United States Constitution
Session 4: Checks and Balances in the Constitution

Materials

• Class textbook with a copy of the United States Constitution (downloadable at <http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_Constitution.shtml>)
• Computer with Internet access

Instructional Activities

1. Display the following prompt on the board or overhead:
   
   Have you ever played a team sport? Describe how “scouting” of the other team’s strengths and weaknesses helps your team prepare for an upcoming game.
   
   After students have had a few minutes to write about their experiences, let them share their responses with each other in pairs and then share with the whole class.
   
   
2. Explain that the process of anticipating another person’s action and developing a strategy to counter it is just what the framers of the Constitution were engaged in. They were establishing a new government and creating government branches with new powers. However, many people were concerned that a “too-powerful” government would trample on people’s rights, just as the king and Parliament had done. They decided to write into the Constitution a set of “checks and balances” — a kind of game plan — that would keep any one part of the government from becoming too powerful.
   
   
3. Have the students use their textbooks to take notes on the checks and balances found in the Constitution. Have them record their data on a chart.