Great Government for Kids

Your Local Government

Unit Overview, Lesson Plans, and On-Line Textbook

Internet Websites Bibliography

City Council Simulation

Introduction:

To find out more about how a city council works, you will participate in a role-playing activity. You will pretend that you live in a suburban city in Northern California called Lafayette. Lafayette has many single-family homes, small and large businesses, and an area of recreation: a man-made lake called the Lafayette Reservoir.

Click HERE to see a video tour of the Lafayette Resevoir.

The Lafayette Reservoir is a place of nature, with hiking trails for walking, rowboats for boating in the lake, and picnic areas with barbecue pits. Let's pretend that one day, a company called Watersliding World files a request to the city council for permit to build a small waterslide park at the Lafayette Reservoir.

You and your classmates will pretend that you are city council members, citizens, and waterslide company representatives as you debate this make-believe issue:

Should a waterslide park be built at the Lafayette Reservoir?