Levels of Government

Grade: 4

*This is a Government lesson I taught to fourth grade students during my student teaching internship.

Start by reading and discussing ‘Who’s Got the Power?’ Students will need to fill in the blanks on their worksheet as we read and discuss.

Next, give each student a 'Who’s Got the Power?’ cut and glue worksheet. The students will cut out the description boxes on the bottom of the page. They will then glue the job descriptions under the correct type of government.

Adaptation: When reading and discussing the first worksheet, have correct spellings available for the below-level students. For the second worksheet, make sure to read through each job description with the below-level readers.

Branches of Government

Grade: 4

*This is a unit I taught about the Branches of Government to fourth grade students during my student teaching internship.

Display the following posters while teaching the branches of the government.

On the first day, read and discuss the legislative branch of government, using the top informational portion of ‘The Lawmaking Branch’ worksheet. Then have the students answer the questions on the bottom portion of the worksheet.

On the second day, read and discuss the executive branch of government, using the top informational portion of ‘Carrying Out Laws’ worksheet. Then have the students answer the questions on the bottom portion of the worksheet.

On the third day, read and discuss the judicial branch of government, using the informational top portion of ‘The Courts’ worksheet. Then have the students answer the questions on the bottom portion of the worksheet.

  

To wrap up all three branches, and to check for understanding, have the students complete a branches of the government art quiz. Use brown construction paper to make a tree trunk and label it ‘Our Government.’ Then have the students make three branches coming off the trunk and label each branch a branch of the government. Finally, have the students hang two leaves from each branch. On one of those leaves, have them write the member(s) of that branch of government. On the other leaf, have the students write the main job of that branch of government.