Politics syllabus, dot point by dot point

Define the term citizen and explain the constitutional ways of becoming a United States citizen, including birthright citizenship and the naturalization process (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.1; RC2 Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens).

Interpret the significance of jury service as a way of upholding the rights of the accused in criminal trials, connecting the trial by jury to the Sixth Amendment and the duty of citizens (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.6; RC2 Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens).

Differentiate between the obligations (duties) and responsibilities of United States citizenship, give examples of each, and evaluate their impact on society, including ways citizens participate beyond voting (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.2, SS.7.C.2.3; RC2 Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens).

Distinguish how the Constitution safeguards and limits individual rights, including due process protections and reasonable limits such as time, place, and manner restrictions and the balance between rights and the common good (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.5; RC2 Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens).

Evaluate the rights contained in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution, identifying the protections in the first ten amendments and key later amendments such as those expanding voting rights (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.4; RC2 Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizens).

Identify the relationship and division of power between the federal and state governments, including enumerated, reserved, and concurrent powers and the Supremacy Clause (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.4; RC4 Organization and Function of Government; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Explain the viewpoints of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists about ratifying the Constitution and adding a Bill of Rights, including the role of The Federalist Papers (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.8; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Describe the structure and purpose of the national, state, and local levels of government and the services each provides, including the role of state and local governments (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.2, SS.7.C.3.10; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Describe how the Constitution limits the powers of government through separation of powers and checks and balances, and give examples of how each branch checks the others (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.7, SS.7.C.3.12; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Explain the constitutional amendment process, including how amendments are proposed (by Congress or a national convention) and ratified (by the states), and why the process is deliberately difficult (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.5; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Compare the United States Constitution and the Florida Constitution, including their similar structures (preamble, branches, bill of rights) and key differences such as length, detail, and how each is amended (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.13; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803) in establishing the power of judicial review and explain how this power checks the other branches of government (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.12; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the significance of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966), explaining the right to a lawyer for those who cannot afford one and the requirement that suspects be informed of their rights (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.12; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954), explaining the separate but equal doctrine and how Brown overturned it using the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.12; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the significance of Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) in protecting students' symbolic speech under the First Amendment, including the standard that schools may limit speech only if it substantially disrupts learning (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.12; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the significance of United States v. Nixon (1974) in limiting executive privilege and reinforcing the rule of law, showing that the president is not above the law (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.12; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Identify the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, including the lack of power to tax, the absence of an executive and a judiciary, and the inability to regulate trade, and explain how these weaknesses led to the Constitutional Convention and the writing of the Constitution (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.5; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Recognize how Enlightenment ideas, including natural rights, the social contract, separation of powers, and consent of the governed, influenced the Founders, and connect thinkers such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Thomas Hobbes to American founding ideals (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.1; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Compare different forms of government, including direct democracy, representative democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, and autocracy, and different systems, including unitary, federal, and confederal, and identify the United States as a representative democracy with a federal system (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.1; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Recognize the ideas in historical documents that influenced American government, including the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the English Bill of Rights, and Common Sense, and describe how English policies led to the Declaration of Independence (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.2, SS.7.C.1.3, SS.7.C.1.4; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Define the rule of law and recognize its influence on the development of the American legal, political, and governmental systems, including the idea that everyone, even leaders, must obey the law (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.9; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Interpret the intentions of the Preamble to the Constitution, identify the six goals of government it states, and describe the basic structure of the Constitution, including the Articles and the principle of popular sovereignty (NGSSS SS.7.C.1.6, SS.7.C.3.3; RC1 Origins and Purposes of Law and Government).

Differentiate between domestic and foreign policy, and recognize how the United States and its citizens participate in international affairs through organizations, conflict, and cooperation (NGSSS SS.7.C.4.1, SS.7.C.4.2, SS.7.C.4.3; RC3 Government Policies and Political Processes).

Describe the voting process and the importance of voting, including voter qualifications and registration, primary and general elections, and the role of elections in a representative democracy (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.7; RC3 Government Policies and Political Processes).

Evaluate the impact of the media, individuals, and interest groups on monitoring and influencing government, including the watchdog role of the press, lobbying, and political action committees (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.9, SS.7.C.2.11; RC3 Government Policies and Political Processes).

Identify America's current political parties and explain their ideas about government, including the role of the two major parties, third parties, and party platforms (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.8; RC3 Government Policies and Political Processes).

Examine the impact of public policy decisions on citizens and government, including how a problem becomes policy and how citizens can influence the process (NGSSS SS.7.C.2.10; RC3 Government Policies and Political Processes).

Analyze the structure, functions, and processes of the executive branch, including the roles of the president, the vice president, and the cabinet, and the major powers of the president (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.8; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Analyze the structure and functions of the judicial branch and diagram the levels of state and federal courts, including the role of the Supreme Court and the power of judicial review (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.8, SS.7.C.3.11; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Illustrate the lawmaking process at the federal level, including how a bill moves through both houses of Congress, the role of the president's signature or veto, and how the process reflects checks and balances (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.9; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Analyze the structure, functions, and processes of the legislative branch, including the bicameral Congress, the differences between the House and the Senate, and the powers of Congress (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.8; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).

Illustrate the structure and function of the government of the United States as established in the Constitution, identifying the three branches, the Article that creates each, and their basic jobs (NGSSS SS.7.C.3.3; RC4 Organization and Function of Government).