| Teaching
Activity or using teachable moments
Help students to understand how
the system of checks and balances are used in
the government. As I was driving home one
day on the "parking lot" called I95 in
Virginia, I thought of a story to tell my
students to enable them to understand checks and
balances. The Founding Fathers, in fear
that our central government will become big,
powerful, and create unfair laws as King George
III did before the Revolution, created checks
and balances to prevent this situation.
This example is not the best, but it did help my
students grasp the concept. As a child, my
brother and I were able to have pop/soda on rare
occasions. When the treat was presented,
we were vigilant in watching the person pouring
the pop/soda into two glasses. The glasses
were set on the counter and my mother or father
would pour. As the pouring was taking
place, my brother and I would carefully lower
ourselves so our eyes would be level with the
two glasses on the counter. We watched to
make sure that each glass was a balance, fair,
and equal. Now, imagine my father or
mother pouring the soda as the President.
My brother is the judicial branch while I am the
legislative branch. We are making sure
that the soda/pop (law) is going to be fair and
not unconstitutional. If it is, it will not pass.
Senate
Powers:
I often view television not simply for
entertainment but link episodes or programs that
have great examples of history, constitution, or
government concepts into lessons.
One of the powers of the Senate is to approve
citizenship for immigrants. As a fan of
the television show, "Ugly Betty", I
remembered an episode where Betty's father was in
Mexico and could return because he did not
have the proper documents. To make a long
story short, Betty's boss at Meade, Wilimina
Slater, is caught by Betty doing something that
is not appropriate. She wants to tell her
boss, Daniel. Wilimina makes a deal with
Betty. Since Wilimina's father is a
Senator, she secures the proper documentation
for Betty's father enabling him to become a
citizen of the U.S. and return home. Since
many of my students also watch this program,
they were quite animated when the connection was
made.
Federal VS State Powers:
To develop understanding about federal and state
powers, both separate and shared, I often bring
into the lesson CSI, NCIS, and the newest one,
The Women's Murder Club." In one
episode of the Murder Club (great show), the
police officer (San Francisco) worked on a case
with the "Kiss me not killer" several
years ago. Later, the killer began to move
across state lines, etc. The FBI became
involved in the case. Use a map and show
students interstate vs. intrastate
examples. Other examples may include
kidnapping crossing state lines, bad checks,
etc. What level of crime is committed,
where, and the amount involved reflect the
federal, state or shared jurisdictions. |
The New Nation Unit
RESOURCES
FOR SOL 7D
