HELP MRS. FURGI MOVE TO FLORIDA!• AS YOU KNOW... MRS. FURGIONE AND HER HUSBAND MOVED FROM

NEW JERSEY TO FLORIDA, OR THE SUNSHINE STATE AS THE LOCALS CALL IT, JUST A FEW YEARS AGO. WHEN WE DID, WE HAD NO CLUE WHERE ANYTHING WAS LOCATED OR WHO ANY OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WERE! WE KNEW A TON OF THINGS ABOUT OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, HOW IT WORKS, WHO’S IN CHARGE AND WHERE THE POWER COMES FROM ETC...BUT FLORIDA WAS A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. THIS UNIT WILL HELP YOU TO LEARN ABOUT THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENT...JUST LIKE MR. & MRS. FURGIONE HAD TO! FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF EACH TASK AND YOU WILL DO GREAT - GOOD LUCK!

TASK I: THE STRUCTURE OF THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENT

• YOUR FIRST TASK IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD;

WORKING WITH YOUR TABLEMATES YOU WILL BE

GOING ON A STATE GOVERNMENT SCAVENGER

HUNT. YOU WILL BE BRAVING THE WORLD WIDE

WEB, USING SOME NEWSPAPERS AND SOME

BOOKS TO DISCOVER THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN,

WHERE AND WHY OF CERTAIN THINGS AND

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN OUR STATE GOVERNMENT!

TASK I: THE STRUCTURE OF THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENT

•THERE ARE FOUR KEY SECTIONS TODAY:

1.) THE WHOLE GOVERNMENT

2.) THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

3.) THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

4.) THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

TASK I: THE STRUCTURE OF THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENT

• YOU WILL RESPOND TO EACH OF THE 4 SECTIONS IN

YOUR JOURNALS (YOU WILL SUBMIT ONE COPY ON

EDMODO WITH ALL GROUP MEMBERS NAMES ON

THEM).

• MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR GROUP MEMBERS NAMES

ARE SPELLED CORRECTLY AND YOU USE PROPER

GRAMMAR THROUGHOUT. GOOD LUCK!

I. ABOUT THE CAPITAL

SO…I KNOW THAT WASHINGTON D.C. IS OUR NATIONS CAPITAL…BUT WHAT ABOUT FLORIDA?__________________________________________________

1. WHAT IS THE STATE CAPITAL OF FLORIDA?

2. WHY IS THE ABOVE CITY THE CAPITAL OF FLORIDA?

(HINT: IT IS A VERY LOGICAL/HISTORICAL ANSWER!)

3. HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE YOU TO GET TO THE

STATE CAPITAL TODAY?

II. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH__________________________________________________

1. WHAT IS THE LEADER OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH CALLED IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA?

2. WHO IS HE/SHE? WHERE ARE THEY FROM?

3. WHAT ARE SOME POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA?

4. WHAT ARE SOME OF DEPARTMENTS THAT FALL UNDER THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH? WHY

DO YOU THINK THESE DEPARTMENTS EXIST?

5. WHAT IS THE CABINET AND WHAT DOES IT DO? (HINT: IT IS NOT YOUR KITCHEN

CABINET!)

III. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH_____QUESTIONS TO ANSWER_____

1. HOW MANY SEATS (POSSIBLE ELECTED

OFFICIALS) ARE THERE IN THE FLORIDA STATE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES?

2. HOW MANY SEATS (POSSIBLE ELECTED

OFFICIALS) ARE THERE IN THE FLORIDA STATE

SENATE?

3. WHAT IS THE TERM LIMIT FOR STATE SENATORS

IN FLORIDA? STATE REPRESENTATIVES?

4. WHO ARE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS: STATE

SENATE, STATE REPRESENTATIVE ETC? NOTE:

THIS WILL VARY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU

LIVE WITHIN SEMINOLE COUNTY.

Click on Pictures Below for Live Links!:

OK…Florida has a bicameral legislature(2 houses) , just like the United States, but the membership rules are different. This means that number of State Senators and State Representatives we have differ from that of the United States. You will need to find out more about our states Legislative Branch…and then tell MRS. FURGI!

IV. JUDICIAL BRANCH_____QUESTIONS TO ANSWER_____

1. HOW ARE THE COURTS STRUCTURED IN

FLORIDA? (HINT: LEVELS AND “ORDER”)

2. WHERE IS OUR COUNTY COURTHOUSE

LOCATED?

3. WHAT TYPES OF CASES CAN OUR

COUNTY COURTS HEAR?

4. HOW MANY JUSTICES ARE ON THE

BENCH OF THE FLORIDA STATE SUPREME

COURT?

5. WHERE IS THE FLORIDA STATE SUPREME

COURT LOCATED?

Florida Judicial Branch Link

I hope I never need to know this…but it’s good to, JIC (Just in Case). What do you know about the Florida Courts?

TASK II : THE BIG COMPARE

• SEE WEBSITE FOR DIRECTIONS AND READING FOR THIS TASK! SEE MRS. FURGIONE

FOR A HARD COPY! WE’LL BE COMPARING THE FLORIDA AND U.S. CONSTITUTIONS!

TASK III: HOW DO THEY STACK UP**ALSO MAY SEE WEBSITE FOR DIRECTIONS AND READING FOR THIS TASK! SEE MRS. FURGIONE FOR A HARD COPY OF THE READING!**

Now that you have a solid foundation of how the government of Florida is structured and how it is organized (the Constitution...) I want you to do some comparing and contrasting. Take a look at the bullet points below and in your writing journals respond to each prompt:

• Compare and contrast the constitution of Florida to the US

• Compare concurrent powers, enumerated powers, reserved powers, and delegated powers as they relate to state and federal government.

• Compare the amendment processes of the U.S. and Florida.

• Compare the structure of the courts at both levels

• Explain how federalism limits government power