Three Branches of State Government - Executive, Legislative, Judicial with Specific Member Counts

Land acknowledgment + Sovereignty Promise recite + brief civic orientation: name the state capital city.

• Lead orientation
• Affirm: 'Our state has its own three branches of government - it is not just a copy of the federal government'
• Show state-capitol photo or virtual tour

Display MG-6 Three Branches diagram. Walk through each branch: EXECUTIVE - Governor (head of state executive), Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet (Treasurer, Controller, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, etc. - LOCALIZE to state). LEGISLATIVE - State Senate (CA: 40 members; TX: 31; NY: 63 - LOCALIZE) + State Assembly/House (CA: 80 members; TX: 150; NY: 150 - LOCALIZE). JUDICIAL - State Supreme Court (CA: 7 justices; TX: 9 justices; NY: 7 judges of the Court of Appeals - LOCALIZE) + Courts of Appeal + Superior Courts. Identify state-capitol building. Conduct 6-minute three-branches role-play with chairs.

• Each branch has specific people in specific roles - it is not abstract.

  model Executive: Governor + cabinet. Legislative: State Senate ([N] members) + State Assembly/House ([N] members). Judicial: State Supreme Court ([N] justices) + Courts of Appeal + Superior Courts.

  prompt Name the three branches and one specific feature of each in our state.

• Name the three branches.
• Name one specific officer or member count per branch.

Children examine MG-6 diagram physically. Brief State Archive Card application: where is the state government's primary source - the state constitution? It is in the state archive (Sacramento for CA, Austin for TX, Albany for NY). The diagram itself is a secondary source we cross-reference to the primary.

M-4-F-CIV-13-A Diagram Physical / non-image

MG-6 24x18 diagram with three columns (EXECUTIVE / LEGISLATIVE / JUDICIAL) and specific state-officer-and-member-count labels. Arrows showing checks-and-balances. State capitol silhouette at bottom. Style: iCivics-clean diagram, primary colors, large-print labels. LOCALIZE: substitute state-specific structure and counts.

MG-6 Diagram Physical / non-image

Three Branches of State Government - 24x18-inch diagram (CONCRETE EXAMPLE: California). Three columns: EXECUTIVE (Governor + Lt. Governor + Cabinet - State Treasurer, State Controller, State Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, State Board of Equalization); LEGISLATIVE (State Senate 40 members + State Assembly 80 members - California specific numbers; localize to state); JUDICIAL (California Supreme Court 7 justices + Courts of Appeal + Superior Courts). Arrows showing checks-and-balances. Bottom: the state capitol building silhouette (Sacramento for CA). Style: iCivics-clean diagram, primary colors, large-print labels. LOCALIZE: substitute state-specific structure, member counts, building.

M-4-F-CIV-13-B Photograph

High-resolution photo of state capitol building exterior (Sacramento for CA - California State Capitol c. 1869; Austin for TX - Texas State Capitol c. 1888; Albany for NY - New York State Capitol c. 1899). Optional 3-minute virtual tour video of state-capitol rotunda and legislative chambers. Style: documentary photography. LOCALIZE.

• In pairs, complete the 3-column three-branches chart

  scaffold Pre-filled branch names; pairs fill in specific officers and member counts
• Conduct three-branches role-play - one child as governor, three children as state senators, three children as assembly/house members, two children as justices

  scaffold Teacher facilitates short role-play vignette: a bill passes from legislature to governor

• Name the three branches of state government.
• Name one officer per branch.
• Name the member count of one chamber.

• Restate three-branches principle
• Preview lesson 14 - bill-to-law tracing

• Show the three-branches chart to a caregiver. Ask: 'Have you ever visited our state capitol building?' Discuss.