Lesson Plan: Who's in Charge of the Potholes? A Guide to Local Government

Subject: Civics

Age Group: 17-year-olds

Time Allotment: 20 minutes

Materials Needed

• Whiteboard or digital equivalent
• Pen/marker
• Device with internet access for optional extension activity
• Student notebook or paper for notes

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

• Identify the main units of local government in the U.S.
• Describe the basic functions and leadership of a typical county government.
• Compare the three main forms of city government.
• Explain the purpose of zoning and provide examples of different zoning types.

Success Criteria

You'll know you've got it when you can:

• Name the county and city you live in and one elected official from each.
• Briefly explain the difference between a Mayor-Council and Council-Manager form of city government.
• Correctly identify a real-world scenario as a residential, commercial, or industrial zoning issue.

Lesson Plan: 20-Minute Interactive Lecture

Part 1: Introduction (3 minutes)

Hook (1 minute)

Educator: "Imagine a huge new factory wants to build right next to your house, or your street suddenly has a 55 mph speed limit. Who decides that can or can't happen? It’s not the President. It’s not even the Governor. These are the kinds of decisions made by local government, the level of government that impacts your daily life more than any other. Today, we're pulling back the curtain on how these local systems work."

State Objectives & Agenda (2 minutes)

Educator: "In the next 20 minutes, we’re going to cover the political machinery of your own backyard. We’ll look at counties, cities, and the key players who make the decisions. Our goal is for you to be able to identify your local government's structure, explain what zoning is, and understand who’s in charge of things like fixing those potholes or deciding where a new park goes. First, we'll tackle the biggest local unit: the county. Then, we'll zoom into city structures. Finally, we’ll talk about how cities plan for growth."

Part 2: Body (14 minutes) - I Do, We Do, You Do

I Do: The County Level (5 minutes)

Educator: "Okay, let's start big. The largest territorial and political subdivision of a state is usually the county. Most states are divided into counties to make state laws easier to administer."

• "There are over 3,000 counties in the U.S. They have different names depending on where you are. In Louisiana, they're called 'parishes,' and in Alaska, they're called 'boroughs,' but they function the same way."
• "The government offices for a county are usually located in one central town or city called the county seat. This is where you’d find the main courthouse."
• "Who runs the show? A group of elected officials, usually called a County Board or Board of Commissioners. They're the legislative body. Some places, especially in New England, still use a form of direct democracy called a town meeting where all citizens can participate in making laws and decisions."
• "Counties also have other key elected officials you might have heard of:
  • Sheriff: The county's chief law enforcement officer.
  • District Attorney (DA): Prosecutes crimes.
  • County Clerk: Manages public records like birth certificates and election results.
  • Assessor: Determines the value of property for tax purposes."

Formative Check: "Based on that, who would you call if you wanted to get a copy of a property deed or find out who won the local election? (Correct Answer: The County Clerk)."

We Do: Cities, Suburbs, and Charters (5 minutes)

Educator: "Now let's zoom in from the county to cities and towns. When a community gets big enough, it can become incorporated, meaning it's officially recognized by the state as a legal entity. It gets a city charter, which is like its constitution. This charter outlines the city's powers and governmental structure."

"There are three main ways a city can be run. Let's walk through them together. As I describe them, think about which one sounds most efficient to you."

1. Mayor-Council Form: "This is the oldest and most common form. Power is split between a mayor (executive branch) and a city council (legislative branch). In a 'strong-mayor' system, the mayor has a lot of power—hiring, firing, budgets. In a 'weak-mayor' system, the council holds more of that power. Which do you think would lead to faster decisions?"
2. Council-Manager Form: "Here, the city council is elected, but they hire a professional city manager to run the day-to-day operations of the city, kind of like a school board hiring a superintendent. The mayor is often just a ceremonial leader. This is popular in the suburbs – communities around larger cities. Why do you think a city would want to hire a professional manager instead of relying on an elected mayor to run things?"
3. Commission Form: "This one is less common. Voters elect a small group of commissioners, and each commissioner is in charge of a specific city department, like police, fire, or sanitation. They act as both legislators and executives. What could be a major downside of this system?" (Hint: Commissioners might only focus on their own department and not the city as a whole).

Formative Check: "If you wanted to run a city like a business, with a CEO in charge of operations, which form of government would you choose? (Correct Answer: Council-Manager form)."

You Do: Zoning and Jurisdiction (4 minutes)

Educator: "Great. So now we have our county and our city. How does a city decide what gets built where? That's called zoning. Zoning is the practice of dividing a city into districts and regulating how the land in each district can be used. It prevents that factory from being built next to your house."

"I'll name the three main types. You give me an example of what you'd find there."

• "Residential: What would you expect to see here?" (Student response: Houses, apartments).
• "Commercial: How about here?" (Student response: Stores, restaurants, offices).
• "Industrial: And here?" (Student response: Factories, warehouses).

"Now, for a tricky part. Sometimes a city needs to provide services, like fire protection, to areas just outside its official limits. And as cities grow, they often start a process of annexing, which means legally adding new territory to the city. This can be controversial. Why might people living in an unincorporated area *not* want to be annexed by a big city?" (Possible answers: Higher taxes, more regulations, loss of a small-town feel).

Application Question: "Your city council is debating whether to re-zone a quiet residential street to allow for a new commercial strip mall. As a council member, what one question would you ask to help make your decision?"

Part 3: Conclusion (3 minutes)

Recap (2 minutes)

Educator: "Okay, that was a lot in a short time. Let's recap. We learned that local government is layered, with counties (or boroughs/parishes) managing broad regional services like courts and records. We then zoomed into incorporated cities, which are run by a charter and can have a Mayor-Council, Council-Manager, or Commission government. Finally, we saw how cities use zoning to manage growth and can even extend services beyond their borders. The key takeaway is that these local structures are designed to bring government closer to the people it serves."

Summative Assessment & Closure (1 minute)

Educator: "To wrap it up, answer this: A developer wants to build a new housing subdivision just outside the city limits. Name one unit of government (county or city), one official (like the sheriff or a council member), and one policy (like zoning or annexing) that would be involved in this process. Your answer will show you understand how all these pieces fit together. Awesome job today!"

Differentiation

• Scaffolding for Struggling Learners: Provide a simple graphic organizer with three columns: "County," "City," and "Zoning." The student can fill in key terms and functions as the lecture progresses. Use pre-filled definitions for the vocabulary words.
• Extension for Advanced Learners: Challenge the student to take 15 minutes after the lesson to research their own local government. They should identify their county name, their county seat, the name of their mayor or county executive, and the form of city government their town uses. They can then write a short paragraph arguing for or against their city's current form of government.