Materials:

• Large pieces of chart paper
• Small cards
• Glue sticks
• Markers
• Pencils
• Lined paper
• Devices for research

Anticipate:  

• Before this lesson, review with students Article II, the powers of the presidency, and roles of the presidency. They will need to be familiar with this information to complete the lesson activities.
• Ask students to come to class prepared with 3 current events.
• The teacher can bring specific focus to the role of the president by asking students to find a current event issue upon which they believe the president has powers to act.
• Alternatively, the teacher can use topics (or encourage students to pick topics) from Think the Vote.

Engage:  

• To begin, assign or allow students to form groups of 3-4 students.
• Students should have access to a device for research, 2 large pieces of chart paper, 12-16 small cards, and a glue stick.
• Ask the students to create a T-chart with the following headings on one large piece of chart paper:
  • Commander-in-Chief
  • Chief Diplomat
  • Chief Executive
  • Chief Legislator
  • Legislative Branch
  • Judicial Branch
• Next, have each student collect 3 of the smaller cards and write the 3 current events they were assigned to bring to class, one on each card, and share them with their group.
• Alternatively, you can have cards prepared with Think the Vote topics.
• Allow the students 10-15 minutes to discuss and sort their current events into the above categories.
• Students may use their devices at this step to research, if needed.
• With the same group, have students choose two current events to justify their sorting using the steps that follow. One current event will demonstrate the role of the executive, and the other will demonstrate the role of one of the two other branches–legislative or judicial.

• Instruct students to take their remaining piece of chart paper and fold it in half. Then have them split the front flap, turning the chart paper into a giant two-panel foldable.

• The giant two-panel foldable will look like this:

• The front flap will detail the current event, problem, or Think the Vote topic that the group thinks the president should solve.

• On the right interior flap, students should state the category the current event falls under. It will be either one of the roles of the executive or the other two branches of government.
• On the left interior flap, the group should explain in a few sentences why they sorted the problem into that category, giving evidence and reasoning to justify their choice.

• When time has expired, students should mount their T-chart and foldable to the wall and put their materials away for the gallery walk.

Explore:  

• Transition students to the next activity, in which they will walk around the classroom to view their peers’ work using the steps that follow:

• • Instruct students to move to each group’s giant foldable and consider the question or problem on the front flap.
  • Next, ask the group to pose an answer to the question of which role of the president this falls under and why, before lifting the flap to read the other group’s work.
  •  Then compare their answer to the original group’s answer.

• Have students repeat the process until all posters have been viewed.
• Return students to their regular seats and debrief in their groups or as a class. You can choose to use a selection from the discussion questions below or create your own.
• Questions for Discussion:
  • When considering the current events your group brought, what clues helped you decide which role of the president—or another branch—might be involved in solving each issue?
  • How does understanding Article II and the powers of the presidency help you determine which current events fall under executive authority?
  • What specific characteristics made a current event seem like it would best fit under the president’s role as Commander-in-Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Executive, or Chief Legislator?
  • For events you categorized under the legislative or judicial branch, what made you decide that these issues might not be best suited to presidential action?
  • After viewing other groups’ foldables, were there any classifications that surprised you? Why or why not?
  • Can you think of an example where the president might need to collaborate with another branch to effectively address an issue? Why might this be important for achieving balanced government action?
  • Why do you think the Constitution assigns some powers to the executive branch and others to the legislative or judicial branches? How does this separation of powers benefit our government?

Assess and Reflect

• Finally, students will examine a current event issue or problem on their own in writing.
• Ask students to work independently. This will serve as their assessment for the lesson.
• Present the students with a current event issue, Think the Vote topic, or other problem that was not used by any of the groups in class.
• Ask the students to respond in writing to the following questions:
• Is this an issue that falls under the powers of the president? Why or why not?
• Which role does it fall under? Or which is the best fit?
• Could this issue be addressed in part or wholly by another branch of government?

Extend

• Participate in Think the Vote.
• You may choose to do this activity again with the focus on the powers of the legislative and judicial branches,