Balancing three branches at once: Our system of checks and balances
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=222
A lesson plan for grade 5 Social Studies
This page contains four EDSITEment lessons in which students use primary source documents to investigate how the three branches of the American government can check each other. By the end of these lessons, not only will students be able to name the three branches of government but will also be able give examples of each branch checks and balances the others. Students will examine the lyrics of such popular Schoolhouse Rocks songs as “No More Kings” and “Three-Ring Government” as well as primary source documents including George Washington’s copy of the Declaration of Independence and others that illustrate a check by one branch of government on the power of another.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (2003)
Grade 5
- Goal 2: The learner will analyze political and social institutions in North America and examine how these institutions respond to human needs, structure society, and influence behavior.
- Objective 2.01: Analyze major documents that formed the foundations of the American idea of constitutional government.
- Objective 2.02: Describe the similarities and differences among the local, state, and national levels of government in the United States and explain their legislative, executive, and judicial functions.
