Download Flags-and-Symbols

The United States
Government
The United States has a plan of government called the Constitution,
which contains the powers of our government and the rights of the
people. The United States is a democratic republic. (A republic has
an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.) That
means our officials are elected by the people or chosen by the
people’s representatives. The President, Congress and Supreme
Court uphold the Constitution for all people. This year in social
studies we will be learning about different communities around the
world. In describing and comparing these communities to ours, we
will see how the governments in these communities are both similar
and different from our government.
The Constitution of the United States
• The U.S. Constitution established America’s
national government and fundamental laws, and
guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It
was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates
to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia,
presided over by George Washington.
• It was simply a plan for the government
• At the 1787 convention, delegates devised a plan
for a stronger federal government with three
branches–executive, legislative and judicial–along
with a system of checks and balances to ensure
no single branch would have too much power.
http://www.history.com/topics/constitution
Complete packet pages 17, 19, 21
Branches of Government
• Three Branches of Government
– Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/government/b
ranchesofgovernment/
https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/government/p
resident/preview.weml
Brainstorm what you think the rights and responsibilities of United States
citizens are and create a web with the word citizen in the center. Note
that our government protects our rights, and we have the right to vote
for our representatives.
https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/citizenship/rightsandresponsibilities/preview.weml
Citizen- a person who lives in and belongs to a community
Citizenship
Complete packet pages “Elections” & Who is a good citizen?