Listen Carefully
Read Aloud
The Constitution separates/ the government’s power/ into three branches/ to prevent/ one person/ or group/ from having too much power./ The separation/ of government/ into three branches creates/ a system/ of checks and balances./ This means that/ each branch can block,/ or threaten to block,/ the actions of the other branches./ Here are/ some examples:/ the Senate (part of the legislative branch) can block/ a treaty signed/ by the president (the executive branch)./ In this example,/ the legislative branch is “checking/” the executive./ The U.S. Supreme Court (the judicial branch) can reject/ a law passed by Congress (the legislative branch)./
In this example,/ the judicial branch is “checking/” the legislative branch./ This separation/ of powers limits/ the power of the government/ and prevents/ the government/ from violating the rights of the people./