Who Do You Call? Local, State and Federal Help Desk

SubstitutePlans.com
Social Studies · Government and Civics
SP-GOV-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Who Do You Call? Local, State and Federal Help
Desk
Social Studies · Government and Civics · Grades 8-10 · 45 minutes
Time needed
45 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student).
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will identify whether common government services are handled at the local, state or federal
level and match offices to their level of government.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ On the board, write: LOCAL = city or county. STATE = state capital. FEDERAL = national government in
Washington, D.C.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk.
Say this to start
Good morning! Imagine you work at a government help desk and callers ask who can fix their problem. Is it the city or
county, the state, or the national government? Today you will route the calls and match officials to their jobs.
Everything you need is on the worksheet.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Read the three
board definitions aloud.
Settle in and listen.
5–12
Tell students to read the passage silently.
Read the passage about levels of
government.
12–20
Tell students to complete the matching in questions 1–6.
Match each office to its job.
20–33
Tell students to route the eight calls in questions 7–14 by
writing Local, State or Federal.
Route each call to the right level.
33–41
Tell students to answer questions 15–17. Partners may
compare answers quietly.
Answer the last three questions.
41–45
Read answers 1–16 aloud from the key. Collect worksheets
and stack them for the teacher.
Check their work and hand in the
worksheet.

SubstitutePlans.com
Social Studies · Government and Civics
SP-GOV-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
If things go wrong
• If students say their city handles something differently, agree: details differ by place. Ask them to answer with
the level that most commonly handles it.
• If students are unsure, tell them to reread the passage and look for a key word such as city, state license, or
nationwide.
• If a student finishes early, use the early finisher list.
• If the class is noisy, make the routing section silent.
Early finishers
• Write three more help-desk calls of your own, with the correct level for each.
• List three services your community uses every day and guess which level pays for or runs them.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students route only the first five calls.
• Challenge: Ask students to explain why a problem like a storm cleanup could involve all three levels of
government.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: