Establishing a Government: Activity Sheet 1B

Directions: In this simulation you will imagine yourself and your classmates stranded on a deserted island, forced to design and establish a government for yourselves. To prepare for this simulation, complete the steps below.

Step 1: Prepare a Simulation Folder. Use a folder to organize the various papers you will need for your simulation. Your folder should include any activity sheets your teacher hands out (such as this one), research materials, and notes you take. Update your folder as you proceed.

Step 2: Identify the Purposes of a Government. To establish a government, you’ll need to know why governments are created. To help you, list the four major purposes of government in the chart below. For each, give an example of how a government fulfills that purpose.

PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT	EXAMPLES
1.
2.
3.
4.

Step 3: Understand the Three Basic Types of Government. To establish a government, you’ll need to decide what type of government to create. To help you, list the three basic types of government in the chart below. Briefly describe each one.

TYPES OF GOVERNMENT	DESCRIPTION

Step 4: Decide on Your Position. Review the charts you completed in Steps 2 and 3. Keep them in mind as you think about your situation on the island. Ask yourself this basic question: What type of government would best achieve the purposes of government in this situation? When you have decided, write your answer on a separate sheet of paper. Make sure you identify the reasons for your decision – you’re going to need them to try to convince your classmates.

Print This Page

Research Grants | Congress in the Classroom

Explore The Websuite

The Dirksen Congressional Center Gateway
- A point of entry to The Dirksen Center's suite of Web sites.
  
  Continue
The Dirksen Center
- Helping People Better Understand the U.S. Congress, its people, its processes, and the public policies it produces.
  
  Continue
Robert H. Michel: U.S. Congressman
- Robert Henry "Bob" Michel - An American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years
  
  Continue
AboutGovernment
- Links to more than 50 sites about the U.S. Congress, four major search engines, and to a handful of sites about the federal government more generally.
  
  Continue
Congress for Kids
- Gives students access to interactive, fun-filled experiences designed to help them learn about the foundation of our federal government and how its actions affect you.
  
  Continue
Communicator
- A monthly e-newsletter to stay current about changes to the other Dirksen Center sites, to learn about classroom uses of the information posted on them, and to hear about Dirksen Center news.
  
  Continue

Congressional Timeline

The Congressional Timeline developed and maintained by The Dirksen Congressional Center, arrays more than 550 of the nation's laws on a timeline beginning in 1933 and continuing to the present. A second timeline "band" depicts major political events of the period as a way to provide context for Congress's law-making...More

73rd Congress: March 9, 1933 - June 18, 1934

73rd Congress: March 9, 1933, to June 18, 1934

A meeting of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. The first session of Congress, known as the "Hundred Days," took place before the regular seating and was called by President Roosevelt specifically to pass two acts. March 9, 1933, The Emergency Banking Act...More

74th Congress: January 3, 1935 - June 20, 1936

The Soil and Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act allowed the government to pay farmers to reduce production so as to conserve soil, prevent erosion, and accomplish other minor goals. It was a piece of legislation passed in response to the Supreme Court's declaration....More

75th Congress: January 5, 1937 - June 16, 1938

In 1938 the Civil Aeronautics Act transferred federal responsibilities for non-military aviation from the Bureau of Air Commerce to a new, independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The legislation also gave the authority the power to regulate airline fares and to determine...More

76th Congress: January 3, 1939 - January 3, 1941

On November 4, 1939, the Neutrality Act of 1939 was passed, allowing for arms trade with belligerent nations on a cash and carry basis, thus in effect ending the arms embargo. ...More

77th Congress: January 3, 1941, to December 16, 1942

The Lend-Lease Act was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of the European war in September 1939, but six months before the U.S. entrance into the war in December 1941. It was called An Act Further to Promote the Defense of the United States...More

View More:

Dirksen Center Special Projects

Dirksen Center Special Projects is a series of multi-media projects rich in Web-based resources on a variety of topics from civil rights to editorial cartoons. We have posted them where it makes sense within our Web suite. But as the suite has grown, we suspect it has become more difficult to find these special projects.

To make them stand out, we have created the Dirksen Center Special Projects web page to host links to all our special projects listed below.

CongressLink

About CongressLink

Today's Congress

Congress: The Basics

Congress: Teaching It