Unit 3: Building a Government - Mr. B's Social Studies

How do you build a government that limits its own power — and who decides what the Constitution means?

Why did America’s first government fail — and what does that failure teach us about power?
How do checks and balances actually work when they are tested?
When the Constitution is unclear, who gets the final say?

Signature project: The Constitutional CBA — the state-required Civics assessment, run as a SCOTUS-style debate. Built in December, argued in January, wrapping up by the end of Semester 1.

Note: This unit carries the required Washington State Civics CBA.

Activities & Games

Constitution Review Review the key ideas and provisions of the Constitution. No branch of government gets to hold all the power alone. Separation of Powers Checks and Balances The framers split government into three branches — one to make laws, one to carry them out, one to judge them — so no single branch has all the power. Every branch gets a way to push back on the others — like the president being able to veto Congress, and Congress being able to override that veto. SCOTUS Debate Project Research and debate landmark Supreme Court cases. The Supreme Court gets the final word on what the Constitution means. Judicial Review Landmark Case The Supreme Court’s power to say “that law breaks the Constitution, so it doesn’t count” — the Court’s biggest trump card. A Supreme Court case so important it changes how the Constitution is understood going forward, not just for the people in that one case.

Readings

Middle School

Advanced