The three branches of government

A WebQuest for 8th Grade History

Designed by

Nina Perlman, History teacher, and Russell Tomlin, librarian

Image copyright http://www.aperfectworld.org      Image copyright http://www.aperfectworld.org      Image copyright http://www.aperfectworld.org

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page


Introduction

Imagine living in a land where one person ruled. The King, Queen or President could do whatever he or she wanted: declare war on other countries, make laws, or impose taxes. No one could stop him or her. Or, imagine a place ruled by a group with no leader in charge to give the group direction and purpose, to see "the big picture" in order to decide what was important. Finally, imagine a place ruled only by a court system that could interpret existing laws but not change bad laws or create new ones.

The men and women who created the United States government realized that running a huge country filled with millions of people was very complicated. That is why they created the three branches of government--executive, legislative and judicial--to check and balance each other so that no one branch or person got too much power. This WebQuest is designed to help you understand our country's three branches of government.


The Task

Using the provided websites below, find out as much as you can about each branch of government (the executive, legislative and judicial), what it does and how it controls or is controlled by the other two branches. As you gather information, complete the diagram your teacher has given you (one diagram for each pair).

U.S. Government in a nutshell

American government

ThinkQuest: The three branches of government

Ben's guide to U.S. government


Once you think you've filled in your diagram with as much information as you can find, create a poster as follows:

The three branches of government

List the roles of each branch of government:
Executive   |   Legislative   |   Judicial

Write a paragraph telling how life would be different without one of the branches of government:

The President wants to put you in jail! Explain how the other two branches check and balance him: 

Create a meaningful symbol for each branch of government:

Follow the instructions contained in each quadrant. Be complete and neat!


The Process

Choose a partner with whom you get along. Make sure it's a person who will do his or her work. If your teacher thinks certain student pairs are not working, she will reassign students to different partners.

Click once on a hyperlink (any type that is underlined and in a different color) to go to that website. Look through all the websites provided in order to gather as much information as possible. Write down the important information you discover on the diagram your teacher has given you. Write neatly because you will need to be able to read your notes in order to create your poster. Make your poster as colorful as you like, but  remember: everything must be readable and accurate.


Evaluation

Your grade will be based on your poster. However, no poster will be accepted without a completed diagram/worksheet attached to it.


Unsatisfactory
1

Beginning

2

Developing

3

Accomplished

4

Exemplary

5

 

Four-quadrant
poster

 

No diagram submitted; minimal work done on poster because team members used their time and energy unwisely


No diagram or incomplete diagram submitted; poster  contains minimal informat but doesn't convince teacher much knowledge was gained.
Diagram with minimal to acceptable information submitted; poster content acceptable;  some pride in presentation apparent.
Diagram with lots of correct information submitted; poster filled with illuminating information and insights;  pride in presentation clearly apparent.

Diagram contains all pertinent information required and perhaps more; poster content accurate, illuminating and at times surprising in level of insight attained.


Conclusion

By completing this WebQuest you have gained a better understanding of America's three branches of government and the important roles they play. We hope you have enjoyed this experience and will return to your school library to read and conduct further research.


Credits & References

 Government building, scales of justice,  and veto stamp  images copyright A Perfect World, http://www.aperfectworld.org

This WebQuest was created in November of 2004 and last updated on December 2, 2004. Permission is hereby granted to use "The three branches of government" WebQuest for educational purposes as long as its designers are acknowledged.

Any suggestions for improving this WebQuest should be sent to Russell Tomlin, John Muir Middle School librarian, at tomlinr@sbcglobal.net.

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page