EGP 335.

535 Lesson Plan

Dr. Leaman, Spring 2017

Lesson Plan Details Checks and Balances Lesson 8

Expected Duration (50-60 minutes)
Social Sciences: Civics, Economics
Concepts
o What are checks and balances?
o What is in charge of each branch?
o What are the branches?
o Relating to other lessons.
o Why is equality in the branches important?
Vocabulary and operational definition
o Supreme Court- The highest judicial court in the land.
o House of Representatives- Lower chamber of the United States that passes legislation.
o Veto- The right to reject a decision made by a law making body.
o Amend- A change in text.
o Impeach- Question authority and take out of office.
o Bill- Draft of a law.
o Law- Rules created by government.
o Constitutional- Following the principles of a nation.
o Unconstitutional- Not following the constitution.
Skills [taught, practiced during lesson]
o Research skills
o Collaboration skills
o Computer skills
o Recollection skills
Goals of Lesson [overarching learning children work toward but do not master in this lesson]
o Students will begin to understand that value of equality
o Using classroom materials such as a computer for reference are great resources
o Each lesson is connected to other lessons and not just being learned for one day

Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives

Students will be able to describe how each branch of the government uses checks and balances
for the others.
Students will be able to construct a chart comparing the branches with the class.
Students will be able to fill out a worksheet on what checks and balances are.

Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography &

NCSS Themes I - X with subthemes
Standard 5.3.4.A Civics and Government: Identify the roles of the three branches of the
government
Theme 6: Power, Authority & Governance
Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
Anticipatory Set
At the beginning of the lesson the teacher would be in the from of the classroom and
asks, Say I decided to make a new rule in the classroom and this rule is that
everyone had to have the same thing for lunch everyday. Would that be fair?.. Take
some responses. What if I said we were going to have homework everyday!? Would
that be fair? That wouldnt be fair and I wouldnt do anything like that not only
because it isnt right, but also because I am not the only one who makes rules in the
school. There are other people that I work with like the principal that would say that
isnt allowed If it werent for the principal being able to counter my bills then
there would be no balance. There are also people that can say no to the principal if
he comes up with an unreasonable bill. These people also interact with myself the
teacher. This is similar to what we will be learning about today, checks and balances
in the three branches. Turn and talk with a neighbor about the three branches of
government we previously learned about?

Procedures
1. Teacher will pass out the handout with review of each of the three branches of government.
2. After the students have finished with their turn-and-talk the teacher will ask, who thinks that
these branches are connected in someway? How do you think? Collect students responses.
3. Today we are going to make a chart so we can compare what each branch does. The white board
in the front of the room will be split into three sections each with the heading Judicial, Executive,
or Legislative. The teacher has a stack of large print sticky notes that have characteristics of each
branch on it.
4. Using your notes and the handout thats has been passed around we will fill out this chart. Our
goal is to be able to look at the board and see how each branch affects the other. We want to be
able to see that no one branch has more power than the others because without equal power the
branches would be useless.
5. The sticky notes will read: Veto a Bill, Choose Judges, Declare War, Carry Out Laws, Approve
Judges, Serve for Life, Impeach Officials, Declare Laws Unconstitutional, Sign a Bill Into Law,
Make a Vetoed Bill a Law, Amend Constitution for State approval, Settle Disagreements About
The Law, more can be added if need be.
6. The teacher will then read each note off to the class and then call on a different student each time
to fill in the chart. If a student does not know which branch it fits into, then they should pair with
a partner and review notes to attempt to find the answer. This step is continued until the notes are
all on the board. With each note the teacher is to give a review as to why they fit into the branch
and how/if they interact with the other branches.
7. Teacher can then have the students pair their desks up and grab one laptop for their pair. We will
be heading to
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/checks_and_balances.htm to play the
checks and balances game. This will be done for 15 minutes or until each group has played once.
The teacher will be conversing with the groups of students to get a feeling on their knowledge
level. If students finish early they can review their notes and look up some topics they have
learned about previously that relate to checks and balances.
8. Ask students that finished early if they have any ideas on whether this lesson relates to any of the
learned information. In our previous lesson about the presidents we discussed checks and
balances briefly, in what ways do you think the president relates to this lesson? Accept responses
and reflect upon them. We could also relate our lesson to the lesson on the other forms of
 government? How is that? What countries also have a democracy? This is a great time to show
the class that the previous material learned is important now.
9. As a class, students will discuss he scenarios:
a. The president picks a judge for the Supreme Court what happens next?
b. A bill is passed by congress, but the president doesnt like it what can he do? Is there
something else that can be done?
c. Which branch settles disagreements about the laws?
10. Students will then talk about the purpose of having Checks and Balances:
a. Why are they necessary?
b. What happens if one branch gets too strong?
c. Would our government still be the same if we didnt have them?
11. As the class is discussion the purpose of checks and balances the teacher will be handing out exit
slips with three questions on it. Now that we have learned the characteristics of each branch and
how they check and balance the others I would like for you to complete my three-question exit
slip about our lesson today.
Differentiation
For students that are having difficulty with relating the previous lessons on the branches with
checks and balances the teacher can group them with a student that is actively participating and
they can work on the computer together.
The teacher could also conference with a group of students that are having difficulties relating the
information to past material during the computer activity.
A teacher aid will be available for students with an IEP.
During the exit-slip ESL students will have an opportunity to meet with the teacher and discuss
the questions on the exit-slip.
Students proficient in understanding the goals of this lesson will be given opportunities to find
extra information that can be helpful to the lesson. Step 7.
Closure
As the class is discussion the purpose of checks and balances the teacher will be handing out exit slips
with three questions on it. Now that we have learned the characteristics of each branch and how they
check and balance the others I would like for you to complete my three-question exit slip about our lesson
today.

Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)

Summative Assessment: Students will complete the exit slip given by the teacher describing 3
examples of checks and balances in the government.
Formative Assessment: The teacher will keep a checklist of students who answer questions related
to the content. The teacher will continually ask questions to keep the students focused and check
for their understanding. During group work, the teacher will walk around and monitor students to
make sure that each student is participating and taking part in the discussion.

Materials/Equipment
Student Materials Previous notes, pen/pencil, class handouts, laptops, sticky notes, dry erase markers,
white board, notebook,
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog432/node/135
http://work.chron.com/duties-executive-branch-8572.html
http://aenet.esuhsd.org/Citizenship_lessons/branches/judicial_branch_q.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/legislative-branch
 http://www.learningliftoff.com/4th-5th-grade-history-check-and-
balances/#.WKY3sxIrLVo
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/checks_and_balances.htm
http://www.congressforkids.net/games/checksandbalances/2_checksandbalances.htm

Teacher note sheet with references

The three branches were made to make sure that no one part of the government could be
too strong and take control.
Each branch has several different restraints from the other two branches.
Judicial Branch:
o The Supreme Court does a lot of the work for this branch of the government.
When congress or the president propose a law to be passed the Supreme Court has
the option to rule the law unconstitutional and erase it.
o Job is to explain the laws of the country and how they relate to the constitution.
o There are nine justices in the Supreme Court and they stay for life. One of them is
the chief justice who leads the group.
o Highest court in the land.
o http://aenet.esuhsd.org/Citizenship_lessons/branches/judicial_branch_q.html

Executive Branch:
o The power of this branch is put on the president. The president gets the
opportunity to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
o The president passes members of the Supreme Court and congress has to approve
them.
o There are 15 cabinet members and if the president were to be killed or had to step
down the vice-president.
o President elected ever four years and can only serve two terms.
o President has veto power to any bills that congress passes.
o The president interact with congress a lot to maintain a relationship so they can
work together.
o In order to be the president a person must be 35, a citizen, be born in the USA,
and lived in the US for at least 14 years.
o Each state is set up like the country with a three-branch system.
o http://work.chron.com/duties-executive-branch-8572.html

Legislative Branch:
o Main power comes from Congress. Consists of the House of Representatives and
the Senate.
o This is the branch where many of the laws come from.
o Congress can declare war and reject the presidents laws.
o House of Representatives had 435 members and they are divided throughout the
50 states. The speaker of the house is the third in line to the president and is
elected by the members of the house.
o Power to impeach federal officials.
 o Senate has 100 senators, which means two for each state. 6 year terms and elected
by the people in each state.
o The Vice-President has the power to cast the deciding vote when there is a tie.
o Power to confirm the Presidents appointments and ratify treaties.
o The Senate reviews impeachment cases.
o Passes a bill, but can be vetoed by the president. The can pass it again, but each
part of the chamber has to pass it with two thirds of the vote.
o https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/legislative-branch

http://www.learningliftoff.com/4th-5th-grade-history-check-and-
balances/#.WKY3sxIrLVo
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/government/checks_and_balances.h
tm
http://www.congressforkids.net/games/checksandbalances/2_checksandbalances.h
tm

Technology
Laptops will be distributed to students in order to do the activity that tests the students knowledge of
checks and balances.

Reflection on Planning
When thinking about the development of my lesson plan I never really thought about how
important it was to do research before developing the plan. Now I know that if you have a really high
knowledge on the topic being taught it is easier to make a lesson plan that will be extended to the students
in an efficient way. My lesson could be improved if I could find a way to get more one on one time to
discuss the topic with the students. I really like the group work aspect of the plan because it shows the
students how important it will be to work with others in the future. We need connections now more than
ever.

Global Current Event

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/out-power/576131
Out Of Power by Rebecca Katzman
This article talks about how the president of South Korea was impeached and this has many ties
to my lesson. First we discussed how the judicial branch does the impeaching of the president and in the
case of South Korea they are pretty similar. They call their court the Constitutional Court, which is pretty
similar to the Supreme Court in the sense that they both follow the rules of their countrys constitution.
The article also brings up that they will have an election to decide the next president. If South Korea
didnt have their own set of checks and balances then the president most likely would not have been
impeached for sharing illegal information with a friend.

Lesson Plan Element Point Value

40 points total

Lesson Plan Details 2

Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives 3

Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography & NCSS 3
Theme/subtheme

Anticipatory Set 2

Procedures 6

Differentiation 2

Closure 2

Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12) 3

Materials/Equipment , Citation of Sources 2

Technology

Reflection on Planning

Teacher Content Notes 10

Global Current Event 5