Local government
The Mayor's Office
What a mayor actually does, and why two cities the same size can be run completely differently. Compares the strong-mayor and city-manager systems.
Word document — open it in Word, Pages, or Google Docs and adapt it for your class.
Students will learn what a mayor does, understand that different cities are organized in different ways, and compare the Strong Mayor and City Manager systems through hands-on activities and teamwork.
01
Warm-up
5 min
Warm-Up Question: "Imagine our classroom is a city. If something was broken, like the lights or the playground, who should fix it?"
02
Lecture
10 min
Opens w/quick slideshow presentation of around 10 minutes. (Note: going to use 2 examples of non-controversial or famous mayors, but will not point out specific party).
- What is a City?
- What Does a Mayor Do?
- What is a Strong Mayor System?
- What is a City Manager System?
- Comparing the Two Systems
- 2. Students are divided into groups and each group is assigned either a Strong Mayor system or a Council Manager system.
- Each group is given 3–5 city problem cards (ex. a broken playground, a new park, or a community event).
- Students discuss who would take the lead in solving each problem based on their city's form of government.
- Groups share one of their solutions with the class.
- 3. Students work in small groups.
- Each group draws one community challenge from a hat (ex. build a new park, fix roads, improve the library, add a crosswalk, organize a town festival).
- Students decide how their city's leaders would solve the challenge based on either a Strong Mayor System or a Council-Manager System.
- Each group presents its solution to the class.
03
Wrap-up
5 min