Massachusetts State Government:
Its Departments and Services

Goal

List four state government departments and give examples of services offered by each.

Objective

Given graphics of state government departments, identify Human Services, Education, Public Safety, and Housing as departments and give three examples of services offered by each.

Preparation and materials

• Whiteboard/Newsprint
• Masking tape
• White board markers
• Pencils
• Paper for students
• Activity 1: Copies of Massachusetts State Government Departments and Services worksheet for all students
• Activity 1: Copies of handout, Where Does the Money Go? or on an overhead
• Activity 2: Copy of Government Services Scenarios sheet for instructor (if done as a listening activity) or copies for all students (if done as reading activity)

Introduction

Tell students: We are going to talk about what government is and what kinds of services we think government does and/or should provide to its people. We will also be studying the special departments that offer government services. We will work as a class and in small groups to find out about and share this information.

Warm-up

Write the word government on the board and ask the students to think about what it means. Ask for a student volunteer(s) to define it, then have another student look it up in the dictionary and read the entry to the class. Ask the class:

• Does every country have government?
• Is there just one kind of government
• What are the different kinds of government?
• Ask individual students what kind of government they have in their countries.

List the responses on the board. Finally, ask students what kind of government there is in the United States. Ask a student volunteer to use the dictionary to locate the definition of democracy. Have students think about America's democratically elected government and how it represents the people's needs.

Activity 1

1. Distribute the student worksheet, Massachusetts State Government: Departments and Services. Have students brainstorm in small groups about what services they think the government should provide to its people or how the government should help its people.

2. While students are thinking about/writing their responses on the worksheet, list the following government department headings on the board, leaving a column for each: Health and Human Services, Education, Public Safety, Housing and Other.

3. After sufficient time has been given for brainstorming/writing, direct students' attention to the board and ask for help in defining each department. Ask the class "What do you think Human Services means?" Perhaps isolate words that the students are familiar with to help in defining the terms. For example, circle the word "house" in "Housing" and make the connection to house/home.

4. When the class is clear on the meanings of each heading, have a representative from each group go to the board and list the service(s) they came up with under what they believe to be the appropriate department heading. For those responses that don't fall under the four departments listed, direct students to list them under the "other" column. For those students who have duplicate answers, encourage them to think of/offer another example.

5. When students are finished posting their responses, ask the class if they think that all services are posted under the appropriate government department heading. Help/have students make corrections if necessary. Add any from the following list that have been left out or have not been fully described:

• Health and Human Services: Welfare, healthcare services (insurance, emergency care, wellness checkups, dental, mental health counseling), WIC, food stamps, corrections
• Education: Education for children (K-12 system), adult basic education (ABE system), community colleges, colleges and universities (higher education)
• Public Safety: Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Motor Vehicles
• Housing: Low rent apartments, programs that help people who are low-income buy a house

Note: Students may give specific program names for services or answers like: "go to the dentist". When finalizing the lists on the board, put the generic name of the service in parenthesis beside the specific program name: Example: MassHealth (healthcare), free food (food stamps/WIC)

6. Ask the class:

What services does the government spend the most money on? Does anyone know how much money the Massachusetts government is spending this year for these services? If no one responds, direct them to the handout/overhead, Where Does the Money Go? Let students know that in a later lesson you will be talking about where the money comes from to pay for the services and what happens when there's not enough money to pay for the services.

7. List the following grid on the board without the given examples:

Tell students: Now that we've talked about the services we receive at the state level of government, let's talk for a minute about the services we receive at the other levels of government.

Ask students if they know what services they receive from the local level of government, in their town or city. If they need assistance, list the services in the appropriate column. Ask them what services they receive from the federal government same with the federal level. Ask for volunteers to tell you or to list the previously discussed state services in the grid. Discuss the services that may be offered at more than one level.

8. Ask students:

What are some of the services you've used? Refer them to the list on the board.

Activity 2

Tell students: I am going to read about situations where people are/may be using government services. Listen closely and identify what government service(s) and/or department(s) the person in the story may be using. You can write your answers down. Use your Massachusetts State Government Departments and Services worksheet to help you.

1. Read the Government Services Scenarios to the class. Read slowly or at a more natural pace, depending on the level. Repeat the scenario as necessary. Give students time to write down their responses to one scenario before you move to the next.

2. Ask for volunteers to offer their responses. Ask the group if they agree or disagree. Encourage verbal elaboration.

Note: This can also be a reading activity. Distribute a copy of the scenarios to all students. They can work on them together or in small groups.

Enrichment/extension activities:

Beginning ESOL/Literacy students:

• Distribute the Government Services Guide (pictorial worksheet) to help students in listing services.
• Have students use picture dictionaries, turned to pages depicting services: (police, fire, hospitals, etc) or magazine or other pictures when participating in all activities.
• Cut out the clip art images on the State Government Services Guide and paste them onto index cards. Have students sort the cards into the appropriate departments. Use multi-colored index cards, with each department's services represented by a different color, and students can sort them this way.
• Student can practice sounding out/pronouncing service words to a partner(s) for speaking /listening work.
• Have student write a basic sentence(s) based on a model such as:  I need (government service) or I use (government service). A partner or classmate can then practice reading, speaking and pronunciation skills by reporting orally to the class on what his/her partner needs or uses by changing the “I”  to “he” or “she”.

Intermediate/higher ESOL, ASE/high ABE/GED students:

• Have students write a paragraph, essay or journal entry: Say: "Thinking about the government service you discussed in Activity 2, what would have happened if that government service weren't available?" Explain.
• Have students use local telephone books and locate government services available in town. What departments offer these services? Students can respond orally or in writing.
• Have students peruse local newspapers for articles/titles about government services. What departments offer these services? Students can respond orally or in writing.
• Have students compare government services offered in their native countries with those offered in Massachusetts. What are the differences? What is the same? Students again can respond orally or in writing.
• Incorporate math into the lessons by having students convert percentages depicted in the Where Does the Money Go? chart into decimals or fractions then practice math operations with them. 
• Visit Ben and Jerry’s American Pie: Allocate the Federal Budget. Students can develop their own federal pie budget and compare it to the real one. http://www.benjerry.com:80/americanpie/allocate.cfm

Useful links:

Consider using the following links with students when choosing to have them use the computer as a means for researching services offered through local, state and/or federal governments:

City/town
Local to student
Commonwealth of Massachusetts official website:
http://www.mass.gov
In the search box, type “commonwealth communities”

State of MA
Commonwealth of Massachusetts official website:
http://www.mass.gov
Click the For Residents tab.

Federal
USA.gov:
http://www.usa.gov/index.shtml

»» Your Feedback
We would like to continue to improve and update the curriculum. Your feedback will help us. Please fill out a form.

Top of Page

Table of Contents | Introduction | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Resources