Civics for Americans [antikvár]

To the TeacherCivic education is teaching and learning the rightsand responsibilities of citizenship. Americancitizens have the right to participate in decisionsabout governance, such as making rules, settinggoals, and distributing resources within groups.They also have the responsibility to becomethoughtful, capable decision makers. Thus, civicsfor Americans ought to focus on decision makingin the lives of citizens.Instructional PurposeThe main purpose of Civics for Americans ishelping students acquire knowledge and skillsneeded to carry out their responsibilities andprotect their rights as citizens of a free society. Tothis end, lessons emphasize basic knowledge ofgovernmental institutions, decision making ofpublic officials, economic policies and processesthat affect the decisions of citizens, and practicalpolitical decisions in the daily lives of citizens.Lessons also stress doing as well as knowing; theyallow for practice of basic skills in finding andusing information and in making, judging, andinfluencing decisions.As students work through Civics for Americans,they continually make and judge decisions, andthey analyze decision making by governmentofficials and those seeking to influencegovernment. Thus, the text combines facts aboutgovernmental institutions and the duties of publicofficials with instruction about how citizens mightinfluence public decisions.All American citizensyoung and old, rich andpoor, male and femalemay be involved in threeessential tasks of decision making. All may makedecisions, try to influence decisions of others, andjudge their own decisions as well as those ofpublic officials and other citizens. Thus, skills indecision making are fundamentals of civiceducation.Responsible decision making involves carefulassessment of alternatives and their consequencesin light of values and goals. Responsible decisionmakers consider the effects of their choices onthemselves and various others. They judge thefairness of their choices in terms of bothindividual and group goals. Before choosing analternative, the responsible citizen asks: (1) Howwill my decision affect me and (2) How will itaffect various others? The responsible citizen triesto make decisions that balance the needs of theindividual and of society.Instructional DesignCivics for Americans reflects sound principles ofteaching and learning.Every chapter begins with a dramatic episode tocapture student attention and introduce thecontent focus and purposes. Telling students atthe outset of instruction what they are expected toachieve enables them to leam more effectively andefficiently. Knowing the point of a lesson helps thelearner to stay on track, to attend to what isrelevant to the assigned task.Each chapter concludes with an originallywritten case study featuring current topics, issues,and events. Each case is carefully designed todevelop one or more decision-making skills and tohighlight important content presented in thechapter.Abstract ideas about civics are made tangibleand illustrated through descriptions of thepersonal experiences of citizens and leaders ingovernment. Lessons highlight decision-makingexperiences learners have encountered in daily lifeand will encounter again. Students are motivatedto learn when they see clearly that what is learnedin school is linked to life outside the school. Forexample, students who are shown thatdecision-making skills can help them achieve goalsthey value are likely to strive to acquire thesecompetencies.Skills in decision making and informationprocessing are patterned into the textbook in avariety of ways. Students continually work withthese skills in different lessons and have theopportunity to apply what they have learned toquestions, case studies, and a variety of otherG4