Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a presentation of their findings. Then, in a jigsaw activity, researchers share what they have learned with their new group. Groups use the provided matrix to compare the features of the different forms of government and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

 

Concepts

political systems, democracy, oligarchies, dictatorships, monarchies

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Ask groups to include any documents (a Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.), in their research, that detail and support their country's governmental system

Classroom Considerations

• The activity presumes class members have previously studied the characteristics of the different types of governments
• The 12th in a series of 19 resources designed for government and social studies classes

Pros

• The jigsaw activity ensures that all class members are responsible for gathering and presenting the research
• The five-page packet includes the plan, the research assignment, and the data comparison matrix

Cons

• None