Forms of Government

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Area: History and Social Studies, Social & Political Philosophy
Grade Level: High School & Beyond, Middle School, Primary/Elementary School
Topics: citizenship, government
Estimated Time Necessary: This lesson can be completed in an hour to an hour and a half. It can also be split into two sections if you have more time (1- activity with presentations and 2- community of inquiry).

Lesson Plan

Objectives:
Questions around government
Students will explore the benefits and drawbacks of different forms of government.
Questions around citizenship
Students will inquire into different priorities for governing and responsibilities of citizenship and leadership.

Introduce four (or five) primary forms of government

The form of government our society uses is a very important decision that will determine who gets power, how laws are made, and who gets a say. 

Democracy (Direct) the people directly on everything; majority rules 
Republic the people vote to choose leaders who make decisions for them 
Monarchy one ruler makes the decisions, often a king or queen 
Oligarchy a small group of people have the power 
Anarchy (optional, depending on class size) No official government with leaders and laws being enforced 

Activity 

  • Purpose: Students begin thinking about the consequences of choosing different forms of government. 
  • Break students into 4 groups (5 if you include anarchy) to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each form of government. 
  • In their groups, students will create a list of 3-4 benefits and 3-4 drawbacks  of choosing this form of government. (The quantity is less important than the quality.)
    1. Recommendation: In each group, there will be the following “roles”: (you can either assign these or allow the students to choose (if the latter, give them some time to do so) note: students will also all participate, in addition to having their roles 
      1. Facilitator: Helps move the conversation along; guides the discussion 
      2. Note-taker: writes down the group’s ideas about the benefits and drawbacks 
      3. Timekeeper: Keeps track of how much time the group has and gives reminders 
      4. Presenter: Shares the group’s ideas from the notes with the whole class 
      5. Participation Leader: Encourages everyone in the group to participate by inviting quiet voices to share and encourages eager voices to also listen 
      6. Deep Thinker: Asks other participants questions to better understand their ideas and push the group’s thinking 
  • Have the group “Presenter” present their group’s ideas to the class.
    1. Recommendation, depending on time: Encourage audience members to come up with clarification questions to ask the presenting group
      1. “What did you mean by…?” “Can you elaborate more about…?” “I am not sure I understood your point about… can you explain that please?” 

Here is an exemplar for what the students might come up with for each form of government: (as you move from group to group, you can guide them with probing questions towards some of these ideas)— these are only possible answers, not “right” answers! 

Form Benefits Drawbacks 
Democracy (Direct) 1. Everyone has a voice
2. Decisions are based on the majority (most people get what they want) 
3. Encourages participation and responsibility 
4. Decisions are transparent (everyone knows how they were made) 		1. Takes a long time to make decisions
2. People might vote without understanding everything
3. People might just pick what’s good for them, not for the whole group
4. Rule by majority might vote to take away people’s rights/ leave some people out
Republic1. People get to choose their leaders by voting
2. Leaders are responsible for listening to the people
3. It is more organized than direct democracy
4. Citizens can focus on their own lives while the leaders work		1. Leaders might stop listening to the people once they are chosen
2. Not everyone agrees on who gets elected
3. People might not vote on skill, just popularity
4. People do not get to vote on every decision
Monarchy1. Decisions are made quickly
2. The king/queen may have a lot of experience
3. No arguing about who is in charge
4. Things might stay stable for a long time		1. The people do not get a say
2. If the king/queen is unfair, it is hard to stop them
3. Power is given by family, not skill or experience
4. People might get left out or unhappy with the rules
Oligarchy 1. A small group can make decisions quickly
2. Leaders might be experts or very capable
3. There’s less confusion than with too many voices
4. People can focus on doing other things		1. Most people have no say
2. Leaders might make rules that only help themselves
3. Decisions can be made in secret
4. People might stop trusting the leaders
Anarchy (optional, depending on class size)1. Everyone is free to do what they want
2. There are no unfair rules
3. People will not abuse their power in government		1. People might not feel safe
2. No one can stop others from doing harmful things
3. It’s hard to agree or cooperate without rules
4. Stronger or louder people might take over

***Optional activity, depending on age, level, and how much time you have*** 

  • Put students back in their groups to have them imagine a new form of government that they think will work well. Students can take notes about their ideas. 
  • Encourage students to think about what benefits they want to have in their government and what drawbacks they want to avoid (from the other forms of government presented). 
  • After some time, have students present their groups’ ideas for the class to consider. 

Inquiry

(with themes discussed in the presentations)

Use these possible discussion questions, choosing them on your discretion 

  1. Is it fair for some people to have more power than others? 
  2. Should everyone always get a say in decisions that affect them? 
  3. Is it more important for rules to be fair or decisions to be made quickly? 
  4. Can a government be fair if some people don’t have a say in the rules? 
  5. Is it possible to have freedom and rules at the same time? 
  6. What makes someone a good leader? 
  7. Do we need leaders to have a fair and peaceful community? 
  8. What are the responsibilities of citizens who are not the leaders of the society? 
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Discussion Questions

  • Is it fair for some people to have more power than others?
  • Should everyone always get a say in decisions that affect them?
  • Is it more important for rules to be fair or decisions to be made quickly?
  • Can a government be fair if some people don’t have a say in the rules?
  • Is it possible to have freedom and rules at the same time?
  • What makes someone a good leader?
  • Do we need leaders to have a fair and peaceful community?
  • What are the responsibilities of citizens who are not the leaders of the society?
This lesson plan was created for PLATO by: Sam Kahn, PhD Student in Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

If you would like to change or adapt any of PLATO's work for public use, please feel free to contact us for permission at info@plato-philosophy.org.