Conduct a quick poll with your students with raised hands: If you could pick one student to make all the rules for your class, would you trust them?
Then ask them, “why or why not?”
Review the title of the video and ask the students to predict what it is about. Ask, “What do you think “representative government” means?” and “Based on this title, what do you think this video is about?”
Review some key vocabulary and remind students to listen for these words in the video.
Majority rule, minority rights: Laws are made with the consent of the majority but do not infringe on the inalienable rights of the minority.
Consent of the Governed: The power of government comes from the people.
Democracy: A form of government in which ultimate authority is based directly on the will of the people.
Republic: A constitutional form of government with elected representatives who represent and “refine and enlarge” the will of the people.
If any words are used in the video and the student does not know them, instruct them to write the words down so you can define them later.
Engage
Before starting the video display, ask students to create three columns on their paper. The first column will be titled “See,” and students write or draw what they see in the video. The second column will be titled “Hear,” and they will write what they hear in the video. And the final column will be titled “Thoughts and Questions.” Students will write questions and write or draw ideas that came to mind during the video.
It is helpful to provide space and time for students to digest the content. Below are suggestions on places to pause the video to allow students time to fill in their columns.
About 1:57 – after the scholar describes a constitutional republic. You could ask students, “What is a constitutional republic?”
About 2:55 – after the James Madison quote about democracies. You could ask students, “What are some negatives about a democracy based on what you heard in the video?”
About 4:00 – after the James Madison quote about republican form of government. You could ask your students, “Why did Madison think a republican form of government could work?”
Explore
After watching the video, ask students to review the notes they took. Then have them discuss any key points or questions with a partner.
You may help guide discussions with the following questions:
What is a democracy? What are some negative side effects of a democracy?
What a is a republican form of government?
What type of government does the United States have and how does it work?
Reflection
Depending on the skills and needs of students, use the following reflection strategies.
Ask students to pretend they are explaining representative government to a younger student. Have them write down a 1-minute speech doing so in their own words.
Ask students to sketch a quick picture or symbol that depicts a representative government (e.g., voting booth, people raising hands).
Extension
Find out who represents your community in government. What do they do for your city or state?
