Forms of Government: What's the Score?

Also known as "the world's longest running game show". Today's contestants: Absolute Monarchy, Representative Democracy, Communism, Socialism, and Fascism. The categories are Power, Law & Order, Liberty & Personal Freedom, Social Contract, and Pix & Nix. Who will be the winner? It's up to your students to decide, as they judge the merits of the various contestants in this one-of-a-kind video game show. As the "contestants" (each representing a different type of government) respond to questions from the host, viewers use a scorecard to rate each form of government on a scale of one to five. The scorecard activity provides a framework for students to evaluate the effectiveness of each type of government in each of the five categories, and to compare and discuss their responses. The game show includes archival footage of government leaders, helping viewers develop a working knowledge of these varying philosophies in governing.