Explain the structure
Describe how a city government is organized, and name the job of the mayor versus the city council.
Sample Module — ready to teach
Who Decides What Happens
on Your Street?
A complete civic literacy module on local government — what a city council really controls, how a rule becomes law, and how one ordinary resident can shape the decision. Built to be taught as-is, in about three class periods.
Subject
Civics / U.S. Government
Grades
9–12
Time
2–3 class periods
Format
Nonpartisan inquiry
The big question
“Local government touches more of your daily life than any other level of government. So who decides — and how do you get a say?”
The water you drink
The streets you drive
The parks you play in
The police who answer your call
The trash picked up weekly
What can be built next door
Ask students how many of these they can vote on directly. Almost none — yet every one of them is decided somewhere, by someone, in a meeting that is open to the public. This module shows them where that is, and how to stand up and be heard.
What students will be able to do
Trace a decision
Follow a proposed city rule from idea to public hearing to a vote, using real steps.
Read a primary source
Analyze a real city document and explain what it says about who gets to speak.
Take civic action
Write and deliver a clear, respectful two-minute public comment on a local issue.
How it fits state standards
The module is built around four strands found in Utah's core social-studies standards, so it can be dropped into an existing civics or U.S. government course.
Strand 1
Civic participation & the responsibilities of citizens
Strand 2
The structure and function of government
Strand 3
The role of law and how it is made
Strand 4
Inquiry, evidence, and problem solving
Exact course and standard codes can be added per district — just tell us your course number and they'll be printed right here.
Watch first · Salt Lake City
How Salt Lake City government works, in three short videos
Each video runs about three minutes and uses real Salt Lake City rules, dates, and places. Show them in class, or send them home before the lesson. Captions are built in.
Video 1
Who runs Salt Lake City?
The mayor and the city council, the seven districts, and how each branch checks the other.
Pairs with Part 2, Core Content
Video 2
How a city rule becomes law
Follow one ordinance from idea to hearing to vote to the mayor's desk, plus the yearly budget.
Pairs with Part 2, Core Content
Video 3
How to make your voice heard
When the council meets, how to sign up, the two-minute rule, and other ways to comment.
Pairs with Part 5, Apply It
Facts checked against slc.gov, the Salt Lake City Code, and the Utah Code on September 29, 2026. Photos are credited at the end of each video.
Lesson at a glance
1
Warm-Up
8 min
Who decides?
Students rank which level of government affects their day — and discover how wrong most of us are.
2
Core Content
25 min
How local government works
Mayor vs. council, what a city actually controls, and the path a rule takes from idea to vote.
3
Primary Sources
15 min
Read like a citizen
Students analyze real documents about public comment at a city council meeting.
4
Discussion
30 min
Structured academic controversy
Students argue both sides of a land-use question, then reach a decision together.
5
Apply It
25 min
Deliver a two-minute comment
Each student writes and gives a short, respectful public comment on a local issue.
1
Warm-Up — Who Decides?
8 minShow these six everyday realities and ask students to vote on which level of government — federal, state, or city — makes each decision. Most classes assume Washington runs everything. The reveal is the lesson.
Quick prompt
Name one thing your city decided in the last year that changed your neighborhood. Who made that call? Did anyone ask you?
Potholes and plowing
City
Local power lines
City / Co-op
The national debt
Federal
2
Core Content — How Local Government Works
25 minTwo people, two jobs
Most American cities use one of three basic forms. The most common is the mayor–council form, which mirrors the national design: one leader who runs the government, and a group of elected neighbors who write the rules and hold the purse.
The Mayor — the executive
Runs the day-to-day city. Proposes the budget, hires department heads, and carries out the rules the council passes. Elected citywide.
The Council — the legislature
A small group of residents, usually elected by district. Sets policy, adopts the budget, passes ordinances, and — importantly — holds public hearings where anyone can speak.
Salt Lake City at a glance
Because a real example teaches better than a diagram, here is how Utah's capital is actually organized.
Mayor–Council form
The mayor is the chief executive and the City Council is the legislative body — modeled on the federal structure.
Seven council members
Every member is elected by district, so each represents a defined set of neighborhoods.
Four-year terms
Council members serve part-time and are paid for their service.
Adopts the budget & ordinances
The Council sets overall policy direction and approves the rules the city lives by.
Also serves on city boards
Council members sit on the boards of the redevelopment agency, the building authority, and the board of canvassers.
Agendas posted in advance
Meetings are public, and the agenda must be published ahead of time so residents can prepare.
Source: Salt Lake City Council Office, slc.gov/council.
What a city actually controls
These are the levers that shape daily life — and they are all decided within a few miles of home.
Land use & zoning
What can be built, and where.
Roads & sidewalks
Repairs, crosswalks, bike lanes.
Parks & recreation
Fields, trails, and community centers.
Public safety
Police and fire services.
Water & utilities
Clean water and sewer systems.
The city budget
How every dollar is spent each year.
How a city rule becomes law
An ordinance is just a local law. The path looks like this:
1
An idea or a problem surfaces — from a resident, a business, or city staff.
2
The city drafts a rule and sends it to the council for review.
3
The item is placed on a public agenda, posted before the meeting.
4
The council holds a public hearing. Residents sign up and speak, usually for two minutes each.
5
The council discusses, may change the wording, and takes a vote.
6
If it passes, the mayor's office carries it out — or may veto it, and the council can respond.
3
Read Like a Citizen — Primary Sources
15 minHand students these two real excerpts. Neither was written for a classroom — which is exactly why they are worth reading. Then ask the analysis questions below them.
Source A — City code, public comment rules
“Persons who desire to address the Council concerning an issue… must fill out a comment card… (two (2) minute comment time limit) and follow the Council's standards of conduct.”
Salt Lake City Code, Title 2, Chapter 2.06.030
Source B — The council explains its own rules
“The Council typically doesn't respond during public comment so that each speaker can share their thoughts without interruption or intimidation.”
Salt Lake City Council Office, Meeting Resources
Analysis questions
- Who wrote each document, and who is it written for?
- What does the two-minute limit assume about fairness? What might it leave out?
- Why would a council choose not to respond? What does that protect — and what does it cost?
- What rules or norms do these sources show that a newcomer might not know?
4
Discussion — A Structured Controversy
30 minA structured academic controversy asks students to argue both positions — not to win, but to understand. Half the class takes Side A, half takes Side B, then they swap, then they try to reach a shared recommendation.
The question
When a neighborhood and the wider city disagree about how land should be used, who should have the final say?
Side A
Those closest to it should decide
- People who live with a decision every day understand its real effects.
- Neighborhoods are the smallest unit where trust and accountability still work.
- Being overruled by outsiders breeds cynicism, not participation.
Side B
The whole city has a stake, too
- Housing, growth, and tax base are shared problems that cross street lines.
- Elected officials are accountable to everyone, not just the loudest block.
- If any single neighborhood can block any change, needed things may never get built.
Then — find common ground
Pairs write one sentence both sides can accept: “A fair process would… and would protect…” Debrief as a class: did anyone change their mind, and why? The goal is understanding, not agreement — this is how a healthy civic conversation works.
5
Apply It — Deliver a Two-Minute Comment
25 minThe finale. Every student picks a real local issue and prepares a short public comment they could actually give. This is civic literacy turning into civic action.
How it works in Salt Lake City — the real rules
Two minutes each
The council allows two minutes per speaker and time can't be handed to someone else.
Sign up to speak
For items not on a hearing agenda, you fill out a comment card to be heard.
Many ways in
Comment in person, by Zoom, by email, or by leaving a recorded phone message.
On the record
Comments are recorded and publicly accessible — your words become part of the record.
The council listens
They usually don't respond during comment, so every voice gets equal room.
Come prepared
Agendas are posted ahead of time, so you can read the proposal before you speak.
The four-part comment (a simple template)
Give students this structure. It keeps them specific, respectful, and persuasive — and it fits in two minutes.
1
Who you are
“My name is ___, and I live in District ___.” — it tells the council you're a constituent.
2
What you want
One clear ask: “I support / oppose ___.” Say it in the first fifteen seconds.
3
Why it matters to you
One real reason or story. Specific beats broad every time.
4
What you're asking for
Close with the action: “Please vote to ___” or “Please ask staff to study ___.”
Quick rubric — what a strong comment does
Stays inside two minutes
Names a specific issue and a clear ask
Uses one piece of evidence or a real experience
Stays respectful — no personal attacks
Addresses the whole council, not one member
Ends by stating the action requested
Discussion questions
- Which level of government affects your daily life the most? Why do we hear about the federal level so much more?
- Why might a resident feel that speaking at a council meeting is pointless — and what would change that?
- What is a rule in your city you would change if you could? What would you need to find out first?
- Two minutes is short. Is limiting public comment fair? What are the trade-offs?
Exit ticket
Prompt 1
Name the two parts of a mayor–council government and one job of each.
Prompt 2
List the steps a city ordinance takes before it becomes law.
Prompt 3
Write one sentence you would actually say to your city council.
Teacher notes
Stays nonpartisan
The module teaches the process and the skills. It never tells students which local position to take — the structured controversy deliberately has them argue both.
Make it your own city
Swap the Salt Lake City facts for your own city's council size, districts, and comment rules. The structure stays the same.
Differentiation
Provide sentence starters for the comment template, or let students script it first and record it instead of speaking live.
Extension
Have students attend or watch a real council meeting and identify one moment where public comment changed or could have changed the outcome.
Assessment options
Use the rubric for the spoken comment, the exit ticket for quick checks, or the analysis questions as a short written response.
Materials needed
None but paper. Everything on this page can be printed, and the sources are shown in full.
Sources & further reading
Every fact in this module comes from the public record. These are the real pages students can visit.
Want this module adapted for your district?
We can swap in your city's own council structure, add your course standards, and turn it into a printed handout or a Canvas-ready page.