1. The Three Branches of Government
Chapter 3 : Lesson 2
The Three Branches of Government

2. How do the three branches share, check and balance power?
Essential Question:
How do the three branches share, check and balance power?

3. Flocabulary
Distribute Handout A – Flocabulary Lyrics. Students should follow along. Discuss some of the terms that are in bold on the handout and use the following slide to identify those as powers of the different branches of government.
Click the image to be directed to Flocabulary’s Three Branches of Government Rap
This video and accompanying lyrics were created and published by Flocabulary.

4. THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
* Legislative
* Executive
* Judicial

5. Lets Make Every Effort to Juggle Ice
Legislative Branch
Makes the Laws
Law
Executive Branch
Enforces the Laws
Judicial Branch
Interprets the Laws
© Karalynn Tyler 2015

6. Branches of Government
ARTICLE 1
ARTICLE 2
ARTICLE 3
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Where is this found? Using the United States Constitution identify the branches of government. Highlight where you find this information within the Constitution.
Where do we find the branches of government outlined in the U.S. Constitution?

7. Structure of the Branches
ARTICLE 3
Judicial Branch
ARTICLE 1 Legislative Branch
ARTICLE 2
Executive Branch
Also known as:
CONGRESS
Senate
100 members
(2 per state)
House of Representatives
435 members
(based on population)
Supreme Court
9 Justices
Other inferior courts
President
Vice President
Cabinet
The information should be provided in layers. To start, each branch of government is outlined in its respective Article of the United States Constitution. The presentation then goes on to include a synonym for the legislative branch (Congress) and who composes that branch (the House of Representatives and the Senate). The PowerPoint will do the same for the Executive and Judicial branches. Make sure to emphasize for students that the legislative branch and Congress are one in the same. Students should create a visual of the final slide in their notes to illustrate the structure of the branches of government.

8. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
House of Representatives
and
Senate

9. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Also called Congress.
Meet in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

10. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Bicameral - 2 Houses House of Representatives
Senate
Responsibility is to make (create) laws.
Dual Role - constituents needs & wants and considering what is good for nation as a whole.

11. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
435 Seats
Number of seats determined by state population.
19 Committees - 84 sub-committees
Referred to as the “lower” house.
Leader is called Speaker of the House.

12. HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES
Has sole power to Impeach President.
All bills to raise money must come from the House of Representatives.
All bills (laws) must pass in the House before going to the President.

13. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Powers that Congress DOES NOT have..
Can not suspend Habeas Corpus
Can not tax inter-state commerce
Can not take money from treasury unless a law is passed to do so
Can not give a title of nobility

14. SENATE 100 seats -2 seats per state - separate vote
16 Committees and 69 sub- committees
Referred to as the “upper” house
Vice President is President of Senate but NO vote unless a tie.
Leader = President pro tempore
Nicknamed “Millionaires Club”

15. SENATE Power to try impeachment - 2/3rd vote
Senate approval needed on bills to raise money.
All laws must pass in the Senate before going to the President.

16. LEGISLATIVE BRACH Powers of Congress Oversee elections
Set rules within the legislative branch
To tax, to borrow money, to coin money
Set rules of naturalization
regulate commerce
Establish Post Offices

17. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Powers continued…. To declare war
To raise and support armies
To make all laws that are necessary and proper

18. Citizenship Requirement
Congress
House
Senate
Number of Members
Length of Term
Elected or Appointed?
Age Requirement
Citizenship Requirement
List Powers:
435
100
2 years
6 years
Elected
Elected 25 30
7 Years
9 Years
Makes Laws
Decides how to spend tax money
Raise an Army/Navy
Declares War
Law

19. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

20. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Responsible for enforcing the laws.
President is the head of the Executive Branch.
President provides leadership by setting goals and developing policy.

21. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Must be a natural born citizen
Must be at least 35 years old
Must be 14 years a resident within the United States
Term is for 4 years - only 2 in a row
Must give state of the union to Congress

22. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Must take an oath as follows, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”

23. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Powers of the President….
Commander and Chief of the Army and Navy
Can grant pardons and Can veto laws.
Can call Congress into session.
Make treaties, appoint Supreme Court Justices and Ambassadors - Senate approval

24. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Can be impeached for the following reasons: Treason
Bribery
Other high Crimes and Misdemeanors

25. EXECUTIVE BRANCH President creates cabinet - advisors
Department of State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Labor, Commerce, Veterans’ Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education and NOW Homeland Security

26. Citizenship Requirement
Office of the
President
Number of Members
Length of Term
Elected or Appointed?
Age Requirement
Citizenship Requirement
List Powers: 1
4 years
Elected 35
Natural-Born Citizen
Commander in Chief of Armed Forces
Makes Treaties
Nominates ambassadors, & Supreme Court Justices
Grant Pardons

27. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

28. JUDICIAL BRANCH
Responsible for interpreting the law in regards to the Constitution
Final court of appeals for state and federal cases.
Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President, approved by the Senate, and they hold their office for life or retirement.

29. JUDICIAL BRANCH
Currently - 9 Justices - only can be changed by Constitutional Amendment
Justices hear 150 cases per year - over 5000 requests
4 Justices need to agree to hear a case
Session is October through June
Removed by impeachment or conviction

30. JUDICIAL BRANCH Qualifications - nothing listed in the Constitution
Unofficial qualifications are:
Politically active
Lawyer or Lower Court Judge
Same political party as the President

31. JUDICIAL BRANCH Article III is where we define treason.
Treason = committing an overt action - it must be seen
Talking about treason is not a crime
Can not punish family

32. JUDICIAL BRANCH Judicial Act of 1789 Created three part court system
Established the Office of Attorney General
Job of Attorney General is to represent the USA in the Supreme Court and to be a legal advisor to the Executive Branch

33. JUDICIAL BRANCH

34. JUDICIAL BRANCH
Civil Cases - sue, divorce, contracts, any case that does not involve a crime
Criminal Cases - commit a crime
Defendant - the person on trial
Plaintiff - person who brought case to court
Prosecutor - represents city, state, people in a criminal case

35. JUDICIAL BRANCH Influences on the Court Precedents - past decisions
Personal legal views - strict interpretation means to look at intent of founding fathers - broad interpretation means you need to take into account changes in society
Justices interaction

36. JUDICIAL BRANCH Influences continued……
Public Opinion, Congress, and the President

37. Citizenship Requirement
Supreme Court
Number of Members
Length of Term
Elected or Appointed?
Age Requirement
Citizenship Requirement
List Powers: 9
Life
Appointed
None
None
Gives final decisions on court cases
Decides whether laws and actions of the other 2 branches abide by the Constitution
Protect the Supreme Law of the land.

38. Branches of Government Jeopardy
Take the Challenge!!

39. Who is the head of the Executive Branch?
Vice-President
Senator
President
Judge

40. The head of the Executive Branch is __________.
appointed
elected
chosen
ordered

41. The Executive Branch is limited to ____-four year terms.1 2 3 4

42. 4 years

43. Which of the following IS NOT an Executive Branch responsibility?
carrying out the laws
leading military
deciding how much money to spend
meeting with leaders of other countries

44. The Judicial Branch of government involves which of the following?
the President
the courts
Congress

45. How many judges make up the Judicial Branch?
nineteen
nine
forty-nine
eighty-nine

46. What does the Supreme Court do?
tell other courts what they must do
make sure laws follow the Constitution
decide on the punishment for those convicted

47. Once the Supreme Court makes a decision on a case, it can only be changed by __________?
the President
the Supreme Court
the Vice-President
the Representatives

48. The Legislative Branch, Congress, is
separated into how many parts?
three
five
two
four

49. Every state elects _____ Senators.
five
four
three
two

50. How many Representatives are there from each state?
two
depends on the state’s population
five
three

51. What is one main responsibility of the Legislative Branch?
lead military
make laws for our country
carry out laws
meet with leaders of other countries

52. The White House is located in __________.
Seattle, Washington
Albany, NY
Washington, DC
Trenton, NJ

53. The main law of the United States is known as__________.
the Declaration of Independence
the Bill of Rights
the Emancipation Proclamation
the Constitution

54. The executive, judicial, and legislative branches belong to which level of government?
local
state
national

55. What is the name of the meeting that took place in 1787 to address problems in the U.S.A. following independence from Great Britain?
Summit Meeting
Watergate
Constitutional Convention
Government Meeting

56. Review Question:
Chapter 3 : Lesson 2
Read pages and answer Review Questions on page 79. Hand in Google Class Room.