Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Three branches of government: 3rd to 5th people & places

State and national government: three branches, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A free 3rd to 5th lesson plan with a hook, practice that links to free activities, and an exit ticket. Copy it and make it yours.

Lesson plan

Goal

  • Students work toward: state and national government: three branches, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Hook (5 min)

  • Ask the class: Who makes the laws for a whole country?
  • Take two or three answers and write them where everyone can see them.

Teach (15 min)

  • Say the big idea in one plain sentence: three branches of government.
  • Show one example, then one that is not an example, and ask how the two differ.
  • Have students tell a partner or a small group the idea in their own words.

Practise (20 min)

  • Choose one for the whole class or let groups pick:
  • Learn: How Colorado Is Run (https://peabody.kids/world/citizenship/citizenship-how-colorado-is-run)
  • Learn: The Constitution and Our Rights (https://peabody.kids/world/citizenship/citizenship-constitution-and-rights)
  • Read: The Four Big Pages (https://peabody.kids/library/the-four-big-pages)
  • Print: The Three Branches (https://teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/the-three-branches-of-government)
  • Try: Quiz: how government works (https://peabody.kids/practice/hist/civics)

Exit ticket (5 min)

  • On a slip or aloud: one thing I learned about three branches of government, and one question I still have.
  • Sort the slips into: got it, nearly, not yet. Start tomorrow with the last pile.

Written by Peabody from its own skill pages. Free, no ads, no sign-in. Children can practise this on Peabody. More from teachers: teacher-shared resources.