Unit: Why do we need government?

Lesson 2: How is the US Government Structured?

Essential Questions Standards of Learning (be sure to include integrated standards here too)
What is government? What are the basic purposes of government? What differentiates a republican form of government from other forms of government? VA Social Studies SOL 3.10: The student will recognize the importance of government in the community, Virginia, and the United States of America by a) explaining the purpose of rules and laws; b) explaining that the basic purposes of government are to make laws, carry out laws, and decide if laws have been broken; c) explaining that government protects the rights and property of individuals. VA Social Studies SOL 3.11: The student will explain the importance of the basic principles that form the foundation of a republican form of government by a) describing the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and equality under the law Visual Arts Grade K-4 Visual Arts Standard 6: Students identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum.

Objectives

Students will be able to define and compare the three branches of government and their functions and construct a representation of the US system of government. Students will implement their knowledge of government by designing their own form of government. Teacher Materials: Schoolhouse Rock 3 Ring Circus Video: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=155917 How the US Government Works by Syl Sobel

Materials

Student Materials: Social studies notebook Branches of Government graphic organizer/sort Paper Colored Pencils Glue Sticks from trees for branches of government activity

Procedures (introduction, instructional strategies, summary/close)

Introduction (5 minutes): Remember yesterday how we talked about the reasons we have rules in school. You all thought about how chaotic school would be if we did not have rules in place. Then we talked about how laws exist in our country for similar reasonsto protect peoples rights, property, and safety.

We also talked about how you are going to be creating your own government. Throughout this unit, your groups will have the chance to work on creating a government for your imaginary country. Today, we will be focusing on how the US government is set up, so be listening for ideas! Were going to watch a quick video to show how our US government is structured. Show Schoolhouse Rock 3 Ring Circus Video: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=155917

Instructional Strategies (30 minutes): After the video, talk about how Government is a group of people who makes laws, carries out laws, and decides if laws have been broken. Have students record this definition in their social studies government. Briefly discuss the three branches of US government we saw in the video and their purposes (write these on the board and have students record in their social studies notebook). o Legislative: CongressMakes the laws o Executive: President/Vice PresidentEnforce the laws o Judicial: Supreme CourtMakes sure laws are fair and Constitutional Lets learn a little more about each branch of our government: Provide each student with a graphic organizer and the Branches of Government sort cards. Each student will cut out the sort cards and fill them in throughout the lesson. Legislative Branch: o Read the second chapter in How the US Government Works, The Congress. (p. 12-20). Give students 2 minutes to talk to their table groups about who makes up the legislative branch and the purpose of that branch. Fill in graphic organizer section. Executive Branch: o Read the third and fourth chapters in How the US Government Works, The Executive Branch and The Presidents Job (p. 20-28). Give students 2 minutes to talk to their table groups about who makes up the executive and the purpose of that branch. Fill in graphic organizer section. Judicial Branch: o Read the fifth and sixth chapters in How the US Government Works, The Courts and Judges (p. 28-32). Give students 2 minutes to talk to their table groups about who makes up the judicial branch and the purpose of that branch. Fill in graphic organizer section. Go over graphic organizer together as a class. Have students glue this down in their social studies notebook. Discuss our system of checks and balances in the US government. The reason our government is divided into three branches is so that one branch never becomes more powerful than the others. This is called separation of powers. Students will individually create a representation of our system of government. Students should ensure that the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances are represented in their visual. They have two choices: o Students may use paper and colored pencils to design a visual representation of our system of government. o Students may use sticks and glue to create a representation of our system of

government. Summary (5 minutes): Have students come to their circle spots and do a gallery walk around to see each representation. Then ask 3 student volunteers to share their representations and explain why they chose their representations. Review the three branches of government, who is a part of each branch, and what their purpose is in regard to the law. Reiterate that the governments power is separated so that the government can never get too powerful. Tomorrow we will talk about the different levels of government.

Extension: Unit Project Groups have 10 minutes to decide how many branches of government they want to have. Do they think the work needs to be divided three ways? Do you need more branches than 3? Each student will record their groups decision in their social studies notebook.

Formative Assessment

Check that students have created a visual with 3 branches that shows separation of power. Teacher will also take anecdotal notes during class discussion time.

Differentiation

Teacher provides 1:1 support for students with special needs while creating their government representation. ESOL: ELL students will work with students with good oral language during think-pair-share and during partner activities. Additionally, sort cards have pictures as well as words to help students with meaning. Multiple Intelligences Addressed: Naturalist (students may choose to use tree branches/sticks to represent the branches of government) Logical-Mathematical (abstract representation of branches of government) Intrapersonal (students work on representation individually) Musical (3 ring circus song) Linguistic: sharing student work aloud and explaining it to peers

Branches of Government: Graphic Organizer Legislative Branch Who makes up this branch? Executive Branch Judicial Branch

What does this branch do with laws?

How long do members of this branch serve? Where do members of this branch work?

Branches of Government: Sort Cards

Congress

Supreme Court Makes the Laws

President Decides if Laws are Broken 4 years

Enforces the Laws House: 2 years Senate: 6 years

Life

(max of 2 terms)

Supreme Court

Capitol

White House