Local Government and Local Industries Then-and-Now

Recite Place Promise. Project MG-10. Read top: 'PEOPLE OF THE TOWN'.

• Affirm: 'We are the people.'
• Set framing: closest level of government

Today we meet LOCAL GOVERNMENT - the level of government closest to our daily lives. Our town has a MAYOR (or town manager or borough president), a TOWN COUNCIL, a SCHOOL BOARD, a LIBRARY BOARD, and a HISTORICAL COMMISSION. They make local decisions. A child can take part: attending meetings, writing letters, volunteering, voting when grown. We also look at LOCAL INDUSTRIES - one of the past and one of today. Industries shape places. Workers do the work. Cynthia Levinson's Audrey Hendricks was 9 - the youngest marcher - she shows a child can be a civic actor.

• Local officials are real people; children can write to them.

  model Teacher-localized: [Mayor name]. They serve 4-year terms. They are elected by residents.

  prompt Who is our mayor?

• Name 3 local-government roles.
• Name 1 way a child can take part.

M-3-F-CIV-16-A Chart

MG-10 reproduction at 36x36 laminated chart. Top: 'PEOPLE OF THE TOWN/CITY.' Three branches LEGISLATIVE (council + school board), EXECUTIVE (mayor + department heads + police chief + fire chief), JUDICIAL (local judge + municipal court). Sub-bodies labeled: library board, historical commission, parks, public works. Arrows showing participation: VOTE (adults), ATTEND MEETINGS (everyone), WRITE LETTERS (everyone including children), VOLUNTEER (adults). Footer: 'Children can take part.'

MG-10 Chart

Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height. Used in lesson 16 to introduce local government structure. Teacher Localization Note: the specific titles and bodies must be adapted to the locality (e.g., 'Borough Council' or 'Town Meeting' or 'City Manager' or 'Tribal Council' depending on locality). The arrows on citizen participation are INTENTIONAL - they show that children CAN participate even if they cannot vote.

• Match 6 role cards to branches on MG-10.
• Draw a then-and-now diptych of one local industry.

M-3-F-ECO-16-B Photograph

Pair of 8x10 photographs: ONE industrial-era photo of a local industry (e.g., 1920s textile mill workers, 1940s shipyard, 1930s coal-mine entrance, 1950s farming combine) + ONE contemporary photo of a current local industry (e.g., 2020s tech company office, 2020s healthcare clinic, 2020s education classroom). Each photo includes workers' faces with respect. Source line: '[Local Historical Society + local present-day organization].'

MG-12 Photograph

Used in lessons 5, 7, and 18. The then-and-now pair format is the unit's central continuity-and-change tool. Teacher Localization Note: the specific photo pairs must be locality-specific - sourced from the local historical society or library. The 6-pair set is the recommended size; teachers may add more. The pairs intentionally include both architectural sites AND natural landscape sites to teach that the LAND ITSELF has a history.

• Name the local mayor. Name 1 local industry of the past.

• Add government vocabulary to Word Wall
• Preview: tomorrow we draft a plaque proposal

• With a family member, identify one current local issue (e.g., a new park, a school construction, a road closure). Bring back 1 sentence about it.