A tour guide in Washington, D.C. has dropped a stack of note cards, and students sort 15 mixed-up people, jobs, and actions into the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The cards include Commands the military, Holds trials, Meets in the Capitol, and Vice President. Two Think About It questions finish the page. This 3-page 3rd grade civics sort matches C3 Framework D2.Civ.1.3-5, and the answer key puts five cards in each branch with sample answers.
D2.Civ.1.3-5
“Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times and places.”
The full sort, which separates who each official is (Senator, Justice, Vice President) from what each branch does, such as signing a bill or deciding if a law is fair.
Fifteen cards, among them President, Senator, Supreme Court Justice, Signs a bill into law, Votes on a new law, and Explains the Constitution.
Students write each card under one of three branch headings. Every branch gets five.
Question 1 asks which item was hardest to place and why. Question 2 asks students to add one new person, job, or fact to each branch.
Cut and glue
Cut the word bank into cards so students can move them before they commit. Signs a bill into law and Votes on a new law are the pair most often swapped.
Discussion starter
Vice President is worth a class talk. The key notes that the Vice President also has a job in the Senate, which turns question 1 into a real debate.
Small group
Groups of three can each take a branch and claim the cards they want. The five-per-branch split gives them a quick way to check their totals.
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