Civics: government, laws, and citizens, Western Hemisphere (grade 6) · lesson

Kinds of government

💡 To name a kind of government, ask who holds power and how they got it.

In a democracy, the people hold power. They vote for leaders in fair elections with real choices, and they can speak out against leaders.

In a monarchy, a king or queen rules, and power passes down in the family. In an absolute monarchy, the ruler has nearly all the power.

A dictator takes and keeps power without fair elections. In a theocracy, religious leaders rule by religious law.

🧠 Let's work it out

Look for clues.
Adults vote every few years and can pick from several parties? Democracy.
One leader for life and no elections? Dictatorship or absolute monarchy.
Power passed from parent to child? Monarchy.

What do you think comes next?

democracy: government where the people hold power and vote
monarchy: government led by a king or queen, with power passed down in the family
dictatorship: government by one person who rules without fair elections

💡 Countries split power in different ways: between national and state governments, and between leaders and lawmakers.

In a federal system, power is shared. A national government handles things for the whole country. State governments handle many local needs. Mexico, Brazil, and the United States are federal.

In some countries, voters pick the president in a vote of its own. In others, like Canada, it works another way. The leader is the head of the party that holds the most seats in Parliament, the body that makes laws.

🧠 Let's work it out

Brazil is huge, with very different regions.

A farm town in the south and a river town in the Amazon need different things.
A federal system lets each state handle its own local needs, while the nation handles shared ones.

What do you think comes next?

federal system: power shared between a national government and state governments
parliament: a lawmaking body in some countries, like Canada
parliamentary system: a system where the leader comes from the party with the most seats in parliament
presidential system: a system where voters choose the president separately from the lawmakers
prime minister: the leader chosen from the parliament

Constitutions, citizens, and rule of law

💡 A constitution sets up a government, and rule of law means everyone, even leaders, must follow it.

A constitution is a plan for a government. It says how leaders are chosen, what powers they have, and what rights people keep.

Rule of law means no one is above the law. A leader who loses an election must leave office. A leader must obey court rulings.

Citizens in a democracy have jobs too. They vote, obey the laws, and can question their leaders.

🧠 Let's work it out

A president loses an election but won't leave and ignores the courts.

Ask: is he acting as if the law applies to him? No.
That breaks rule of law.
It is not about trade or the economy.

What do you think comes next?

constitution: a plan that sets up a government and its basic laws
rule of law: the idea that everyone, even leaders, must follow the law

Nations working together

💡 Nations make agreements to trade, share resources, and support fair elections, but each keeps its own government.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada have a deal that lowers barriers to trade. Each country still makes its own laws.

Shared resources can cause conflict. If a river flows from one country into another, a dam upstream can leave less water for farms and towns downstream.

Most nations in the Americas belong to the Organization of American States, or OAS. Members talk about peace and democracy. A country may invite OAS observers to watch its election and report whether it was fair.

🧠 Let's work it out

Picture a river running from Country A into Country B.

A builds a dam.
A dam holds water back.
So B gets less water.

What do you think comes next?

trade agreement: a deal between nations about how they trade
OAS: Organization of American States, a group of nations in the Americas
observer: a person who watches an event and reports on it

Kinds of government

Federal and parliamentary systems

Constitutions, citizens, and rule of law

Nations working together