Chapter 8, Lesson 3Learning Target: How Government

Works

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

Some Background Knowledge…

From 1781 to 1783, the capital city of the United States was Philadelphia, PA…NOT Washington, D.C.

Why do you think that is?

The United States Capitol building has about 540 rooms. The bronze State of Freedom is the crowning feature of the dome on the Capitol.

Building on our Schema!We learned in the last unit on

Citizenship that government needs POWER and AUTHORITY to work.

One person can not have all of the POWER and AUTHORITY.

The POWER and AUTHORITY go to a group of people.

Building on Our Schema!We have learned that the Government is

like a tree. There are 3 branches that work together to keep our nation safe and equal.

Each branch has a different job. But they all work together.

Building on Our Schema!What is the capital of our state? What is the capital of our

NATION? National leaders meet and work in________________________________________!

Vocabulary:

Legislature – first branch that makes laws, or CongressExecutive branch – branch that signs laws, the

PresidentJudicial branch – branch that enforces laws; the CourtsMonument – a building or statue that helps people

remember a person or an event

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-Makes the Laws

-The people that make the laws are elected by the citizens

-They are members of CONGRESS (2 parts)

House of Representatives

Senate

EXECUTIVE BRANCH- Carries out the laws

- Makes sure that people follow the laws

- In a city/town, this person in charge is the mayor.

- In a state, this person in charge is the governor.

- In the country, this person in charge is the president.

JUDICIAL BRANCH- Decide what the laws mean

- The people that do this are called judges. The judges work in the courts and also help decide

if someone breaks the law.- -Some judges are voted in by the community and others are picked by the executive branch.

SYMBOLS of our Country

The bald eagle was chosen as our national bird in 1789. Why do you think we chose the bald eagle?

Symbols of our Country

13 stars/stripes = 13 original coloniesWhen Washington was president

50 stars = 50 states

Why RED? N Red shows hardinessWhy WHITE? White shows purity and innocenceWhy BLUE? Blue shows perseverance and justice

NOW 1959

THEN 1777

Memorials/MonumentsA monument is a building or statue that

helps people ___________________ a person or special event.

DISCUSSWhy are national symbols and

monuments important to people in the United States?

If you had the opportunity to chose a symbol or design a monument for our country, what would you chose/design and why?