Citizens and Florida Government Solving Problems

Show your fourth graders that citizens can help fix problems in their community! In this one-page worksheet, students read a short passage about public issues in Florida, put a student's problem-solving steps in order, then label four real-life examples as taxes, roads, zoning, or schools.

The passage explains that public issues are problems or choices that affect everyone in a community, like taxes, roads, zoning, and schools. Students learn that taxes are money people pay to the government for services, that zoning is a set of rules about what can be built in each part of a town, and that each Florida county has an elected school board that runs its public schools. The passage then shows how citizens can help: they can speak at a city council or county commission meeting, write to or call their elected representatives, sign a petition, or work with neighbors. In the first activity, students follow Maya as she asks her city council for a crosswalk near her school, numbering five steps from noticing the problem to seeing it fixed. In the second activity, students write T, R, Z, or S to name the public issue in each example. The sheet is written to Florida benchmark SS.4.CG.2.1.

What's inside:

• A short passage with key words in bold
• 5 steps to number in order
• 4 examples to label as taxes, roads, zoning, or schools
• A visual answer key with every answer marked in red

How teachers use it:

• As a quick check after a lesson on citizenship and local government
• For morning work, centers, or an exit ticket
• As homework or sub plans, with no prep needed

It takes about 5 to 10 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. This worksheet is part of our Reading in Civics series for grade 4.