KVSD Curriculum

Supplemental Materials

• LEGIS
  Overview

  The Chiesman Center for Democracy partnered with the South Dakota Department of Education in the Grant Competition to Improve Public Knowledge and Support for Democracy through the U.S. Department of Education, and the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
  The purpose of the grant competition is to increase public knowledge, understanding and support of the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures.
  We were awarded the grant December 2007 entitled LEGIS (Legislative Education for Greater Inquiry & Study). 
  One part of the grant is centered on K – 12 civic education.  A curriculum design team was created made up of educators throughout the state, civic organization leaders and the Department of Education.  The LEGIS lessons created were designed as a component of Kids Voting South Dakota and South Dakota Project Citizen. 
  Curriculum

  The LEGIS lessons focus on:

  • U.S. Congress,
  • State Legislature and
  • The Process of How a Bill Becomes a Law
    
    

  They are divided into SIX THEMES:

  • Government
  • Leadership
  • How a Bill Becomes a Law
  • Relationships
  • Citizen Rights and Responsibilities
  • Founding Documents/Primary Sources

  The lessons are developed for K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
  NEW! Complete LEGIS lessons are now downloadable. Please select the Grade level you are interested in. A PDF containing the respective Scope & Sequence will open, from within you may then select the individual lesson you would like to view and save. To navigate back to the Scope & Sequence PDF, please use your browser's back arrow as the lessons open up in the same window.

  • K-2: Scope and Sequence
  • 3-5: Scope and Sequence
  • 6-8: Scope and Sequence
  • 9-12: Scope and Sequence
  Links

  Useful links to: National, State & Local Politics, Election Information, and Media Resources

  Click here to view printable PDF version

  
  
• TETIC
  Overview

  Through the grant, Kids Voting South Dakota (KVSD), a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization and a project of the Chiesman Center for Democracy, will implement a comprehensive mock election project for students and teachers in South Dakota that especially targets school districts on South Dakota’s Indian Reservations and other underserved minority populations. The program, Teens Electing To Impact Change (TETIC), will enhance the role of the students as conduits for democratic participation. The goals are to increase the percentage of students participating in KVSD mock election by 20 percent and add new programs to six of the nine Indian reservations in the state.
  Curriculum

  more information coming soon
  Links

  more information coming soon
  
  
• Tribal Governments & Elections
  Overview

  Civic Education: Tribal Governments and Elections -Instructional Lessons and Resources was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed similarly to the Kids Voting South Dakota curriculum and focuses specifically on tribal government s and elections in addition to State and local governments.
  It was created in collaboration with tribal representatives, teachers, and the Kids Voting South Dakota staff.
  
  The Design Committee had representatives from:
  . Rosebud Sioux Tribe
  . Shannon County School District
  . United Sioux Tribes
  . Eagle Butte
  . South Dakota State Legislature
  . Kids Voting South Dakota
  Curriculum

  Click to view a lesson for Tribal Government:

  • Sample 1
  
  
• Constitution Day Lessons
  Overview

  In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring educational institutions that receive federal funding to present a program focused on the U. S. Constitution each year on Constitution and Citizenship Day, September 17th. 
  The lessons provided were made available for South Dakota State Farm agents around South Dakota to use when going into classrooms in their community.   A number of State Farm agents were trained and have these lessons accessible to bring into your school.  If you would like a list of State Farm agents that would like to come to your classroom, contact the Chiesman Center for Democracy, Civic Education Programs.  Teachers please feel free to use these grade level lessons about our Constitution and the rights of citizens.
  Curriculum

  Lessons for grades K-12 are available for no cost from the Center for Civic Education website at http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=constitution_day .

  These lessons, designed to assist schools and federal agencies to meet the requirements of the legislation, have been adapted from the Center's We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution and Foundations of Democracy curricular materials.

  Links

  www.civiced.org

  
  
• Representative Democracy in America
  
  Overview

  The Chiesman Center for Democracy (CCFD), Civic Education Programs is pleased to announce our participation in Representative Democracy in America (RDA), a sister program to South Dakota Project Citizen and We the People.  Our staff has been trained along with two classroom teachers to present the materials to teachers in South Dakota.  Contact us if you would like training in your school district.

  
  

  • DeVee Dietz, Director, Civic Education Programs, Chiesman Center for Democracy
  • Dr. John Usera, Director, Policy Analysis & Civic Engagement, Chiesman Center for Democracy
  • Dr. Helen Usera, CEO/President, Chiesman Center for Democracy
  • JoAnne Bohl, HS Social Studies Teacher, West Central High School
  • Patrick Gainey, HS Social Studies Teacher, Spearfish High School
  • Kenny Skinner, MS Social/Language Arts Teacher, Meade School District

  Representative Democracy in America is a national project designed to reinvigorate and educate Americans on the critical relationship between government and the people it serves. The project introduces citizens, particularly young people, to the representatives, institutions, and processes that serve to realize the goal of a government of, by, and for the people.
  
  Representative Democracy in America provides educational materials for the classroom, leads campaigns to put civic education back into schools, and creates mass media messages to inform the general public.

  Directed by these three Organizations:

  • Center for Civic Education
  • Video Series and Instructional Guide
  • Center on Congress at Indiana University
  • Congressional Moments
  • Facts of Congress
  • Interactive e-modules on the web
  • National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Trust for Representative Democracy
  • Citizen Brain and You Rule DVD's
  • America's Legislators Back to School Lessons

  
  The Center for Civic Education’s major activity in the project is Representative Democracy in America: Voices of the People, a six-part video series on DVD to help middle and high school students understand our system of representative democracy. The six programs, each approximately 15 minutes in length, and the instructional guide address the following topics:

  • the roots of representative democracy
  • federalism and the separation of powers
  • the roles of representatives, executives, and justices in our democracy
  • our representatives and how they are chosen
  • the role of the citizen in a representative democracy

  To Learn More, visit:

  • Chiesman Center for Democracy
  • Center for Civic Education
  • RDA Brochure

  Representative Democracy in America is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by Congress. The contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education nor should endorsement by the federal government be assumed.

  Links

  Center for Civic Education
  Center on Congress at Indiana University
  National Conference of State Legislatures



• XYZ Electric Cooperative Lesson—How a Cooperative is Like a Democracy
  Overview

  South Dakota Rural Electric Association is a major sponsor of KVSD and has been an integral part of our major events and implementation of civic education for South Dakota students. The lesson provided was made possible by East River Electric Power Cooperative and the many South Dakota Rural Electric Cooperatives around the state. A number of Electric Cooperatives have been trained and/or have the lesson accessible to bring and teach to your students. Please contact your local electric cooperative or the Chiesman Center for Democracy, Civic Education Programs for additional information. These lessons provide an opportunity to bring the community into the classroom and an excellent correlation for students as to how a cooperative is like a democracy.
  Curriculum

  Please click below to bring up the lesson documents

  • Cooperative Lesson Plan
  • KWL Cooperative Lesson
  • Student Handout (Answer Key available upon request)
  • Lesson PowerPoint –“What is a Cooperative? – XYZ Cooperative

Thanks to our Curriculum Sponsor: