Standard 3: Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.

General Information
Number: SS.912.C.3
Title: Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.
Type: Standard
Subject: Social Studies
Grade: 912
Strand: Civics and Government

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Independent

SS.912.C.3.In.0
Identify principles of the Constitution that limit the power of the government, such as rule of law, individual rights, and consent of the governed.
SS.912.C.3.In.1
Identify examples of the powers granted and denied states and the national government, such as the national government may not change state boundaries or violate the Bill of Rights and state governments may not print money or suspend a person’s rights without due process.
SS.912.C.3.In.2
Identify the structure and function of the legislative branch of the government identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.3
Identify the structure and functions of the executive branch of the government identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.4
Identify the purpose of independent regulatory agencies in the federal bureaucracy, such as the Federal Reserve (fiscal policy) and the Food and Drug Administration (ensures safety of food and drugs).
SS.912.C.3.In.5
Identify the structure and function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.6
Identify the structure and function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.7
Identify the structure and function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.8
Identify the levels of courts in the federal and state judicial system and their major responsibilities, such as criminal and civil cases and appeals.
SS.912.C.3.In.9
Identify the importance of landmark Supreme Court cases, such as Plessy v. Ferguson, United States v. Nixon, and Roe v. Wade.
SS.912.C.3.In.10
Identify that the Constitution safeguards and limits rights.
SS.912.C.3.In.11
Identify the structure and function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.In.12
Identify the effects of government on the daily lives of citizens at the local, state, and national level.
SS.912.C.3.In.13
Identify examples of the use of constitutional powers, such as being limited to the federal government, shared by both federal and state government, or limited to state governments.
SS.912.C.3.In.14
Identify examples of the use of constitutional powers, such as being limited to the federal government, shared by both federal and state government, or limited to state governments.

Supported

SS.912.C.3.Su.0
Recognize principles of the Constitution that limit the power of the government, such as rule of law, individual rights, or consent of the governed.
SS.912.C.3.Su.1
Recognize examples of the powers granted and denied states and the national government, such as the national government may not change state boundaries and state governments may not print money.
SS.912.C.3.Su.2
Identify the function of the legislative branch of the government identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.3
Identify the function of the executive branch of the government identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.4
Recognize the purpose of an independent regulatory agency in the federal bureaucracy, such as the Food and Drug Administration (ensures safety of food and drugs).
SS.912.C.3.Su.5
Identify the function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.6
Identify the function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.7
Identify the function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.8
Recognize different levels of courts in the judicial system, such as state and federal courts.
SS.912.C.3.Su.9
Recognize the importance of landmark Supreme Court cases, such as United States v. Nixon and Roe v. Wade.
SS.912.C.3.Su.10
Recognize that the Constitution safeguards and limits rights.
SS.912.C.3.Su.11
Identify the function of the judicial branch of the government as identified in the Constitution.
SS.912.C.3.Su.12
Recognize an effect of government on the daily lives of citizens at the local, state, and national level.
SS.912.C.3.Su.13
Recognize examples of the use of constitutional powers, such as specifying powers of the federal and state governments.
SS.912.C.3.Su.14
Recognize examples of the use of constitutional powers, such as specifying powers of the federal and state governments.

Participatory

SS.912.C.3.Pa.0
Recognize that the government has limits on its power.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.1
Recognize an example of a power granted to the national government and not the state government, such as printing money.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.2
Recognize that the legislative branch of government creates laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.3
Recognize that the executive branch of government enforces laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.4
Recognize that federal agencies help people in America.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.5
Recognize that the judicial branch of government interprets laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.6
Recognize that the judicial branch of government interprets laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.7
Recognize that the judicial branch of government interprets laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.8
Recognize that courts settle conflicts at the federal and state level.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.9
Recognize that Supreme Court cases have important outcomes that affect all citizens.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.10
Recognize that the government protects rights.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.11
Recognize that the judicial branch of government interprets laws.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.12
Recognize an effect of government on the daily lives of citizens.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.13
Recognize an example of a power granted to the national government and not the state government, such as printing money.
SS.912.C.3.Pa.14
Recognize an example of a power granted to the national government and not the state government, such as printing money.

Related Resources

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Student Resources

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Text Resources

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Swift and Co. v. U.S. (1905):

Learn more about the 1905 landmark Supreme Court decision Swift and Co. v. U.S. In this case, the Court considered issues of trusts, business practices, regulations, monopolies, and capitalism in the Gilded Age.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: United States v. E.C. Knight (1895):

Learn more about the 1895 landmark Supreme Court decision U.S. v. E.C. Knight. In this case, the Court considered issues of trusts, business practices, regulations, monopolies, and capitalism in the Gilded Age.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Abrams v. United States (1919):

Learn more about the 1919 landmark Supreme Court decision Abrams v. U.S. In this case, the Court decided issues of free speech during wartime: a group of immigrants and anarchists had criticized American involvement in World War I and urged resistance to the war. The Court's decision produced a famous dissent by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Frontiero v. Richardson (1973):

Learn more about the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision Frontiero v. Richardson. In this case, the Court considered the matter of a female Air Force officer who applied for benefits for her husband--and was denied. The Court's ruling touched on issues of gender and civil rights.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Cases: Grutter v. Bollinger & Gratz v. Bollinger (2003):

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Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: U.S. Steel Workers of America v. Weber (1979):

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Type: Text Resource

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Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Schechter v. U.S. (1935):

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Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Miranda v. Arizona (1966):

Learn more about the 1966 landmark Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona. In this case, the Court considered the civil rights issues of due process and self-incrimination. The case set an important legal precedent and established the "Miranda Rights" which must be read to criminal defendants upon arrest.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Cooper v. Aaron (1958):

Learn more about the 1958 landmark Supreme Court decision Cooper v. Aaron. In this lesser known follow-up to Brown v. Board of Education, the Court held that states could not pass legislation that undermined the desegregation of public schools.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Lochner v. New York (1905):

Learn more about the 1906 landmark Supreme Court decision Lochner v. New York. In this case, the Supreme Court established an important precedent that would last for decades when it struck down a labor law setting maximum working hours.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Korematsu v. United States (1944):

Learn more about the 1944 landmark Supreme Court decision Korematsu v. U.S. In this case, the Supreme Court considered the issue of domestic internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The Court's ruling remains one of its most controversial decisions ever.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Gideon v. Wainwright (1963):

Learn more about the 1963 landmark Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright. In this case, the Supreme Court decided issues related to due process and a criminal defendant's right to a lawyer's counsel even if he or she cannot afford one.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873):

Learn more about the 1873 landmark Supreme Court decision known as The Slaughterhouse Cases. In this case, the Supreme Court defined the limits of the then-new Fourteenth Amendment and its guarantee of equal "privileges and immunities" to citizens.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896):

Learn more about the 1896 landmark Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson. In this case, the Supreme Court declared legal "separate but equal" laws requiring black and white citizens to use segregated facilities. The decision ushered in an era of "Jim Crow" in the American South.

Type: Text Resource

Supreme Court Landmark Case: United States v. Lopez (1995):

Learn more about the 1995 landmark Supreme Court decision U.S. v. Lopez. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not ban the possession of firearms within "gun-free school zones." The decision touched on issues of gun control, federalism, and the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause.

Type: Text Resource

Tutorials

Reconstruction and the 15th Amendment:

This short video provided by Khan Academy features two historians reviewing the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote. The historians also explore ways in which the different Reconstruction Amendments were undermined and not fully realized for almost a century. Helpful graphics illustrate the content.

Type: Tutorial

Majority Rules: Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918):

Learn the historical context for a landmark Supreme Court decision, Hammer v. Dagenhart, in this short interactive tutorial. This case dealt with child labor in the early 20th century. You'll have a chance to evaluate the case on your terms before seeing how the justices actually ruled. Enjoy!

Type: Tutorial

Majority Rules: New York v. United States (1992):

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Type: Tutorial

The Supreme Court: Brown v. Board of Education:

Learn more about the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This case was a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality in America.

Type: Tutorial

The Supreme Court: Timeline:

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Type: Tutorial

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Type: Tutorial

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Parent Resources

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