Civic Literacy · Checks-and-balances route puzzle
Branches in Action
Route a bill, a nomination, and a court case through a working map of the federal government. A wrong turn changes what can happen next.
Learning goal & teacher directions
Learning goal: Explain the sequence of federal powers and checks, including veto responses, Senate consent, appointments, and judicial review.
- Keep the bill, nomination, and case distinct. The routing map offers different actions for each.
- Have students justify why a route is legally available before dispatching a work file. Use the reversible action log to compare alternatives.
- The pathways simplify federal procedures for classroom practice. A court petition does not automatically receive Supreme Court review.
Progress saves in this browser when browser storage is available. It is not a student profile. No names are needed. Use the feedback and closing questions to discuss the reasoning behind a decision.
Branches
in action.
Get three files through the system. Enact a bill, fill a Supreme Court vacancy, and finish a selected federal court case. Every successful order uses one work session.
The proposed federal program needs constitutional passage before an executive agency can administer it.
Three unfinished matters. Choose a file, then send an order to a branch.
Open the dispatch log (0)
- The first successful order will appear here.
Course connections
Reviewed NC references: CL.C&G.2
Voluntary national references: D2.Civ.1.9-12
Compare the activity’s scope with your own course requirements. These connections identify practice opportunities; they do not establish full standards mastery or a match for every state.