CIV.27

Mayor For A Day: Public Policy Process

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Game Info for Teachers

COMBINED RATING

5.0 Stars

TEACHERS (2)

5.0

STUDENTS (0)

0.0

LENGTH

20 Minutes

GRADES

CAPABILITIES

Spanish Language Support

Text-to-Speech Support

Saves Progress

Description

“Mayor for a Day” is a simulation game inspired by early SimCity, blending city-building mechanics with the dynamic interplay of legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Players experience the realities of governance through eight key scenarios, each presenting urgent challenges that require quick, strategic decisions. The game highlights the public policy process—how ideas move from proposal to implementation and evaluation—while emphasizing that effective leadership requires not only planning but also decisive action. Every choice and stakeholder interaction directly shapes the development and outcome of the city.

Vocabulary Words

Mayor

US Constitution

City Administrator

Congress

Municipal Budget

Emergency Fund

Public Facilities

Housing

AQI

Tax

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Public Policy

Democracy

Instructions

Play through this interactive game to learn about Public Policy Process. Suitable for Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8.

Main Concepts

Public policy in a democracy reflects efforts to balance the common good with competing rights, interests, and limited resources.

Citizens can influence the public policy process by voting, contacting officials, attending meetings, joining advocacy groups, and participating in civic action.

Public policy can be made at national, state, and local levels, and different levels of government may address the same issue in different ways.

Public policy may change over time as public opinion, political leadership, court rulings, and new evidence reshape priorities.

Public policies can be evaluated to determine whether they are effective, fair, efficient, and consistent with public goals.

Implementation is the stage in which government agencies and officials put policy decisions into practice.

Public policy is a course of government action designed to address a public problem or achieve a public goal.

The public policy process often begins when individuals, groups, media, or officials identify an issue as needing government attention.

Agenda setting occurs when certain problems gain enough public and political attention to become priorities for government action.

Policymaking involves debate among citizens, elected officials, interest groups, experts, and other stakeholders with competing goals and values.

Legislatures develop public policy by proposing, debating, revising, and passing laws.

Executive leaders and agencies influence public policy by proposing plans, enforcing laws, creating rules, and administering programs.

Courts influence public policy by interpreting laws and constitutional principles in cases that affect how policies operate.

Public policy debates often involve tradeoffs because different options can produce different costs, benefits, and consequences.

Discussion Questions

Before the Game

What is local government? How are citizens cared for by their cities?

After the Game

What is an annual report? Can you list three public policy concerns for a thriving city?

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Game Details

Difficulty

Content Integration

Lexile Level

N/A

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