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Checks and Balances

Essential Question 

What are checks and balances, and why do they exist? 

Materials 

Engage 

To begin, give every student a copy of Handout A. Tell students that they will be learning about checks and balances in this lesson. Explain that this excerpt is written by James Madison in 1788 so some words may be unfamiliar to them. Then, read aloud Federalist No. 51, without stopping.  

“The great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same [branch], consists in giving to those who administer each [branch], the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others…Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place” (James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788) 

Once you have read the passage, task students with reading the passage individually with Handout A. Instruct them to read each section, stopping at the bolded words and understanding that section before moving on to the next.   

Give students 5 minutes to read. Once they have finished, pair students. Ask the class two questions in the style of a Think Pair Share: 

  • What do you think checks and balances are? 
  • Why does Madison think that checks and balances are important? 

 Pause after each question to collect or share student responses and correct student misunderstandings.  

Teacher note: Responses will vary across classes. Make sure that students are grasping the idea that checks and balances exist to make sure that no branch of government gets too strong. Checks and balances give power to other branches of government where they can change or fix something if that branch tries to act too powerfully.   

Explore 

For the main activity of the lesson, students will be participating in a Jigsaw Activity. For more detailed instructions see our Modes of Reading Teacher Support Document. The Jigsaw Activity assigns each student in their table groups or “home” groups into a different “expert group.” From there, students in the same “expert” group will read the assigned reading and become “experts” on their topic. After becoming experts, students will go back to their “home groups” and teach their topic. This allows each student to bring something unique to teach their table group.  

For this topic, students will need to be assigned to one of the three groups: Executive Branch, Judicial Branch, or Legislative Branch.  

Once students from their table group have been assigned a group, have them split into their expert groups and begin researching. Provide students with a version of Handout B and Handout C. Have students fill out the arrows for the section assigned to them. For example, a student assigned to the Legislative group would fill in the boxes “The legislative branch checks the judicial branch by…” and “The legislative branch checks the executive branch by…” Give students 7-10 minutes to read and fill out their section.  

Once they have finished, they send students back to their home group to teach the group about what they have learned. Other group members should fill out the other sections as those experts share.  

 

Assess and Reflect 

Once students have finished presenting to their home group have students discuss the following question or write to answer in their journal:  

In what ways were Madison’s ideas about checks and balances put in the United States Constitution? In other words, how does each branch make sure the other branches do not become too powerful? 

 

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