Education Standards
Branches of the Government Graphic Organizer
Congress
Example of completed graphic organizer
Executive Branch Graphic Organizer
Fascinating Facts about the Constitution
Federal Judicial Center
House Graphic Organizer
Interactive Constitution (National Constitution Center)
Judicial Branch Graphic Organizer
Lesson Reflection Worksheet
POWER Library
Rubric for Student Reflection
Senate Graphic Organizer
State Government Graphic Organizer
Supreme Court History
Supreme Court of the United States
The Constitution of the United States (National Archives)
The Constitution of the United States Transcript (National Archives)
The Legislative Process: Overview (Video from Congress.gov)
The Legislative Process Videos
The White House
United States Courts
United States House of Representatives
United States Senate
What is the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government (History)
What is the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government (History)
What is the Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government Video (History)
The Branches of Power
Overview
The students will learn that the Constitution provides the guidance for the branches of the government. They will analyze the first three articles and then research the duties and requirements of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. Government. Students will then examine the branches of the state government.
Lesson Objectives
Students will know / be able to.....
- Understand the Constitution provides the guidance for the branches of the government.
- Summarize the duties, organization and requirements of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the US Government.
- Explain the branches of the government of any state.
Warm Up / Introduction - The Constitution
Instructor Notes:
- Have the students download or provide them with a copy of the Constitution for Examination. The URLs that are provided take you to the National Archives. One will allow you to view an image of the actual document and the other provides a link to the transcript.
- A nice summary of the US Constitution can also be found on the PBS site (PDF File)
- Provide the students with a brief history of the United States Constitution.
- On September 17, 1787, the final draft of the Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates that were in attendance at the Constitutional Convention.
- Once the Constitution was signed, it needed to be ratified by the people of at least nine of thirteen states in order to be valid. The Constitution was finally ratified in 1788 when New Hampshire become the 9th state to ratify it.
- The United States Constitution's main purpose is to provide a plan for the government and is considered the basic law of the United States. The powers of the three branches of federal government come from this document.
- The Constitution has three main parts:
- The Preamble - goals and purposes of the government
- The Articles - These 7 items are the goals and purposes that describe the way the government is set up.
- The Amendments - These are additions and changes to the original Constitution. There are currently 27.
- Discuss with the students why they think the Founding Fathers believed that the rules of the government should be written down. Ask them if they agree with that decision or not.
- Ask the students if they know who signed the Constitution? What do they know about them? (Names should be listed at the bottom of the transcript of the Constitution)
- The students will read and examine the first three (3) articles of the Constitution and write a paragraph about what they are about. Points to reiterate include:
- The articles of the Constitution begin with Roman numerals I through VII.
- The first three state the powers and responsibilities of each branch of the government. These are the three we will be focusing on:
- Article I: Legislative Branch
- Article II: Executive Branch
- Article III: Judicial Branch
- Entertain the students with these Fascinating Facts about the US Constitution.
- Students should learn more about the Constitution by researching it using the POWER Library resources or additional resources you have provided. (Some suggested websites are below)
- Students should complete the Branches of the Government Graphic Organizer with the information they already have learned.
Extended Activities:
- Who were the founding fathers that signed the Constitution? Students can learn about each of them in an extended activity. Information on each is available from the Constitution Center website.
- Examine the Preamble of the Constitution.
- Examine the first 10 Amendments which are the Bill of Rights.
POWER Library resources:
POWER Library resources that can be used for research on the Constitution includes:
- POWER Library Gale In Context Middle School
- POWER Library Gale OneFile High School Edition
- POWER Library General OneFile
- POWER Library Gale EBooks (History and Law categories)
- POWER Library Gale Topic Collections - Gale OneFile U.S. History
- POWER Library Gale In Context Elementary
- POWER Library EBSCO E-Books
- POWER Library TrueFLIX
Other websites:
Other websites that you can use to research the Constitution:
Activity Directions:
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Research / Explore Activity - Article I: The Legislative Branch
Instructor Notes:
- Have the students watch the videos about the Legislative branch.
- Students should research the legislative branch using the POWER Library resources and other materials you provide.
- Students should complete the following graphic organizers:
- House Graphic Organizer
- Senate Graphic Organizer
- Students can also watch the Legislative Process videos (7 videos) for a better understanding of this branch.
POWER Library resources:
- POWER Library resources that can be used to research the legislative branch:
- POWER Library Gale In Context Middle School
- POWER Library Gale OneFile High School Edition
- POWER Library General OneFile
- POWER Library Gale EBooks (History and Law categories)
- POWER Library Gale Topic Collections - Gale OneFile U.S. History
- POWER Library Gale In Context Elementary
- POWER Library EBSCO E-Books
- POWER Library TrueFLIX
Other websites:
Other websites that can be used to research the legislative branch:
USA Gov - The official web portal of the U.S. Government
Extended Activities:
- How a bill becomes a law.
Activity Directions:
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Research / Explore Activity - Article II: The Executive Branch
Instructor Notes:
- Have the students watch the videos about the executive branch.
- Students should research the executive branch using the POWER Library resources and other materials you provide. As they research the branch, they should complete the graphic organizer.
POWER Library resources:
- POWER Library resources that can be used to research the executive branch includes:
- POWER Library Gale In Context Middle School
- POWER Library Gale OneFile High School Edition
- POWER Library General OneFile
- POWER Library Gale EBooks (History and Law categories)
- POWER Library Gale Topic Collections - Gale OneFile U.S. History
- POWER Library Gale In Context Elementary
- POWER Library EBSCO E-Books
- POWER Library TrueFLIX
Other websites:
Other websites that can be used to research the executive branch Includes:
USA Gov - The official web portal of the U.S. Government
Activity Directions:
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Research / Explore Activity - Article III: The Judicial Branch
Instructor Notes:
- Have the students watch the videos about the judicial branch.
- Students should research the judicial branch using the POWER Library resources and other materials you provide. As they research the branch, they should complete the graphic organizer.
POWER Library resources:
- POWER Library resources that can be used to research the judicial branch include:
- POWER Library Gale In Context Middle School
- POWER Library Gale OneFile High School Edition
- POWER Library General OneFile
- POWER Library Gale EBooks (History and Law categories)
- POWER Library Gale Topic Collections - Gale OneFile U.S. History
- POWER Library Gale In Context Elementary
- POWER Library EBSCO E-Books
- POWER Library TrueFLIX
Other websites:
Other websites that can be used to research the judicial branch Include:
USA Gov - The official web portal of the U.S. Government
Extended Activities:
- Learn about some of the historic Supreme Court cases in history.
Activity Directions:
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Reinforcement / Creation Activity
Instructor Notes:
- Have the students play the Branches of Power game to reinforce their understanding of each branch of government.
- Now that they know what it takes to run the federal government, have them research the state government from Pennsylvania (or other states if desired).
- Students should complete the State Government Graphic Organizer with the findings from their research.
- If the students research different states, they can present their information to their peers in the form of a presentation or brochure.
Websites for researching Pennsylvania:
- Below is a list of websites that can be used if the students as researching the state of Pennsylvania. All other states have similar sites.
Notes:
- An example of a completed graphic organizer is attached in the Resource Library.
Activity Directions:
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Reflection
Instructor Reflection:
Reflect on the lesson plan and document what worked for you, what did not work for you, and what you would change for the next time you utilize this lesson.
Directions:Using the Lesson Reflection Worksheet, reflect on the following questions:
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