Last week, our 4th graders went to Lansing to visit our state capitol and the Michigan Historical Museum. At our capitol building, students build upon their understanding of what our government does and the principles of American democracy, specifically popular sovereignty, rule of law, checks and balances, separation of powers and individual rights as stated in the Constitution.
 

By Mrs. Traci Wightman 4th Grade Teacher

Students also learn the organizational structure of our state government, including the legislative, executive and judicial branches. They understand who is in each branch, whether they are appointed or elected in office, term length, main duty, how the powers are separated among these branches and the system of checks and balances.

We continued our tour at the Michigan Historical Museum where students were able to visit exhibits that ranged from the first Native Americans in Michigan to what is going on in Michigan currently.
 

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