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3rd Grade Roots of Our Democracy Issue 3.1

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Though ancient Greek civilization seems very old and far away from modern America, its influence is seen

every day in our government, architecture, and entertainment. When we look at the beautiful columns on

the U.S. Supreme Court building, or cheer on our favorite athletes during the Olympics, we see the influence of a civilization that existed 2,500 years ago. The Greeks invented democracy, but there are some differences between the direct democracy that existed in ancient Athens and the representative democracy found in the U.S. In Athens, all male citizens could participate in government and cast a vote to make important decisions. The United States has too many people to allow everyone to vote on every issue, so we have a representative democracy instead. In a representative democracy, people elect individuals they trust to make big decisions for the country. In both forms of democracy, it is very important that people be able to choose their leaders. The Greeks wanted leaders that represented all levels of society, not just the rich. They felt that ordinary people would make the best decisions.

In modern America, the government is broken into different levels (national, state, and local) and different branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). The local government takes care of issues relating to communities in a state including police and fire services. The state government is led by a governor in the executive branch, a state legislature in the legislative branch, and a court system in the judicial branch. State governments are responsible for many things including public health and safety. The national government takes care of issues affecting every state including printing money, dealing with other countries, and maintaining the military. The president and vice president make up the executive branch of the national government. They are responsible for making sure that the laws of the country are obeyed. We call the legislative branch of our national government Congress, which includes the Senate

and House of Representatives. Congress creates the laws for our country. The judicial branch of the national government is made up of all the federal courts including the Supreme Court. The court system makes sure that new laws are constitutional.

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• identify the influence of Greek architecture (such as the columns on the Parthenon and the U.S. Supreme Court building), Greek law, and the Olympic Games on the present.

• explain that ancient Athenians believed that a community should choose its own leaders.

• compare and contrast the direct democracy of Athens with the representative democracy of the United States.

• explain why there is a separation of power between branches of government and the levels of government in the US.

• name the three levels of government (national, state, and local) and the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial)

• name the different levels of the legislative branch (Congress, General Assembly, county commission or city council)

• state an example of the responsibilities of each level and branch of government

• locate Greece on a world map.

• identify the Mississippi, Ohio, Rio Grande, Colorado, and Hudson Rivers on a map of the United States.

• identify the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains on a map of the United States.

• locate the equator, prime meridian, and lines of latitude and longitude on a globe.

1) What happened in Athens, Greece, about 2,500 years ago?

A. People started the first democracy.

B. The Lincoln Memorial was built.

C. Women gained the right to vote.

D. People elected a President.

2) Who elects government leaders?

A. Commissioners choose government leaders.

B. Citizens elect representatives to speak for them.

C. The mayor decides who will represent the citizens.

D. The city manager chooses representatives.

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Check your answers on the back!

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• Direct Democracy- a form of democracy in which all citizens make decisions

• Representative Democracy- a type of democracy in which citizens elect others to represent

them when making decisions

• Separation of Power- in American government, power is divided between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches so that no branch can become more powerful that another

• Executive Branch- the branch of state government that is led by the governor; the branch of national government that is led by the president

• Legislative Branch- the branch of national government called Congress that includes the Senate and House of Representatives; the branch of state government called the General Assembly, usually made up of two houses

• Judicial Branch- the branch of the state and national government made up of the court system, including the Supreme Court

• Latitude- imaginary lines running horizontally around the Earth, includes the

equator

• Longitude- imaginary lines running vertically around the Earth, includes the

Prime Meridian

• Equator- the 0o line of latitude, an imaginary line that divides the Northern and

Southern Hemispheres

• Prime Meridian- the 0o line of longitude, an imaginary line that runs through

Greenwich, England

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R E T H E T I N F L U A E N G

C E X E C O F A N C R I E N O

T G P E R Y C A R C O M E D V

E E R R C C E I H S S T I L E

L I S E E U E I N T O D A Y R

D S U U B S T Y B J O A I J N

L Y E K Z E E I Q F X Z R O M

T T S Q C F O N V U X L B F E

M H Z T S K L E T E O A Y P N

F Y U L E G I S L A T I V E T

M R M J G J M U E P T C C E M

E P S U M L O L Y M P I C S E

M N R T A M G K B J N D V B R

V M L W E S W E J F P U S E U

D H H N Y D H D J D W J C U J

Circle these words in the puzzle above. Tell your parents something you know about each word when you find it.

ARCHITECTURE DEMOCRACY

DIRECT EXECUTIVE

GOVERNMENT JUDICIAL

LAW LEGISLATIVE

OLYMPICS REPRESENTATIVE

The remaining letters spell out a hidden message. Do you know what it says?

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• Take an interactive adventure in ancient Greece. This is a long web address to type into your computer, , but it is worth it! You can explore Athens, Sparta, and Mt. Olympus on this fun website designed just for kids!

• Looking for a great book to teach you all about ancient Greece? You have to see this one, Ancient Greece: 40 Hands-On Activities to Experience this Wondrous Age by Avery Hart and Paul Mantell.

• Visit to learn everything you ever needed or wanted to know about American government. Parents can visit the higher levels of the site to beef up their own knowledge of civics as well!

• Have your child label the rivers and mountain ranges he/she studied in class on a map of the United States. A blank map of the United States can be found on . Throughout the year, students will be asked to locate the site of important events. Keep this map on the refrigerator or on a bulletin board and help your student to update it.

Test Prep Answers: 1. A 2. B

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