Students are introduced to the powers of the three branches of American government: legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. They also describe and give examples for the process of checks and balances between the three branches.
Students are introduced to the powers of the three branches of American government: legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. They also describe and give examples for the process of checks and balances between the three branches.
Students are introduced to how the U.S. Constitution structures the national government into three branches and to key vocabulary related to those branches and checks and balances. They respond to a collaborative prompt explaining what might go wrong if a single branch could make laws, enforce them, and decide whether they are fair.
Teacher MovesReview the lesson objectives and key vocabulary, then prompt students to share and compare their ideas about the dangers of concentrating all government power in one branch to set up the need for separation of powers and checks and balances.
Students read short excerpts from the U.S. Constitution that describe specific governmental powers. Using the Interactive Constitution, they determine which branch each excerpt describes and answer multiple-choice questions to identify whether the powers belong to the legislative, executive, or judicial branch.
Teacher MovesGuide students in using the Interactive Constitution to connect each excerpt to the correct branch, clarifying unfamiliar terms and reinforcing how different types of powers are distributed among the three branches.
Students use linked readings, including The Powers of Congress, The Evolution of the Presidency, and The Creation of the Federal Courts, along with the Interactive Constitution and Three Branches of Government, to examine how each branch is defined in the Constitution. They complete a Venn diagram comparing powers unique to the House of Representatives, unique to the Senate, and shared by both houses of Congress; fill in a concept map of key executive powers; and answer questions about the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the origin and meaning of judicial review.
Teacher MovesHighlight the additional resources available in the student pack and direct students to use them as needed. Use the provided examples to support students in identifying legislative and executive powers, and explain that judicial review was established by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803), not written directly into the Constitution.
Students revisit what they have learned about each branch to explore the system of checks and balances. They add examples of specific powers to a diagram showing how each branch can check the others, then watch PBS Crash Course: Checks and Balances (or read alternative articles from the student pack) to complete and refine the chart. Finally, they post to a class wall explaining which branch they believe has the most power and why the framers might have designed it that way.
Teacher MovesEmphasize that this scene is essential preparation for the quiz. If desired, substitute or supplement the video with the articles Checks and Balances and Separation of Powers: A System of Checks and Balances. Use the provided example checks to help students complete their diagrams, and guide discussion toward the idea that the legislative branch is the most powerful because it is most directly representative of the people.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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