HIS Social Studies (Civics and Economics)
Children are a heritage from the Lord. .......Psalm 127:3
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Instructional Philosophy:
Basic to our study of the development of the government and economic systems of
America and other countries, is the conviction that God is the creator of the Universe
and Controller of History and current world events. The Christian perspective is the
Key to proper understanding of world issues and governments, for it enables us to see
God’s purpose and plans in human events that we come across in this social studies
program. We see the Sovereign hand of God in the development of nations, as well as
the consequences of man’s choices. Proverbs 11:14 says, “For lack of guidance a nation
falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” This point is illustrated throughout
our study of the organization of governments in our world. God gave man the ability
to acquire skills and knowledge and to pass them on to others. Human development
throughout history is called progress. This progress is possible because man was made
in the image of God. However, progress and choice can follow a path that is not God’s
path. Each person is free to choose whether to obey God and be used by Him, or to
disobey and suffer the consequences. Thus we illustrate the truth of Proverbs 14:34:
“Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.” Thus the two
paths of the structure of a nation’s government and the beliefs the government follows
are brought together to illustrate the way a nation does or does not move along God’s
path.
Instructional Goals:
Students will study the structure of the American Government system, while comparing and contrasting each aspect with similar aspects of other world governments. They will discover the reasoning for different structures for various government systems. They will also study the various economic systems of the world, and how they are intertwined with various government systems. They will demonstrate practical knowledge of economic systems, as well as how economics affects our every day lives. They will be able to understand the practical nature of how the nations of our world function as a body, as well as separately, with the problems and benefits that result.
This program is therefore designed to prepare students to be world citizens, understand and appreciate the differences between world government and economic systems, and equip them to understand and help solve the problems of today’s world.
Resources:
Text: Prentice Hall 2003 Civics and Economics (Student Edition)
Technology: Prentice Hall 2003 Resource Pro, CD-ROM
Internet activities investigating particular topics
Current Events: The New Vision
Selected news reports from www.phschool.com
News reports from www.cnn.com
News reports from other publications
Scope and Sequence:
1. Portrait of Americans
2. American Society and Its Values
3. The Meaning Of Citizenship
4. America’s Political Heritage
5. Creating The Constitution
6. The Bill of Rights
7. Our Living Constitution
8. The Legislative Branch
9. The Executive Branch
10. The Judicial Branch
11. State Government
12. Local Government
13. What is an Economy?
14. Basics of Our Economic System
15. Money and Banking
16. Government’s Role in the Economy
17. The Economy and You
18. Laws and Society
19. Criminal and Juvenile Justice
20. Civil Justice
21. Political Parties in a Democracy
22. Voting and Elections
23. Confronting Society’s Problems
24. One Nation Among Many
25. Foreign Policy
26. Making a Difference in the World
Instructional Objectives:
The students will continue to:
1. Increase their understanding of man, the world, and God and apply Biblical principles in their evaluation of world events.
2. Realize that Christ’s birth has had a more profound impact upon the world than any other single event.
3. Realize that the Providence of God has guided history and economics for His glory.
4. Understand the blessings of righteousness and the curse of sin, making government and economics classes an ideal opportunity for character training.
5. Take a conservative political and economic view of government, identifying liberal principles and dealing with them from a conservative, Christian perspective.
6. Realize that ideas are very important in history, because the way people and nations think directs the course of their actions.
7. Know that understanding various forms of governments and economics is very important to understanding history as a whole.
8. Exercise their reasoning abilities by discussing important concepts and giving reasons for their beliefs on all levels of learning—Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
9. Analyze current events to form solid, intelligent opinions.
10. Analyze world issues to form solid, intelligent opinions that result in active involvement.