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Lesson Plan-Branches of US Government
Class level: Beginning Literacy/Low Beginning
Topic: Identify the three branches of government
Length: Two Hours
Objective(s) including Benchmarks from Virginia’s Adult ESOL Content Standards:
For Beginning Literacy:
L1.1b) Comprehend learned phrases, sentences, and questions with basic English grammatical forms in familiar face-toface situations.
L1.2a) Follow one-step directions and instructions, with model.
L1.2b) Respond to very simple yes/no questions in a familiar context.
R1.1a) Read from left to right, top to bottom, and front to back.
R1.3a) Identify previously learned vocabulary and phrases when prompted.
W1.2a) Write simple learned phrases.
For Low Beginning:
L2.1b) Respond appropriately (verbally or nonverbally) to simple learned phrases, questions, and sentences in a faceto-face situation.
L2.2 a) Follow one-step instructions and commands.
L2.2 b) Respond to simple yes/no questions in familiar contexts.
L2.2.c) Respond to an open-ended question in familiar contexts.
R2.3 b) Use realia or visuals to understand new vocabulary.
Linguistic skills:
Answer and ask questions
Sort information
Follow oral and written directions
Participate in group discussions
Workplace competencies:
Participate as a team member in a culturally diverse environment
Understand how social, organizational, and technical systems work to function effectively in them
Materials/Equipment:
 Pictures, board, pencils, paper, 2 fly swatters (at the dollar store!) markers
 Images (U.S. Capitol, White House, and Supreme Court)
 The United States Government text
 Concentration cards
 Branches of Government Cloze activity
Stages of the Lesson Plan
Warm Up/Review
Tape pictures of iconic DC locations on the board, i.e., the US Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument,
The Lincoln Memorial, The MLK Jr. Memorial, Supreme Court, etc.
Ask students yes/no questions like, “Have you visited here?” “Is this a small building?” “Is this building important?”
“Do you have a similar building in your country?” Then progress to wh- questions like “What city is this place in?” “Who
works here?” Assuming the wh-questions will be more difficult, use this as an assessment tool.
Introduction/Presentation
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Show the pictures of the US Capitol, White House, and Supreme Court and the corresponding people who work at each
location. Describe that these three buildings house the groups of people that represent the country. See attached
images. Present the pictures and words of each person and group them with the appropriate building picture and
word(s) on the board. Practice repeating together the names of the branches of government, buildings, and roles and
reading the vocabulary words and phrases.
Study Circle on EL/Civics Gateways for Teachers
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ELLs in the Workplace
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3
Guided Practice
Concentration Game
Locate or create matching cards (with the three branches of government) using the vocabulary phrases, words and
images. Groups of 2-3 learners are given matching sets of cards. They turn them all face down on the table, swirling
them to randomize the matches. Learners take turns turning over two cards simultaneously, looking for the match of
the word(s) and the picture. Learners get a point for each match they find and remove from the “pool.” The teacher
walks around and evaluates each student group.
Communicative Practice
Afterwards, play a short game of Flyswatter tag. On the board, randomly arrange the pictures. Count off learners into
two teams. Line the teams up, each person standing behind the next, with the first person in the line facing the board,
standing about six feet away. Give the first person of each team a plastic flyswatter. Ask questions for example,
“Who is the president?” “What building does he work in?” “What branch of government is the President’s job?”
Repeat for each branch.
The first learner to swat the correct word(s)/picture on the board with their flyswatter earns a point for his/her team.
Learners can swat the word(s) as soon as they figure out which word(s) it is. After each word, the learners with
flyswatters hand their flyswatters to the person behind them and rotate to the back of the line. The team with the
most points wins.
(Beware of close proximity to other classes because of the noise!)
If you have a multi-level group with intermediate level learners, you can use the attached reading to expand their
learning. Have them either read to each other in pairs or in groups The Branches of Government (attached) to give
more context.
Application/Extension
Create a worksheet using the same pictures you used in the guided practice. Include a word bank. Have students write
the correct word(s) beside each picture. Have the students complete the worksheet for the end of class or homework.
Intermediate level students could use the more advanced cloze activity worksheet. They can check their work by
looking back at the reading.
Evaluation/Assessment
Monitor the room as the students play the games and check for comprehension. Slow down, repeat, or rephrase as
necessary.
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Images
The Lincoln Memorial
The Washington Monument
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Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
5
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
The Supreme Court
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The US Capitol
The White House
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Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
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Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
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The Executive Branch-President-Barack Obama
The Legislative Branch-Congress
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The Judicial Branch - The Supreme Court Justices
Study Circle on EL/Civics Gateways for Teachers
March 2013
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
ELLs in the Workplace
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
9
The United States Government
Government is a group of people who run a country. The Government has many jobs.
 It provides services for people
 It makes laws that everyone agrees to follow
 It keeps people safe
In 1787, the people decided the United States needed a new
government. They wrote a plan for how this new government would
work. A plan for government is called a constitution.
The plan they wrote gives government three jobs:
 To make laws
 To put laws into action
 To make sure that laws are fair.
In the United States, people choose their leaders by voting. These leaders make
decisions for the people. These leaders run the government.
The Three Branches of Government
The United States Government has three parts. The parts are the executive, the
legislative, and the judicial. The parts are often called branches. Each branch has its own job. Together the
branches make the government work.
 The legislative branch makes laws
 The executive branch puts laws into action
 The judicial branch makes sure that laws are fair.
Government Powers
The government needs power to do its job. The United States government is set
up so the power is shared by the three branches. No one branch has all the
power. Each branch can help control the power of the other two branches.
This is called checks and balances.
Adapted from National Geographic’s Reading Expeditions Government in Action by Michael Frank
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Concentration cards:
The Supreme Court
The US Capitol
The White House
President Barack Obama
The Executive Branchputs laws into action.
Study Circle on EL/Civics Gateways for Teachers
March 2013
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
ELLs in the Workplace
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
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Congress
The Legislative Branchmakes laws.
The Supreme Court Justices
The Judicial Branchmake sure that laws are fair.
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The United States Government-cloze activity
Directions-use the vocabulary to fill in the blanks below:
Vocabulary
judicial
voting
three
branch
government
legislative
executive
constitution
__________ is a group of people who run a country. The Government has many jobs.
 It provides services for people
 It makes laws that everyone agrees to follow
 It keeps people safe
In 1787, the people decided the United States needed a new
government. They wrote a plan for how this new government would
work. A plan for government is called a __________.
The plan they wrote gives government three jobs:
 To make laws
 To put laws into action
 To make sure that laws are fair.
In the United States, people choose their leaders by _______. These leaders make
decisions for the people. These leaders run the government.
The Three Branches of Government
The United States Government has _____ parts. The parts are the executive, the
legislative, and the judicial. The parts are often called branches. Each _____ has its own job. Together the
branches make the government work.
 The ________ branch makes laws
 The ________ branch puts laws into action
 The ________ branch makes sure that laws are fair.
Study Circle on EL/Civics Gateways for Teachers
March 2013
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
ELLs in the Workplace
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center