One of the best ways to bridge the gap between history and modern civics has been to do a mock town meeting with students. You can do a mock town meeting on an historical issue, and then at some point, or in another class period you can transition to a more current issue. For example, you could start off with a mock town meeting about something like raising taxes for a new bridge or school and then transition to a modern day issue such as requiring bike helmets for people in town.
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I made a lesson on this topic in which I made up all of the roles for students to use during the mock portion of the town meeting. I had some help from a Harvard Board of Selectmen member Stu Sklar both as an advisor and as a helper for the day.
Feel free to adapt the plan as you see fit, or comment on any ways to make it more effective.
Google Doc Lesson Plan for Mock Town Meeting
I love this idea! When I teach government in third grade, it is hard for them to understand the three branches. I thought about holding a mock congress. I think this town meeting idea would be an easier way to start and still give students the tangible experience of how hard it can be to work out issues and agree on a solution!
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