First, students read about and discuss the public agenda and ways that citizens can influence it. Then in small groups, students are given different situations and they develop strategic plans for getting their issues or solutions to issues on the public agenda.

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 12: Using the Media
helps students learn about the importance of the media in setting the public agenda. First, they read about and discuss how the media help set the public agenda and how citizens can influence the media and even create their own media to help change the public agenda. Then they develop a plan do one action to use or affect the media. Finally, they will begin to implement their plan. As homework, they will complete their action.

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 13: Persuading Policy Makers
informs students that legislative and executive bodies often hold public hearing and how students can make effective presentations at these hearings. First, students read about public hearings and techniques for making presentations at these hearings. Then students role play a city council and people appearing before it attempting to persuade policy makers on hypothetical issues.

State Goal 14: Understand political systems.

D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.

14.D.5 Interpret a variety of public policies and issues from the perspectives of different individuals and groups.

Illinois Standards
Lesson 14: Creating Change Through the Electoral Process
focuses on electoral politics and how it deeply influences policy making. First, students read about and discuss the role that electoral politics plays in policy making. Then in small groups, students role play campaign workers and create strategies to attract young people to participate in an election campaign.

State Goal 14: Understand political systems

C. Understand election processes and responsibilities of citizens.

14.C.5 Analyze the consequences of participation and non-participation in the electoral process (e.g., women’s suffrage, voter registration, effects of media).

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