The Three Branches of Government

Analyze the Learners

• I have a classroom full of 6th graders in my social studies class in a public school system.

• I have 20 students.

• 12 of them are girls, 8 of them are boys.

• 10 of them are Caucasian, 7 are African American and 3 are from Arab background.

• This class is an advance class so we will be able to move at a fast pace.

Main Objective

• Students in my class will be able to describe the three branches of government, what jobs each of them hold and who are the people who run them.

• It will be done through videos on YouTube and reading a textbook.

• After learning the information, students will be able to tell me the purpose of each branch and the jobs they hold in 4 days time with 90 percent accuracy.

Day to Day Breakdown

• Day 1-Students will learn why there is a three branch system, why the Constitutional Convention didn’t want one certain group holding all the power. Students will learn about the Executive Branch and who runs it, the President, how they are elected, how long their term is, how much power they hold and how the power is checked. We will be watching videos of Presidents who have been impeached and learn how that happens.

• Day 2- Students will learn about the Legislative Branch which is headed by Congress and includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. They will learn that the main task of these two bodies is passing laws, making spending bills, impeaching officials and declaring war. Students will watch the portion of school house rock on how a bill is passed.

• Day 3- Students are going to learn about the Judicial Branch and their functions. They will learn about the Supreme Court and how their powers include interpreting the Constitution, reviewing laws and deciding cases involving states rights. Students will be going over famous court cases from the past and see the final decisions made by the Supreme Court.

• Day 4- Students will come in and be assigned to a certain group, each one representing one of the branches of government, we will be creating laws, passing laws, making veto's and sending them down to the Supreme Court.

Use of Technology

• Slide Shows

• Youtube

http://congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0