NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Understanding Social Studies

Lesson 3: Government, Citizenship, and Economics
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Why do people form governments? What makes a responsible citizen? Why do
people make economic choices?

Terms to Know
legislative having the power to make laws
executive having the power to enforce and carry out laws
judicial having the power to interpret and apply laws
federalism a government in which power is divided between the national government and the
state governments
republic a form of government run by elected representatives
authority the right to give commands and use power
popular sovereignty rule by the people
citizen a person who legally belongs to a country and has that countrys full rights and protections
free enterprise an economic system in which people and businesses are mostly free to make their
own choices in producing and exchanging goods and services

What do you know?

Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

In the first column, answer the questions based on what you know before you study. After the lesson,
fill in the last column.
Before Study...

Questions
What are the three branches of
government?

After Study...

What are two ways to become a

U.S. citizen?
What type of economic system
does the United States have?

Reading Essentials and Study Guide 11

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Understanding Social Studies

Lesson 3: Government, Citizenship, and Economics, continued

Marking the
Text
1. Highlight the three
branches of government
in the United States and
Texas.

Identifying
2. What is one way that
the Texas and U.S.
Constitutions limit the
power of government?

Defining
3. What is the definition
of federalism?

4. How is a constitutional
monarchy different
from an absolute
monarchy?

12

Reading Essentials and Study Guide

Guiding Question What is the role of government and how does

it work?
A government is the ruling power for a community or society.
Governments help keep order and protect people. They also
provide services, such as building roads and defending the nation.
People pay taxes to pay for all of these government services.
A constitution is a written document that creates a government.
A constitution outlines the laws, ideas, functions, and parts of a
government, and both nations and states have them. Most of
the U.S. Constitution describes the parts of the government and
each parts powers and duties. Both the U.S. government and
the Texas state government have three branches. The legislative
branch makes the laws, the executive branch carries out and
enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets and applies
the laws.
The U.S. and Texas constitutions limit governments power.
Separation of powers keeps power in balance among the three
branches. A system of checks and balances allows each branch to
limit the power of the others. Both the U.S. and Texas constitutions
include a Bill of Rights. This lists specific rights of citizens.
The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. This
means the United States is an independent country and no other
nation or group can rule it. It also means that the states, such as
Texas, must follow the laws of the United States. The U.S.
Constitution outlines a system called federalism. In this system,
certain powers and duties belong to the states. Others belong to
the national government. Some powers are shared.
The federal and state governments are republics. In a republic,
the people elect representatives to run the government. Our
governments get their authority, or power, from the people. This
rule by the people is called popular sovereignty.

Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Contrasting

Government

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Understanding Social Studies

Lesson 3: Government, Citizenship, and Economics, continued
Other types of governments include:

Form

Description

Monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Authoritarian

Led by a king or queen

Ruler has total power
Rulers power is limited
Led by one person or small
group; no free elections
Most restrictive form; rulers have
absolute power; no personal
freedoms
Government owns and operates
all industries and businesses;
makes all economic decisions

Totalitarian

Communist

Reading
Progress Check
5. Which branch of
government makes
laws for its citizens?

Defining
6. What is a citizen?

Citizenship
Guiding Question What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?

Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

The U.S. system of government provides many freedoms; however,

it needs citizens to carry out certain duties and responsibilities.
This is called civic participation. The idea comes from ancient
Greece and Rome.
A citizen is a person who owes loyalty to and has the protection
of a state or nation. How do you become a U.S. citizen? The U.S.
Constitution offers two ways: by birth, or, for foreign-born people,
by naturalization.
If you were born in any of the states or in Washington, D.C., you
became a U.S. citizen at birth. You also are a citizen if you were born in
a U.S. territory, such as Puerto Rico. Even if you were born elsewhere,
you can claim U.S. citizenship if your parents are U.S. citizens. Children
born on American soil to non-U.S. citizens are also U.S. citizens.

Marking the
Text
7. Highlight the benefits
of citizenship.

Listing
8. What are the
requirements for
someone to become a
U.S. citizen?

Immigrants who want to become citizens must be at least

18 years old and must have lived in the United States for at least
five years. They must also have good moral character, have an
understanding of U.S. history and government, and be able to
read, write, and speak English.
Being a citizen has benefits. Only citizens have the right to vote
in federal or Texas state elections and to hold federal or Texas
state office. Citizens may also hold a U.S. passport, which grants
them the protection of the United States when traveling to
another country.

Reading Essentials and Study Guide 13

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Understanding Social Studies

Lesson 3: Government, Citizenship, and Economics, continued

Reading
Progress Check
9. Under the U.S.
Constitution, what are
two ways for a person
to become a citizen?

With rights come responsibilities, such as jury duty. A jury is a

group of citizens sworn to hear cases and pass judgment in court.
Good citizens vote, too. Some serve in the military. Citizens also
pay their taxes. They follow laws and respect the rights of others.
It is important to note that all residents of the United States have
basic civil rights. The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
says that no U.S. state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person . . . the
equal protection of the laws. Texas and all the other states are
required to treat all persons justly and according to the law.

Economics
Marking the Text
10. Circle the four kinds of
resources producers
need.

Contrasting

Producers make and sell goods or services, and consumers buy

goods or services. To make goods and offer services, producers
need resources. There are four major kinds of resources. Land
includes the Earth and its natural materials, labor is peoples work,
capital is money and goods used to make or do things, and
entrepreneurship is running a business and taking the risks.
Scarcity is a lack of goods or services. It forces people to make
economic choices about how to use their resources. When people
buy one thing, they are choosing not to buy another.
An economic system is the way in which people get what they
want or need. There are three types of economic systems:

Type of
Economic
System
Explaining
12. Explain the link between
supply and demand.

Traditional
Command

Free
Enterprise

14

Reading Essentials and Study Guide

Description
Based on habits and customs; follows the
patterns set by elders and ancestors
Central government decides what is
produced and used; found in Communist
countries
People and groups have the right to own
property/businesses and to profit; limited
government interference; some
government regulation; risky; the U.S.
system; also called capitalism

Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

11. How is a command

economy different
from a free enterprise
economy?

Guiding Question What is economics?

Economics is the study of how people and nations make choices
about using scarce resources to meet their needs and wants. All
people have both needs and wants.

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Understanding Social Studies

Lesson 3: Government, Citizenship, and Economics, continued
The United States has a free enterprise system. The system is
based on the law of supply and demand. This is the link between
the supply of a good, how much of that good people want, or
demand, and its price. If supplies are high, prices tend to fall, and if
supplies are low, tend to prices go up. When demand is high,
prices rise, and when demand is low, prices tend to drop.
There is risk in the free enterprise system. Business owners need
to offer consumers the goods and services that they want.
Businesses compete with each other for customers.

Reading
Progress Check
13. List the key features of
a free enterprise
economy.

Copyright McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

The U.S. government oversees the economy in some ways. It

ensures that competition is fair; it maintains systems that all
businesses need; and it regulates pollution, dangerous products,
foods, and drugs, and workplace safety.

Writing
Check for Understanding
1. Expository Explain the roles of the three branches of government.

2. Expository Write a description of the requirements an immigrant must meet to become a

U.S. citizen.

Reading Essentials and Study Guide 15