GLE-Civ7
COLORADO MODEL CONTENT
STANDARDS FOR CIVICS
7th Grade Level Expectations
Standard 1:
Students understand the purposes of government, and the basic
constitutional principles of the United States republican form of
government.
Seventh grade students will:
1.1 Produce a bulletin board of articles about Congress, the President, or the
Supreme Court showing which government function is being exercised
1.2 Analyze two newspaper stories about the actions of the federal government
1.3 Differentiate between “natural rights” and “social contract”
1.4 Formulate ways in which conflicts are resolved, i.e.: mediation, compromise, and civil disobedience
1.5 Speculate as to how a decision of the local City Council, School Board or County Commission might affect the average citizen—e.g.: zoning open space for a shopping mall; eliminating school athletics
Standard 2:
Students know the structure and function of local, state, and national government and how citizen involvement shapes public policy.
Seventh grade students will:
2.1 Know which branch of government to contact to get information, express an
opinion, or challenge a law
2.2 Explain why certain powers are primarily national powers—military, income tax, and treaties
2.3 Apply Miranda vs. Arizona to the U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution
2.4 Evaluate the role of the mass media influencing public policy—e.g.: gun control and the right to bear arms
Standard 3:
Students know the political relationship of the United States and its citizens to other nations and to world affairs.
Seventh grade students will:
3.1 Construct a hypothetical improvement on the Oslo Accord and the Dayton
Accord to negotiate a peace treaty in the Middle East, and then argue the pitfalls
of the plan
3.2 Give an example of how citizens can influence foreign policy—e.g.: calling a
Senator or Representative to express an opinion
3.3 Describe how U.S, political ideas influence other nations and how other nations’ ideas influence the U.S.—e.g.: trade with China and human rights disputes
Standard 4:
Students understand how citizens exercise the rules, rights and
responsibilities of participation in civic life at all levels – local, state, and national.
Seventh grade students will:
4.1 Describe a great American military leader in detail—e.g.: General Eisenhower,
General Powell, U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, General MacArthur, others
4.2 Hypothesize what would happen to a country if its citizens did not fulfill any
citizen responsibilities
4.3 Defend or oppose a school’s dress code, using at least five reasons for your
position
4.4 Prepare and deliver a two-minute speech for a hypothetical local School Board about your position for or against a school dress code