SocialStudiesSheets
Grade 3The Three Branches

The Three Branches of Government Worksheet

Grade 3 civics worksheet covering the legislative, executive, and judicial branches: what each does, who leads it, and how checks work between them.

12 questions · Matching · Fill in the blank · Multiple choice · Application

Understanding how the United States government is organized is one of the first big ideas students meet in civics. This worksheet introduces Grade 3 students to the three branches: the legislative branch, which makes laws; the executive branch, which carries laws out; and the judicial branch, which decides whether laws follow the Constitution. Students move through three activity types — matching key terms, completing sentences with a word bank, and answering multiple-choice questions — so the work builds from simple recall toward real application. The sheet works well after a class read-aloud, a short video, or a discussion about how our government is set up. An answer key is built in, making it easy to check work at home or in the classroom.

The Three Branches of Government Worksheet — Grade 3

This worksheet will help you show what you know about the three branches of the U.S. government. Read each section carefully and follow the directions.

Word bank

  • judicial
  • laws
  • nine
  • President

Remember

  • The U.S. government has three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
  • Each branch has its own powers so that no single branch becomes too powerful.
  • Congress makes laws, the President carries them out, and courts interpret them.

Part A — Match each term to its description

Draw a line from each term in the left column to its matching description in the right column.

Choose from

  • A. The Supreme Court
  • B. A veto
  • C. The President
  • D. The legislative branch
  • E. The Senate and the House of Representatives
  1. 1.

    The branch of government that makes the laws

  2. 2.

    The leader of the executive branch

  3. 3.

    The highest court in the United States

  4. 4.

    The two parts of Congress

  5. 5.

    What it is called when the President rejects a bill

Part B — Fill in the blank using the word bank

Use one word from the word box at the top of this section to fill in each blank.

  1. 6.

    Congress has the power to make ____ for the United States.

  2. 7.

    The ____ branch includes the Supreme Court and other federal courts.

  3. 8.

    The Supreme Court has ____ justices who decide cases together.

  4. 9.

    The ____ signs bills passed by Congress to make them official laws.

Part C — Choose the best answer

Read each question and choose the best answer from the four choices given.

  1. 10.

    Which branch of government can decide that a law goes against the Constitution?

    1. A.The executive branch
    2. B.The legislative branch
    3. C.The judicial branch
    4. D.The state government
  2. 11.

    How many senators does each state send to the U.S. Senate?

    1. A.One
    2. B.Two
    3. C.Three
    4. D.Four
  3. 12.

    What happens when the President vetoes a bill?

    1. A.The bill becomes a law right away
    2. B.The bill is sent back to Congress
    3. C.The Supreme Court must decide on the bill
    4. D.The bill is sent to the state governments
Answer key

Part A — Match each term to its description

  1. 1.The legislative branch
  2. 2.The President
  3. 3.The Supreme Court
  4. 4.The Senate and the House of Representatives
  5. 5.A veto

Part B — Fill in the blank using the word bank

  1. 6.laws
  2. 7.judicial
  3. 8.nine
  4. 9.President

Part C — Choose the best answer

  1. 10.The judicial branch
  2. 11.Two
  3. 12.The bill is sent back to Congress

What this sheet teaches

  • Identify the three branches of government and the main job of each one.
  • Match key terms such as veto and Congress to their correct definitions.
  • Explain how one branch can check the power of another branch.

Notes for the adult

  • Students often think the President makes laws. Clarify that Congress writes and passes laws; the President signs or vetoes them.
  • Use a simple flowchart showing a bill moving from Congress to the President and back to clarify each branch's role in the process.
  • A student is ready to move on when they can name all three branches and give one example of each branch checking another.

What is on the page

Printed on one side, The Three Branches of Government Worksheet runs to three parts and twelve exercises. Matching, fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice work, in that order, so a student who has understood the material has to show it in more than one form before the page is finished.

Part A Match each term to its description sets five items against five lettered options, one lettered option per item, which means the last pair can be reached by elimination. Part B Fill in the blank using the word bank is fill-in-the-blank work off a printed word bank — four words for four blanks, an exact fit. Part C Choose the best answer asks three multiple-choice questions with four printed options each.

What it asks of the student

The Three Branches of Government Worksheet puts about 264 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 13 words.

Nothing on The Three Branches of Government Worksheet is answered on ruled lines — every response goes in a blank, against a printed option, or on the rule beside the question — so the whole of it fits on one side of paper and the full answer key runs to 32 words.

Where this one sits

The Three Branches of Government Worksheet is one of ten Civics & Government sheets on this site and one of five written for grade 3. two of them share its topic, the three branches, which is worth knowing before printing two that overlap.

The closest things to it are The Three Branches of Government Worksheet (grade 4) and The Bill of Rights Worksheet (grade 6). If The Three Branches of Government Worksheet lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the application sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.

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