Presidential Powers and Responsibilities Lesson Plan: Executive Command Game

Lesson Procedure:

1. Facilitate a class discussion about an important decision the president is facing today. What are the different stances and arguments that the president is hearing from constituents and congress? What factors must he consider in order to make the best decision? What should be the criteria for his decision making--should he overrule the will of the majority of people? Help students get a sense of how important presidential decisions are and how difficult it is to please everyone.
2. Tell the class they will have a chance to be the president virtually for a full four year term. They'll have the opportunity to make decisions for the country and experience the repercussions of those decisions.
3. Show the Presidential Power Movie. You may want to turn on closed captioning to aid students in comprehension.
4. Project the Worksheet for the class to see. Have volunteers answer the questions, and type in their responses as the class talks about each issue.
5. Pull up the Executive Command Game and walk students through the introduction and instructions. Because this game is very text heavy, students may be more motivated to stick with game play if you provide a goal within the game. For example, you may want to tell the class that they have 20 minutes to try to pass 5 laws on energy and 3 on education.
6. Allow students to explore the game with a partner for approximately 20 minutes.
7. Talk with the class about the strategies they used to be successful in the game. How do these strategies parallel the things the president needs to do in real life in order to use his power wisely?
8. Give students additional time to play the game independently. You may want to have them reflect in writing about what they learned.
9. Use the Executive Command Post-Game PowerPoint as an assessment or review tool.