APhigh school
Civics Argument
A civics course built around argumentation and critical thinking — logical fallacies, separation of powers, policy tradeoffs, and media literacy. Develops the reasoning skills needed for informed democratic participation.
4units
4topics
60questions
~2hours
Course Units
Learning objectives
- Distinguish between formal and informal fallacies and explain why flawed reasoning does not necessarily mean a false conclusion
- Identify and name at least eight common logical fallacies in real-world arguments
- Analyze arguments in media, political discourse, and everyday conversation to detect fallacious reasoning patterns
- Evaluate the boundary between fallacious and legitimate uses of authority, emotional appeals, and causal chain arguments
- Construct a logically sound argument on a civic issue that anticipates and addresses common counterarguments
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Explain the purpose of separating government power into three branches and describe the specific responsibilities of each branch
- Analyze how checks and balances allow each branch to limit the others and identify specific examples of these mechanisms in action
- Evaluate the role of judicial review in maintaining constitutional limits on government power
- Compare the horizontal separation of powers among branches with the vertical division of federalism between national and state governments
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Explain why every policy decision involves tradeoffs and identify the opportunity cost of government resource allocation choices
- Apply cost-benefit analysis and marginal analysis to evaluate whether a public policy produces net positive outcomes
- Analyze the equity vs. efficiency tradeoff and use stakeholder analysis to determine who wins and who loses from a given policy
- Identify unintended consequences and perverse incentives in real-world policy examples across different time horizons
- Analyze a current policy debate by mapping stakeholders, identifying tradeoffs, and evaluating competing evidence
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Apply systematic source evaluation criteria to assess the credibility, accuracy, and bias of media sources across platforms
- Distinguish between misinformation (unintentional falsehoods) and disinformation (deliberate deception) and identify common examples of each
- Identify at least five propaganda techniques and explain how they are used to influence public opinion in advertising, politics, and social media
- Analyze how algorithmic curation, media ownership structures, and economic incentives shape the information people encounter online
- Design a personal media diet strategy that includes diverse, credible sources and systematic verification habits
Topics in this unit