Introduction
Welcome! We will be learning about the three branches of government.
4th grade TEK for Basic functions of the three branches of government:
(4)(15) Government. The student understands important ideas in historical documents of Texas and the United States. The student is expected to: (B) identify and explain the basic functions of the three branches of government according to the Texas Constitution.
Objective:
The student will be able to identify and explain the basic functions to the three branches of government according to the Texas Constitution.
Task
Grab your notebook and a pencil. Be prepare to take notes. You will be ask to write down a few things and answer a few questions as we go along.
Things to look for:
- What are the three branches of government?
- The functions of each branch.
Process
What are the three branches of Government?
The three branches of government are : Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Vocabulary Words:
- Government: The government is the system by which a nation, state, or community is governed.
- Executive Branch: The Executive Branch sees that laws are carried out.
- Judicial Branch: The Judicial Branch makes sure that the laws and actions of the other branches agree with the United States Constitution.
- Legislative Branch: The Legislative Branch makes the laws.
- Senate: The Senate is the smaller upper assembly in the US Congress, 100 senators.
- House of Representatives: The House of Representatives is the larger portion of the Legislative branch, 435 Representatives.
- Bill: A bill is a draft of a proposed law
- Law: A law is a rule of a particular country.
- Supreme Court: the highest court in the United States.
Write:
On a separate sheet of paper (not where you are taking notes) write what you think is the function of each branch of government. Its okay if you do not know. Make an educated guess on what you think the function of each branch is. You should have at least one sentence per branch. You may have more if needed. Title the paper: What I think the functions of the three branches of government are.
Example:
What I think the functions of the three branches of government are
I think the function of the legislative branch is ...
Now watch this video to find out the functions of each branch of government. - Don't forget to take notes!
Now that you have learn about the functions of each branch of government, I want you to click below on the link and read the article.
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/three-branches-of-government
Write:
On the same sheet of paper where you wrote your thoughts on the functions of the three branches, skip 3 lines and write what the function of each branch does. Being with a title.
Example:
The Basic Functions of The Three Branches of Government
The function of the executive branch is ...
Here is another video about the branches of government. Don't forget to take notes!
You have now complete the last video now lets see how much you have learned so far.
Game Time!
GUESS WHO!
Lets play a game. Guess Who! You will read the sentence and guess who or in what branch the person belongs in. Write your answer on your paper.
1. I am the leader of the executive branch. Who am I?
2. I make the law. What branch of government am I?
3. I enforce the law. What branch of government am I?
4. I sign the law. What branch of government am I?
5. There is 2 of me in each state. Who am I?
6. I am the highest court in the United States. Who am I?
7. I nominate all the Supreme Court members and the Senate confirms them. Who am I?
Evaluation
Let's see how much you have learned so far. Click on the link below to take a quiz.
Make sure to write your name in box when you click on the link. There are 11 questions. Make sure to complete all questions to receive credit.
https://kahoot.it/challenge/0572852?challenge-id=2bee09df-5168-49f4-a0bd-d32f5792667d_1623722798699
| 10 points | 5 points | 0 points |
| The student completed the writing assignment | The student completed part of the writing assignment | The student did not complete the writing assignment |
| The student answer correctly the functions of three branches of government. | The student answer some of the functions of the three branches of government correctly. | The student did not answer the functions of the three branches of government correctly. |
| Possible Points: 20 | Total Points: |
Kahoot! Quiz
| 100 | 90 | 70 | 50 | 0 |
| The student completed a perfect score on the quiz | The student score 80-90% | The student score 60%-70% | The student score 50 or below. |
The student did not answer all the questions on the quiz. |
| Possible Points: 100 | Total Points: |
Conclusion
Here is a quick summary of what each branch of government does.
Credits
Kahoot!
YouTube:
3 Branches of Government
YouTube. (2019, March 28). 3 Branches of Government | Kids Educational Video | Kids Academy. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwlRTYvU8o&t=3s.
Branches of Government
songsofhigherlrng. (2012, October 26). BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt5K4ZK0ILY.
National Geographic Kids:
National Geographic Kids. (2021, April 14). The three branches of the U.S. government. History. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/three-branches-of-government.
Teacher Page
This lesson has been made for 4th graders. The objective of this lesson is for the students to understand and be able to identify the basic functions of the three branches of government. Students are evaluated based on how they did on the test and what the student wrote for the second part of their paper for what are the basic functions of the three branches of government.
This WebQuest has been created by Leticia Medrano.