Subscribe

9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 7

Taking Part

Speak up, check facts, decide together

What your child practices

Ways to take part before and after 18, volunteering and civil society, petitions and peaceful protest, deliberating about tensions in our democracy, and checking news for reliability.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Civics & Government 2; Civics & Government 3 · how citizens take part, from voting and service to civic action

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. You can take part before 18: volunteering, public hearings, petitions and neighborhood groups.
  2. Civil disobedience is peacefully breaking an unjust law and accepting the consequences.
  3. Read news carefully: an op-ed is an opinion piece, and confirmation bias is favoring what you already think.

Example: What is confirmation bias? We like hearing that we are right. It means favoring information that agrees with what you already think. Answer: favoring information that agrees with what you already think

Taking Part in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 2 of 7 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Foundations of Democracy and before Media & Democracy.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which action shows responsible use of social media for civic purposes?

    • Sharing information only after checking it
    • Sharing rumors quickly
    • Sharing anything with a big headline
    • Posting insults

  2. Question 2

    What is civil disobedience?

    • Voting
    • Obeying every law
    • Peacefully breaking a law you believe is unjust and accepting the consequences
    • Any crime

  3. Question 3

    What is a petition?

    • A law
    • A court case
    • A tax
    • A written request to a government, signed by many people

  4. Question 4

    What is misinformation?

    • False or misleading information, shared whether or not the person knows it's false
    • A true report
    • Any news you dislike
    • A government document

  5. Question 5

    Why do people join groups like neighborhood associations?

    • To work with others on local issues
    • To vote twice
    • To pass federal laws
    • To avoid neighbors

  6. Question 6

    Before taking a position on an issue, you should…

    • Guess
    • Ask one friend
    • Research it from several reliable sources
    • Read one headline

More 9th grade