Tennessee City Government

As a class, invite a local city official to come to class and interview them regarding their respective city office.
Have students research current city issues, offer a response, and interact with local government officials appropriately.
Prepare a field trip to the local city hall complex and assign students to “intern” or “job shadow” local city officials for part of a school day. Assign an essay to be completed after the experience, describing the positive aspects and challenges of the city official’s role in city government. This activity will require coordination and cooperation of local city government officials.
Role play activity - Assign or have class members elect student “offices” such as mayor, vice mayor, and city councilmen/commissioner/aldermen. The remainder of the class will serve as constituents. Debate one of the student’s proposed ordinances. Have students research this issue and similar ordinances from other cities before the mock city/commission/board meeting. Parliamentary procedures and examples of how meetings are conducted can also be researched.
Option for extension: Invite state legislators or local elected officials to come speak to the classroom about their role in government.