Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves that are used to create a government tree display. The lesson concludes with a short play that highlights how the Constitution creates a system of checks and balances to separate power in the government.

Concepts

the separation of powers, checks and balances, the judicial branch, the three branches of government, the legislative branch, the executive branch, the united states constitution, the united states government

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Additional Tags

branches of government, constitution, us government, checks and balances, separation of powers, judicial branch, legislative branch, executive branch, social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Create the government tree on a bulletin board that can be displayed throughout the unit
• Use this lesson to teach students how to identify the main idea and supporting details of informational text
• While reading the Articles of the Constitution encourage children to underline and/or highlight the text as they indentify key facts

Classroom Considerations

• Teacher is required to create copies of the first three Articles of the Constitution

Pros

• Offers ideas for adapting and extending the lesson to meet the needs of all learners
• A series of Brian Break activities are included for maintaining children's engagement throughout the lesson
• Includes a graphic organizer that outlines the functions of each branch of the government

Cons

• In the "Simple Branches of Government Chart", the executive and legislative branches are mixed up

Common Core

RI.3.1 RI.3.2 RI.4.1 RI.4.2 RI.5.1 RI.5.2 RI.6.1 RI.6.2