Election Day is Upon Us

It’s that time of the year when Election Day is here!  Election Day is always the first Tuesday in the month of November.  There is where every four years we elect a President, like in the upcoming year, 2020.  Or we elect our local government officials from our towns or representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate.  The Government of the USA is split up into three branches of government: The Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch.  The Executive Branch is where the President is a part of and his/her group of advisors, known as their cabinet.  The President is elected every four years and can only serve a maximum of two, four-year terms.  The Legislative Branch is comprised of Congress; in the upper house is the Senate and in the lower house are the House of Representatives.  Senators are elected every six years and can serve for an unlimited amount of terms.  The representatives are elected every two years and can also serve for an unlimited amount of terms.  The Judicial Branch is where the Supreme Court sits.  The Supreme Court is made up of nine federal judges that serve for life, meaning that they do not have to be reelected, they can retire but they do not need to leave at a specific time.  The three branches of Government are also known as the separation of powers to make sure that not one person or group gets too powerful.  Voting in these elections is a privilege of being an American citizen.

Vocabulary Words:

Election Day (noun) – a day in which an election is held

Local government officials (noun) - public administration of towns and cities, counties, and district

Representatives (noun) - a person is chosen or appointed to act or speak another or others

Cabinet (noun) – a body of high ranking officials, consisting of top leaders of the executive branch

Maximum (adjective) – as great, high, or intense as possible

Terms (noun) – the set length of time for someone to serve in an elected office

Unlimited (adjective) – not restricted in terms of number

Federal judges (noun) – appointed by the President and serves for the national (USA) Government

Reelected (verb) – to elect someone to a further term in office

Retire (verb) – to leave ones job and stop work, usually due to old age or sometimes health reasons

Vocabulary Activity: Sentences

Using the 10 vocabulary words, write either ten independent sentences, or make up your own paragraph using the vocabulary words.

Grammar Point: The Use of Capital Letters

Whenever you are using the name of something or a specific place or term, you use a capital letter, just as you may write your name.  These are known as Proper Nouns.  A noun is a person, place, thing, or thought.  For example, the United States of America is a place but it is also a specific name of a place, so the first letter of each word in the name gets a capital letter.  Write five sentences using proper nouns.