"The Michigan Curriculum Framework is a resource for helping Michigan's public and private schools design, implement, and assess their core content area curricula. The content standards identified in this document are presented as models for the development of local district curriculum by the Michigan State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education. They represent rigorous expectations for student performance, and describe the knowledge and abilities needed to be successful in today's society"(MCF, 6). Civics Onlinefeatures the civic perspective of the Michigan Curriculum Framework and provides teachers and administrators the ability to search for primary sources and activities that specifically pertain to strands of the civic framework at differing grade levels.

Students will use knowledge of American government and politics to make informed decisions about governing their communities.

Knowledge of government enables individuals to define the roles of citizens within a constitutional democracy and to compare the American system of government with other systems. Civic knowledge builds understanding about the exercise of power. With knowledge of government and politics, citizens are equipped to evaluate domestic and international policy and to exert influence in public affairs. Over time and in varying contexts, students construct an increasingly sophisticated civic perspective organized by the following themes:

All students will identify the purposes of national, state, and local governments in the United States, describe how citizens organize government to accomplish their purposes and assess their effectiveness.

All students will explain the meaning and origin of the ideas, including the core democratic values expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other foundational documents of the United States.

All students will describe the political and legal processes created to make decisions, seek consensus, and resolve conflicts in a free society.

All students will explain how American governmental institutions at the local, state, and federal levels provide for the limitation and sharing of power and how the nation's political system provides for the exercise of power.

All students will understand how the world is organized politically, the formation of American foreign policy, and the roles the United States plays in the international arena.

- MCF, 38-39

Search for primary sources by selecting one of the curriculum standards and/or a grade level and click the "find sources" button.

Grade Levels: k-23-56-89-12 MI Curriculum Strand: Standard III.1 - Purposes of GovernmentStandard III.2 - Ideals of GovernmentStandard III.3 - Democracy in ActionStandard III.4 - American Government and PoliticsStandard III.5 - American Government and World Affairs