Bismarck City Civics
Why Do People Need Governments?
You have learned that a community is a place where people live, work and play together. In order to do those things people need to get along together! In first grade you learned about how people get along together in classroom. You learned about how people
get along together in a school. Now it is time to learn about how people get along together in a community!
What is one way people in your classroom get along together?
People Need Rules!
In first grade you learned that rules help you get along in a classroom. Rules help keep you safe. Rules help keep things fair. People want to feel safe in their community.
People want things to be fair. People want to get along together in their community. For all these reasons communities need rules.
We give another name to rules in a community. We call them laws. Laws are what rules are called in a community.
People Need to Be Safe
People want to feel safe in their community. Would you feel safe in a car in Lawless Town? Probably not! Laws help keep people safe. Lawless Town needs some laws about driving!
What is a Community Government?
Who makes the rules in your family? Who makes the rules in your classroom? Who do you think makes the laws in a community?
In a community laws are made by a government. A government is a group of people chosen to make laws and choices for a community.
A characteristic is a way to describe something. People have characteristics. What are some of your characteristics? What color is your hair? What color are your eyes? What characteristics do government leaders need to be good as mayors and council
members?
People Need Community Services
Community governments make laws. Community governments keep people safe. Community governments also provide community services.
A service is something someone does for you. Community services are things that a community government does for people living in a community.
Lawless Town needed a law about speeding. Would a law be enough? Who would stop the people who were driving too fast? Lawless Town would also need police officers. They could stop the people who were driving too fast. Police officers are a community
service. A community government provides police officers.
If your house was on fire. You would call 911. The fire station would send firefighters to put out the fire. Firefighters are another community service. A community government provides firefighters.
What is another community service your community provides?
People Need Help Solving Problems
In your classroom your teacher helps solve problems. In a community the community government helps solve problems.
In Lawless Town people were throwing garbage everywhere. Pretend you lived in Lawless Town. What if you didn’t like all that garbage? What could you do? You could go to the community government. You could ask the community leaders to help you solve the problem. Maybe they could pass a law about garbage. Maybe they could have a town clean-up day.
People in a community need laws. Laws help people feel safe in a community. A community government is a group of people chosen to make laws for a community. A community government helps keep people safe. A community government also provides services.
It provides police officers. It provides firefighters. A community government also helps people solve problems.
Why Do People Need a Community Government?
- A community government makes laws.
- A community government keeps people safe.
- A community government provides services.
- A community government help solve problems.