Washington State
Curriculum Based Assessment [CBA] Links to the National Archives and Records Administration's Primary Documents located at [web]www.ourdocuments.gov
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8th Grade

Checks and Balances (Civics)

Student assignment:

In a persuasive paper or presentation, you will:

  1. select an event and explain how the branches of the state or federal government exercised constitutional powers during this event,
  2. explain possible checks available to the branches of government during this event, and
  3. analyze whether the system of checks and balances was effective in this example.

Primary source documents from "Our Documents, 100 Milestone Source Documents from the National Archives and Records Administration," relating to this Curriculum Based Assessment [CBA]:

Important notes for using this section:

  • Following each sub-topic is a list representing specific documents that are believed to best illustrate a topic. Each document is linked to an interactive digital copy of the record itself, complete with description, background information, a transcribed copy [for convenience and for students having difficulty reading handwriting] and teaching suggestions, from the "Our Documents" web site [see [web]www.ourdocuments.gov]. Just click on the document title and it will take you to the specific "Our Documents" page.
  • In addition, there is a "Document Only" link which can be used in classrooms with fewer web connections. This is an "Adobe Acrobat" [.pdf] file and can be opened in advance and copied by the instructor or student directly, without a web connection, on any type of computer, as long as Adobe Acrobat is loaded on the computer. For a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat program [web]click here.

Sample Topics and Associated Primary Sources:

Development of Checks and Balances

Examples of Supreme Court Cases Demonstrating the Process of Judicial Review and the Way that Decisions can Change Over Time

Other Examples of Checks and Balances

Associated Washington State Standards {EALR}

  • Civics 2.1.2b - Describe the structure of state and federal government including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; federal, state, and local levels; and political parties.
  • Civics 2.3.2a - Describe the purposes of government and how its powers are acquired, used and justified.
  • Social Studies Critical Thinking Skills 3.1.3d - Analyze and evaluate the impact of ideas, events, and/or people on groups, environments, economic systems, and/or subsequent events.
  • Social Studies Skills 1.1.2d - Recognize relevant facts and ideas in social studies documents: evaluate bias of sources/authors; classify information as fact/opinion.

Scoring
EALR Scoring
(*for additional levels, see OSPI Scoring Rubric)
Civics 2.1.2b *at highest level... Accurately explains how two or more branches of government exercised constitutional powers in this event.
Civics 2.3.2a *at highest level... Accurately explains the checks (or possible checks) in regard to this event with two or more specific examples.
Social Studies Critical Thinking Skills 3.1.3d
Civics 2.1.2b		 *at highest level... Presents a clearly stated position/thesis analyzing whether the system of checks and balances worked in this example, with two or more reasons explicitly supported by evidence.
Social Studies Skills 1.1.2d *at highest level... Annotated bibliography includes a variety of resources from multiple perspectives. Annotations discuss reliability and credibility and show validity through comparison of resources.
National Archives and Records Administration
6125 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
http://www.archives.gov/pacific-alaska