Checks and Balances
High School Social Studies
Teacher Notes
Insight 360™ is eInstruction’s classroom instruction system that allows you to
interact with your students as they learn, quickly gaining insight into student
understanding during class so you can adjust instruction in real-time during a
single class session.
Use this content, designed specifically for use with Insight 360™, to interact
with your class. This content includes brief instructional material and two
types of activities:
Constructed Response Activity for students to complete as an individual
or a group assignment. Send each Constructed Response Activity to the
Insight 360 iPad Student App.
Assessment Item with CueTag™ for students to respond to via student
response devices. Receive instant real-time feedback and longitudinal
reports.
Branches of Government
The United States has three branches of government.
Each branch has its own set of powers and is kept in check by the other two
branches. No one branch has more power than the other two.
The three branches of government are:
• Executive Branch – President
• Legislative Branch – Congress
• Judicial Branch – Supreme Court
Powers
Executive Branch - President
• Carries out laws
• Vetoes bills Congress passes
• Creates a budget
• Makes treaties with other nations
• Appoints judges in the Judicial Branch for a life term
Judicial Branch – Supreme Court
• Interprets laws
• Decides whether laws made by Congress or orders by the President violate
the Constitution
Powers
Legislative Branch – Congress
• Can override a President's veto of a bill by 2/3 majority vote
• Makes laws
• Confirms presidential appointments for judges and justices
• Can impeach (fire) the President for misconduct
• Approves the President’s budget and treaties
• Can remove judges from office for misconduct
Fill in the chart.
Power
Interpret laws
Creates a budget
Appoints judges
Makes laws
Declares laws
unconstitutional
Confirms appointment of
judges
Branch
Branch being checked
Fill in the chart.
Power
Branch
Branch being checked
Interpret laws
Judicial
Legislative, Executive
Creates a budget
Executive
Legislative
Appoints judges
Executive
Judicial
Makes laws
Legislative
Executive
Declares laws
unconstitutional
Judicial
Legislative, Executive
Confirms appointment of
judges
Legislative
Executive
What power completes the table regarding checks and balances among the
three branches of the federal government?
Checks and Balances in the Federal Government
Check on
Executive Branch
Check on
Legislative Branch
Check on
Judicial Branch
Executive
Branch
--
can veto bills
?
Legislative
Branch
can impeach
the president
--
can impeach
federal judge
can declare executive
actions unconstitutional
can declare laws
unconstitutional
--
Judicial
Branch
a.
b.
c.
d.
can use military action to prevent votes
appoints judges
can have judges’ terms limited
can transfer executive powers to states
For information about Insight 360™, visit http://www.einstruction.com.
For additional content samples, click here.