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This Lesson 3: Branches of Government lesson plan also includes:
- Lesson 1: The Importance of Rules in Our Country and in Our Classroom
- Lesson 2: The Constitution: Our Guiding Document
- Lesson 4: The Judiciary: A Brief Introduction to the Courts System
- Lesson 5: In the Courtroom: Understanding the Players and the Action
- Activity
- Graphic Organizer
- Reading Passage
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Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third instructional activity 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 instructional activity concludes with a short play that highlights how the Constitution creates a system of checks and balances to separate power in the government.
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CCSS:
Adaptable
Concepts
Additional Tags
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