Honors Civics Course Summary
Department: Social Studies
All Civics courses (Honors or otherwise) utilize the same targets and indicators for student performance.
However, students enrolled in Honors Civics will cover course content at a faster pace and/or in greater depth
than those students enrolled in other Civics classes. In addition, critical thinking and writing skills crucial for
success in Advanced Placement Social Studies courses and future Honors Social Studies courses are developed
and refined as part of the Honors curriculum.
Semester 1
Instructional Objective #1: Students will investigate the rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship
and analyze the roots of American Democracy by examining events from the Magna Carta through the
Revolutionary War.
Student Learning Targets to Meet this Instructional Objective:
A. Identify the ways in which people are affected by government on a daily basis and explain the
rights and responsibilities held by citizens.
B. Explain the opinions of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes on the role of government.
C. Describe the difference between an alien and a citizen and explain the naturalization process.
D. Explain where the power resides in different forms of government and evaluate the effectiveness
of each type in providing freedom and prosperity for its citizens.
E. Describe how both the English Parliament and early Colonial Governments were influential in
forming the basis of American Democracy.
F. List and describe the significance of events that lead to the Revolutionary War.
G. Analyze the Declaration of Independence and list the causes for why the colonists wanted to
separate from the English Government.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
Instructional Objective #2: Students will examine shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and explain
how these weaknesses lead to the development of our current Constitution.
Student Learning Targets to Meet this Instructional Objective:
A. Define confederation and discuss how the weakness of the Articles of Confederation affected the
drafting of the Constitution.
B. Explain the role that compromise played in ratifying the Constitution to include the role of the
Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise.
C. Discuss the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
D. Explain the six purposes of government as outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution.
E. Provide examples of the guiding principles found in the Constitution to include: popular
sovereignty, rule of law, checks and balances, separation of powers, and federalism.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
© Liberty High School 2015
Instructional Objective #3: Students will evaluate the role of the legislative branch at the federal, state, and
local level, in addition to analyzing the role of political parties in our government.
Student Learning Targets to Meet this Instructional Objective:
A. Describe the requirements and term lengths for the members of the House of Representatives
and the Senate and how these differences shape each house.
B. Discuss party leadership and its role in Congress and how the House leadership differs from the
Senate.
C. Illustrate the path of a bill from an idea to presidential signing.
D. Discuss the characteristics, functions, and organization of political parties (including third parties)
and describe general differences between liberal and conservative ideologies.
E. Explain why work in Congress is done in committees, discuss how committee assignments are
made, and provide examples of standing and select committees.
F. Describe the role that seniority plays in Congress and explain the concept of the incumbency
advantage.
G. Make observations about the part that interest groups and lobbyists play in the law making
process.
H. Provide examples of laws that would be passed at the state level by the Colorado General
Assembly and at the local level by the Colorado Springs City Council.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
Instructional Objective #4: Students will evaluate the role of the executive branch at the federal, state, and
local level, as well as investigate topics related to elections and voting.
Student Learning Targets to Meet this Instructional Objective:
A. Recognize the enumerated and implied powers of the presidency.
B. Classify examples of the President fulfilling the various roles of the office.
C. Discuss the characteristics, functions, and organization of the President’s Cabinet as well as other
key executive agencies and government corporations.
D. Identify the goals of our nation’s foreign policy and provide examples of the various tools that the
President has to carry out foreign policy.
E. Trace the path of a presidential candidate from announcement to the White House.
F. Develop a logical argument that summarizes the importance of voting and interpret how voting
patterns and turnout in the U.S affect public policy.
G. Describe the Electoral College's winner-take-all system and evaluate the merit of this system.
H. Compare the job responsibilities of the President of the United States, the Governor of Colorado,
and the Mayor of Colorado Springs.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
© Liberty High School 2015
Instructional Objective #5: Students will explore the role of the judicial branch at the federal, state, and local
level, in addition to examining the Bill of Rights and notable Supreme Court decisions.
Student Learning Targets to Meet this Instructional Objective:
A. Describe the structure of the federal court system and discuss the types of cases that would be
heard in municipal, state, and federal courts.
B. Provide examples of cases that would be heard in criminal, civil and appellate courts.
C. Critique how the Supreme Court selects which cases to hear, explain how it reaches a decision,
and describe the effect that process has on history here in the United States.
D. Describe the various rights that are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, and prove how the
Supreme Court’s interpretation of a case impacts these rights.
E. Summarize the process by which a Supreme Court Justice is nominated and approved, and assess
the role that political ideologies play within the Supreme Court.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
© Liberty High School 2015