Julia French

Unit Plan
3 Branches of Government
Grade 3
Background information
Concept- Three Branches of Government
Skillso Organization; be able to organize the different jobs
o Recall; be able to recall the information learned
Civics and government
Time: 30-40 minutes
Integration of Learning outcomes

The students will be able to identify the three branches of

Government.

The students will be able to explain who is in each specific

branch of our Government.
Standards
5.3.3.A: Identify the roles of the three branches
of government.
Anticipatory set
Boys and girls today we are going to explore the three branches
of Government! Our objectives today are to identify the three
branches of Government, explain who is in each specific branch
of our Government, and to explore what each branch does for
the United States. Does anyone know anything about the
Government or anyone who is involved?
Make a list KWL chart
Write down what the children know in the K spot on the chart
Take answers from every student that has their hand raised
We made an awesome list of things that we already know about
the Government, but I know there are some things that we dont
know yet. Can anyone tell me something that they want to learn
about the Government?
Write down the what the children want to learn in the W spot on
the chart
Now thats an awesome list and I hope we get to learn all that
we want to and more!
Procedure

The United States Government is made up into three parts that

help the United States continue to run. The three branches of
Government are the judicial branch, executive branch and the
legislative branch.
Lets start with a quick schoolhouse rock video to show us the
three branches.

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EISWIY9bG8
After the video put three hula-hoops on the floor in the shape of
a triangle.
Read the words Legislative, judicial and executive and put each
word in their own hula-hoop to represent the three branches of
Government.
Now boys and girls Im going to read who each branch is and
then together were going to decide what roles they play.
The executive branch is the President of the United States put
executive branch and president into the yellow hula-hoop
The judicial branch is the Supreme Court put judicial and
Supreme court into the green hula-hoop.
The legislative branch is the Congress Put legislative and
congress into the red hula-hoop
Now were going to put their roles in the correct circle.
This one says directs national defense where do you think this
one goes?
Ask the children where they think that goes
Repeat this for all the roles; they are all on the worksheet
attached.
You all did such an amazing job figuring out what each branch
does! Now were going to make a Government branch tree so we
can always remember what the three branches are and their
role!
Were going to start by writing each branch name on a white
piece of construction paper and write each of the roles that we
did decided on onto the green leaves. Once you finish that sort
each of the leaves and put them with the correct branch.
Give the children time to write the branch names and their roles
OK boys and girls it looks like everyone is done and now were
going to make our tree.
Demonstrate how to use the brown paper to make a tree stump
and the branches of the tree
Give the students time to make their tree
Now boys and girls make sure when were gluing you glue onto
the tree and not a lot of glue so we dont get it on the table or
our fingers.
First were going to start by gluing on the different branch
names, once you finish that put the leaves under each branch
and Im going to come around to make sure theyre going in the
correct spot before you glue them on.
Walk around and check that they are correct.
Now we can glue on the leaves just where you have them.
Give the students time to glue on the different leaves.
Our trees look perfect! Write your names on the bottom of the
stump and were going to put them in the hallway to show

everyone! After were going to make another chart to help up

remember the three branches.
Have the children put their trees on the back table or somewhere
they can dry
Give all the children a pre-made booklet thats, red paper,
green paper and yellow paper.

Can anyone guess why were doing three different colors?

Yes! Were going to make each of these colors a branch of the
Government.

First were going to glue on the title that says The Three
Branches of Government right at the top of the page. Look at
mine before you glue!
Teacher will glue on the title at the top of the page
Have students glue on their title.
Now, we know that were going to make the three different
colors the three different branches so everyone find the three
pieces of paper that have Legislative, Judicial and Executive on
them.
Give the students time to find the three papers.
Perfect! Now were going to put the Legislative on the red, the
Judicial on the green and the Executive on the yellow. As you do
this Im going to walk around to make sure were putting them on
the correct color. If you need help you can look up at mine thats
on the board!
Have the students put on the branch names at the top of each
column.
Now boys and girls, we have talked a lot about who is in each
branch, and what each branch does, so I am going to let you put
each of the names and the roles in the correct column.
Give the students time to write the correct jobs in the correct
collums
Once youre done you can put them on my desk.
Go into closure
Differentiation
For children who are in special education or have an IEP I will
have everything typed for the students instead of having them write
the different people and jobs. They will still learn the material but it will
be easier for them to read, so they can remember what theyre doing.
Closure
Everyones trees and charts look wonderful!
We started a chart with what we know, what we wanted to know
and now we have to finish it with what we learned!
Can someone name one thing that the learned today?
Write down the childrens answers until everyone has answered.

It looks like we learned a lot of new things about the

Government today! Tomorrow were going to learn about symbols
and monuments of the United States!
Formative assessment
For formative assessment I will observe the children as they
make their Government trees. The students will be observed to see if
they are putting the correct branches with the correct roles and who
they consist of. I will also look at the finished product to make sure
everything was done, written and labeled correctly. I will also collect
the charts to look over them and make sure that the students know
who is in each branch and what they do.
Materials
Brown construction paper (5 per student)
Green construction paper (2 per student)
White construction paper (2 per student)
Markers
Pre-made booklets
Title that says Three Branches of Government
Worksheet with all of the people and their jobs in a random order
Glue
Hula-hoops (3) (one red, one green, one yellow.)
Large print of the worksheet with the branch names, whos apart
of the branch and what their jobs are.
Technology
Smart board to make the KWL chart; This is so it can be saved
and we can look back on it if we need to.
Reflection on planning
This lesson is meant to help children explore and understand the
three branches of government. There are different activities that help
reinforce the goal. I would want to make sure that I fully prepare all the
materials that Ill need and make one myself. I also will need to keep
checking to make sure that the activities are working and that theyre
grasping the concept. If not I can try to change it to make it work
better.
Content outline
i. The Three Branches
1. The nations government has three branches.
2. Legislature: Congress of the United States
a. makes the nations laws
b. two parts
i. House of Representatives
ii. Senate
c. Citizens elect lawmakers
3. The Executive and Judicial Branches
a. Executive branch: carries out the laws

i. President heads branch:

approves/rejects laws made by
congress
ii. Citizens vote for president
b. Courts: Judicial branch
i. Judicial branch: decides what the
laws mean and whether they obey
the Constitution
ii. Supreme court heads branch

The booklet will look something like this but not exactly

Worksheet:

Three Branches of
Government
Executive
Legislative
Judicial