The Structure of the federal government
3.7A I can describe the basic structure of government at the national level.
start
The United States's national government is separated into 3 branches. Each branch has a specific job. These branches help split up the power. The Legislative Branch makes laws and is ran by Congress. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Executive Branch carries out the laws and is ran by the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of people the President has picked to help him. The Judicial Branch interprets the laws and makes sure they are fair according to the Constitution. It is ran by the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts.
The legislative Branch
The legistlative branch is made up of two groups. One group is the House of Representatives. The other group is the Senate. Together they are known as Congress. Congress is made up of leaders from each state.
The House of Representatives
The House is much larger than the Senate. Each state sends representatives to the House. Larger states send more people. Smaller states send fewer people. This means that bigger states have more power in the House. Each member in the House represents an area of his or her state. People in each area choose the member by voting. Today, there are 435 members in the House. The members serve for 2 years in the House. When their two years are up, the people in the members' states vote. They can vote to keep the same representatives, or they can vote for new ones.
The Senate
Like the House, the Senate is made up of representatives from each state. But the Senate only has two members from each state. So each state has the same power in the Senate. There are 100 members of the Senate. Each member can serve for six years. The people can then vote for that member to stay, or they can vote for a new member. The Senate does important work. It looks at treaties the president makes. These are agreements with other countries. The Senate has the final say on these treaties. It also votes on people the president wants to hire.
The judicial Branch
The Supreme Court leads the judicial branch. It is the highest court in the country. It is in charge of all of the courts. The Supreme Court hears the biggest cases in America. It listens to people who do not agree on something. Then, it makes a decision about what the law says. This is called a ruling. All courts must follow what the Supreme Court says. Its rulings become the law. The Supreme Court tries to treat all people fairly. The Supreme Court Judges are called Justices. They choose about 100 cases to hear each year. They make rulings based on the US Constitution.
Supreme Court Justices
There are 9 Supreme Court Justices in all. One is the chief justice; he or she leads the Supreme Court. There is no limit for how long a justice can serve. This means that he or she may serve on the court for life. A justice can quit or retire. If they do something wrong, they may be taken off the court.
What does the Supreme Court do?
The Supreme Court makes sure that the other two branches are doing their jobs. It checks to see if they are following the U.S. Constitution. The justices work hard to protect people's rights. They look at laws to make sure they are fair. It is the job of the Supreme Court to say how the law works. If they think that a law goes against the US Constitution or is unfair, it is thrown out. They have the final say on the law. Only an amendment to the US Constitution can change a ruling made by the Supreme Court.
Independent Practice
Draw this tree map on a piece of paper, then write down the names of the positions each branch has in the Legislative branch and Judicial branch.
Legislative Branch
Executive Branch
Judicial Branch
Congress 1 2
1 2
1 2 3
The Structure of the Federal Government
sartorr
Created on September 7, 2020
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Memories Presentation
View
Pechakucha Presentation
View
Decades Presentation
View
Color and Shapes Presentation
View
Historical Presentation
View
To the Moon Presentation
View
Projection Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
The Structure of the federal government
3.7A I can describe the basic structure of government at the national level.
start
The United States's national government is separated into 3 branches. Each branch has a specific job. These branches help split up the power. The Legislative Branch makes laws and is ran by Congress. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Executive Branch carries out the laws and is ran by the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of people the President has picked to help him. The Judicial Branch interprets the laws and makes sure they are fair according to the Constitution. It is ran by the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts.
The legislative Branch
The legistlative branch is made up of two groups. One group is the House of Representatives. The other group is the Senate. Together they are known as Congress. Congress is made up of leaders from each state.
The House of Representatives
The House is much larger than the Senate. Each state sends representatives to the House. Larger states send more people. Smaller states send fewer people. This means that bigger states have more power in the House. Each member in the House represents an area of his or her state. People in each area choose the member by voting. Today, there are 435 members in the House. The members serve for 2 years in the House. When their two years are up, the people in the members' states vote. They can vote to keep the same representatives, or they can vote for new ones.
The Senate
Like the House, the Senate is made up of representatives from each state. But the Senate only has two members from each state. So each state has the same power in the Senate. There are 100 members of the Senate. Each member can serve for six years. The people can then vote for that member to stay, or they can vote for a new member. The Senate does important work. It looks at treaties the president makes. These are agreements with other countries. The Senate has the final say on these treaties. It also votes on people the president wants to hire.
The judicial Branch
The Supreme Court leads the judicial branch. It is the highest court in the country. It is in charge of all of the courts. The Supreme Court hears the biggest cases in America. It listens to people who do not agree on something. Then, it makes a decision about what the law says. This is called a ruling. All courts must follow what the Supreme Court says. Its rulings become the law. The Supreme Court tries to treat all people fairly. The Supreme Court Judges are called Justices. They choose about 100 cases to hear each year. They make rulings based on the US Constitution.
Supreme Court Justices
There are 9 Supreme Court Justices in all. One is the chief justice; he or she leads the Supreme Court. There is no limit for how long a justice can serve. This means that he or she may serve on the court for life. A justice can quit or retire. If they do something wrong, they may be taken off the court.
What does the Supreme Court do?
The Supreme Court makes sure that the other two branches are doing their jobs. It checks to see if they are following the U.S. Constitution. The justices work hard to protect people's rights. They look at laws to make sure they are fair. It is the job of the Supreme Court to say how the law works. If they think that a law goes against the US Constitution or is unfair, it is thrown out. They have the final say on the law. Only an amendment to the US Constitution can change a ruling made by the Supreme Court.
Independent Practice
Draw this tree map on a piece of paper, then write down the names of the positions each branch has in the Legislative branch and Judicial branch.
Legislative Branch
Executive Branch
Judicial Branch
Congress 1 2
1 2
1 2 3