Identify the Levels of Government (Local, State, Federal)

What are the levels of government?

SS.3.C.3.1

Identify the levels of government (local, state, federal).

SS.3.C.3.1

Identify the levels of government (local, state, federal).

Correlated Florida Standards (See Full Text on Cover Page)

• LAFS.3.RI.1.1, LAFS.3.RI.1.2, LAFS.3.RF.4.4

Essential Question

What are the levels of government?

Learning Goals/Objectives

• Students will understand that there are three levels of government.
• Students will understand some of the responsibilities and government officials at each level.

Overview

Students will read a passage about the three levels of government and fill out an activity sheet identifying the responsibilities and officials for each level of government.

Materials

• Blank paper
• Three Levels of Government reading
• Three Levels of Government handout

Time

• 15-20 minutes

Activity Sequence

INTRODUCTION/HOOK

1. Give each student a sheet of blank paper
2. Have students make three columns: local government, state government, and federal government.
3. Have students write down what they think they know about each level of government to activate any prior knowledge.

ACTIVITY

1. Pass out the Three Levels of Government reading and handout.
2. Explain to students that they will work as a whole class and read the passage to understand some of the major responsibilities and leaders for the three levels of government. Explain to students that as they read aloud they will mark or highlight text that helps them understand the responsibilities and leaders for each level.
3. Work as a whole class to read the passage.
4. Instruct students to use their marked text to complete the Three Levels of Government handout.

CLOSURE

1. Instruct students to summarize what they have learned about one of the levels of government as an exit slip.

Three Levels of Government

In the United States, there are three levels of government. As Americans, we live under the rule of all three of these governments. The three levels of government are the federal government, the state government and the local government.

The federal government, located in Washington, D.C., has three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each of the three branches has different responsibilities. The U.S. Constitution separates power between the three branches. The executive branch executes or carries out the laws. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch. The legislative branch refers to Congress and is the branch that makes our nation’s laws. Congress is made up of two parts, or houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state has the right to representation in the House of Representatives depending on its population. Members of the House of Representatives are known as representatives. Every state also has the right to two members of the Senate known as senators. The judicial branch refers to the courts. This is the branch where judges and justices interpret the laws. The writers of the U.S. Constitution included a system of checks and balances to make sure that one of the three branches could not become more powerful than the others.

State governments are governed by state constitutions. Individual states cannot create any laws that conflict with national laws because the U.S. Constitution is “the supreme law of the land”. This means that no state laws can go against what the U.S. Constitution says. State constitutions separate state government power into three branches, similar to the federal government. These branches are also called executive, legislative and judicial. Instead of dealing with national laws, state branches of government are concerned with state level laws.People living in a state elect a governor as the head of the executive branch. In Florida, the state legislative branch is also made up of two parts: the House of Representatives and Senate. Members of the state legislative branch are called state representatives and state senators.

Local government refers to city and county governments. Local governments have leaders such as a mayor and commissioners. Citizens give leaders power to make decisions concerning the city or county.Local government leaders pass local laws called ordinances and focus on providing services such as clean water, garbage pick up, playgrounds, parks, streets, lights, and police and fire protection.

Adapted from:

Name______Date______

Three Levels of Government

Three Levels of Government – Answer Key

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