Branches of the Government

Name: Collin Hewitt

Time Allotted: Two day lesson (60 minutes each)
Grade Level: 4th
Subject: Social Studies
Materials Required:
Ipads
Overhead Projector School House Video Project
Poster with text of each Branch
Letter Editor for Ipads
Procedure sheets for the different strategies.
Example foldable ready to show students.

Michigan Content Expectations:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform
about or explain the topic.
4 C3.0.3 Describe the organizational structure of the federal government in the United States
(legislative, executive, and judicial branches).
4 C3.0.4 Describe how the powers of the federal government are separated among the
branches.
Objective(s):
The student will be able to describe the organizational structure of the federal government in the
United States (Knowledge).
The student will explain how power is separated amongst the branches of the federal government
(Comprehension).
The student will apply specific vocabulary as they role-play the decision making between
different branches and also in the form of a written letter and (Application).

Assessment:
Informative
Informal
This assessment will monitor students ability to correctly answer questions
associated with the branches of government during direct instruction at the beginning
of the lesson. Students will be graded on a Pass/Fail rubric. Observed during sharing
time within the jigsaw activity, and observed on how accurately they act according to
their groups branch assigned to them, and how they converse with the other two
branches. This will allow the teacher to check the students understanding of the first
and second objective.
Formative
o Formal-

The student will apply his/her understanding of the branches of government by

writing a letter to a branch about a problem. The student will be given a choice of a
desired issue that the government handles. Based on the The Letter Rubric,
letterform is expected. This will allow the teacher to check the students
understanding of the third objective.

Instructional Procedure:
1

Anticipatory Set: (5 min)

a Ask the students if they know one branch of the government?
- Have the students talk about it with a partner.
- Then ask if any has all three branches?
b Does any one know what each branch does?
- Tell the students to be thinking about what each branch does during the video
c Watch a quick School House Rock Branches of Government
Create Foldables (1) students will create while talking about the questions in the anticipatory
set(5 min ) this will be used to summarize information and note taking during the lesson. Each
student will create a foldable using the sheet below for guidance. This should be a normal part of
class, and the students should understand this instructional strategy. This allows students to take
notes about each branch of the government on their own separate organizer.

State Purpose and Objective of Lesson:

a We will know the name of each branch and what each branch does for our government.
We will be able to write a formal letter to a branch of government.

Instructional Input/Direct Instruction: (30 min)

a During the direct instruction there I will split the class into 3 groups of 6 students. This
instructional strategy will allow us to see the similarities and differences of each branch
of the government. The strategy is known as JIGSAW (2). To further understand jigsaw
follow the procedure at the bottom of the page. Students will be first introduced to each
branch of government. Give the students 10 min for individual research. The students
will be encouraged to use the instructional strategy known as RAP (3) (Read, Ask,
Paraphrase- Cues, Questions, Graphic Organizers) when doing individual research. I will
have them read, write down questions ready to ask other in their expert groups, and
paraphrase the information they have read. Give 10 min for expert group meeting.
Finally give 10 min for each student to share with their classmates the information that
they learned. They are allowed to ask questions about their topic at any time during the
process. Students should be taking notes in foldables when they do individual research
and when listening to others.
i (Student 1) Executive Branch (What is the Executive Branch and who is apart of
this branch)- the branch of the United States government that is responsible for
carrying out the laws

ii (Student 2) Judicial Branch (What is the Judicial Branch and who is apart of this
branch)- the branch of the United States government responsible for the
administration of justice
iii (Student 3) Legislative Branch (What is the Legislative Branch and who is apart)
- the branch of government having the power to make laws
b

The students will now learn what each branch consists of and types of decisions they
handle daily.
iv.
(Student 4) Executive branch (What each branch consist of and types of decisions
that they handle daily)- Ex. Ideas (In this section of the foldable, under the
definition, the student will write ideas in their foldables as they learn about ideas
like President along with Vice President. The president, vice president, and his
cabinet are in the Executive branch. Make sure to reinforce the definition.)
v.
(Student 5) Judicial Branch (What each branch consist of and types of decisions
that they handle daily)- Ex. Ideas (In this section of the foldable, under the
definition, the student will write in their foldable as they learn about the Supreme
Court along with lower federal courts. Make sure to reinforce definition.)
vi.
(Student 6) Legislative Branch (What each branch consist of and types of
decisions that they handle daily)- Ex. Ideas (In this section of the foldable, under
the definition, the students will write in their foldable as they learn about the
House of Representatives and the Senate. Together they make up the United
States Congress. Make sure to reinforce the definition.)
a. The teacher will then relate this to survival by keying to the fact
that our country runs smoothly because of the different branches.
We survive in our country by the simple fact that our government
self checks itself.
Modeling: (25 min) Role-Play (4)- Nonlinguistic Representation
a The teacher will again show the video of School House Rock, Im Just a Bill
b The 3 groups of students will each take the characteristics of one of the three branches. I
will then present a multiple ideas of bills to the class, and they will debate in each group
to pass that law. Whether the group decides to pass the law, they must give a reason for
their decision. Here is the list of possible bills that the students can role play as the
governmental system.
i Raise minimum wage state-wide.
ii Making it illegal to own, for private purposes, a gasoline-powered
vehicle that gets less than 12 mpg. (Good bye Hummers!)
iii Add soda to the list of controlled substances, placing it as a peer
of alcohol. Perhaps a minimum age (16? 18?) for drinking soda?
(obesity in America costs us WAY more than illicit drug use).
Controversial!
iv Law providing consequences to students for not passing
Standards Based Assessments.
v 50% sales tax (or another absurdly high value) on any GMO
product so as to provide economic disincentive to purchase
genetically modified food and products.
http://www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/

c
d
e

vi Memorial: do not open arctic national wildlife refuge for oil

drilling.
vii Mandatory labeling of all food products from NM indicating which
pesticides and which herbicides were used in growing.
viii A law -- Banning the use of cell phones completely while
operating a motor vehicle.
ix Limit the class size in an elementary school to no more than 12
per teacher for k-3, 15 per teacher 4th and 5th. Funding
provided by idea above
x School year around. 4 to 5 three-week breaks throughout the
year.
xi School days from 6am-1pm.
(Ideas adapted from pages.swcp.com)
The teacher will asks the students to think of law that they may want our government to
change or one they think is a really good law. Homework is to go home and write down
a law that you would like to have the United States Branches of Government make.
Ticket out the door (finish the lesson)
END OF DAY 1

BEGINNING OF DAY 2 (10 min)- Share with a partner your bill idea that you create your letter
about.
i The teacher will go to this website, http://www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/student-interactives/letter-generator-30005.html. This is a letter
generator.
ii The teacher will show the students how to use this by going through a letter first
on the main screen.
iii The teacher will use the law of immigration
iv He/ She will begin by writing to the branches of government to help the
immigrants survive in the United States.
5

Guided Practice: (10 min)

a The students will then write a letter together on their own computers.
b The teacher and the students will work at the same pace filling in all of the steps of the
letter generator together.
i Choose business letter
ii Fill in your full name
iii Type in address, probably provide a school address because most students will not
know their own
iv Type in whom writing to, (President Obama, Congress) and address of white
house, (1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500)
v Salutation. Dear Mr. President
vi Body- insert letter about a certain law.
Independent Practice: (30 min)
a The students will be writing a letter to the branches of the government to either let them
know that they really like a certain law or they are writing to change a certain law. If
they write to change a law they need to provide a better way for the law to work.

Providing Examples that are in the bill of rights may give the students ideas
what to write about
i Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition
ii Right to keep and bear arms
iii Conditions for quarters of soldiers
iv Right of search and seizure regulated
v Provisions concerning prosecution
vi Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc.
vii Right to a trial by jury
viii Excessive bail, cruel punishment
ix Rule of construction of Constitution
x Rights of the States under Constitution
Have the students pick a topic and begin to write their letter to the government
about their certain law.
i Make sure to keep informing the students that their idea could be a bill
if it makes it through the branches of government
ii The students will have 10-15 minutes to write out their letter to the
government on Letter Generator

Differentiated Consideration
For those who finish quickly, they will be able to publish their letter, and they will be
able to go back to their chart of the different branches of the government that we made in
the direct instruction. They will be able to color it and make it look really good.
For those students who struggle, additional assistance will be provided and the students
will get help coming up with an idea to write about. I am not to concerned with how well
students write sentence structure. As long as they are understanding our government
better
8 Closure: (10 min)
a The teacher will ask the question of what are the three branches of government?
b The teacher will ask what does each branch specifically do for our government?
c Tell me why it is so important for our survival that we have three different branches?
d Do the branches self check each other so that only the best laws can come out of the
law?
e Why do bills take so long in the government? Self check, want the best for our country
f There will then be a ticket out the door for the students that will have similar questions
for the students to completely understand as they write down on their sheets.
9 References:
Letter Generator, http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/lettergenerator-30005.html.

Ticket Out The Door

1. What is one new thing you learned about the branches of
Government?

2. Is there something you did not understand in todays lesson?

What was it?

3. What was your favorite part about this lesson?

Letter Rubric- Formal Formative- Give Feedback

Letter
Requirements

Precise language
and domainspecific
vocabulary

Uses precise
language and
domain-specific
vocabulary through
out the entire letter

Uses precise
language and
domain-specific
vocabulary
through out most
of letter

Uses precise
language and
domain-specific
vocabulary
through some of
letter

Uses precise
language and
domain-specific
vocabulary little
in the letter.

Does not use precise

language and
domain-specific
vocabulary through
out the entire letter

The student shows

complete
understanding
about the topic and
gives multiple (5+)
reasons to inform
us his/her beliefs

The student
shows
understanding
about the topic
and gives some
(3-4) reasons to
inform us his/her
beliefs

The student
shows little
understanding
about the topic
and 1-2 reasons
to inform us
his/her beliefs

The student
shows no
understanding
about the topic
and gives 1-2
reasons to inform
us his/her beliefs

The student shows

no understanding
about the topic and
gives no reasons to
inform us his/her
beliefs

Inform about or
explain the
topic.

Check out this link for a graphic of jigsaw that can help one understand it better.
https://www.jigsaw.org/overview/

(www.interventioncentral.org)