Shaun Reardon

Lesson #10
Theme: Executive Cabinet Activity
Grade: American Government, Grade 12
Goals:
Understand the workings of the United States government
Understanding the U.S. constitution
Objectives:
Students will:
Analyze the different unique cabinet positions
Understand how the cabinet advises the president on high level issues
Execute and implement, as department leaders, requests of the president
Utilize critical thinking and debate skills in a group setting
Materials:
Textbook
Computer
Projector
Guidelines for the activity
Name cards
Detailed Lesson:
A. Warm-Up: For the first part of the class I will reemphasize what the iron
triangle is and why it is important in the policymaking process. I will write up
a similar example to the one yesterday on the board for Common Core. This
will be a good prelude into our activity for today. (5-10 minutes)
B. Main Activity: This activity today is to have the students learn the dynamic of
the cabinet in a personal activity/game. I will have each student pick a
cabinet department to represent in the activity. I will be the president to who
the other members report to me. I will have each persons department move
into a circle around my desk at the center. Each department will have a
description of what they do with a list of things that are available to them
(agencies, powers, etc) (One example of this will be available at the bottom
of this document.) I will give the students (5 minutes to read over the list) I
will have 3 crisis situations prepared for the cabinet to deal with. They only
have 10 minutes to deal with each situation. Throughout the activity I want
the students to understand and pick up on the following:
i. How each department deals with certain situations

ii. How they can utilize their subordinate agencies to accomplish

the task
iii. How each secretary communicates to the president
The situations will be the following:
1. As the president one of the biggest things I set on my agenda was
healthcare. Healthcare reform finally passed Congress and it is now
time to implement it to the American people. The biggest problems are
coming from the failure of the website to launch, the possibility of
hacking so citizens can get their important information stolen lawsuits
that are coming from states against provisions of it.
a. Which departments can help with these problems?
b. Which resources can be utilized to help alleviate these problems?
2. A hurricane has devastated the gulf coast area a couple days ago.
Hundreds have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced as a
result of this; many of these are vets and Native Americans.
Emergency materials have been requested and several states have
enacted states of emergency. There has been backlash from citizens
stating that the government has not been doing enough.
a. Which departments can help with this situation?
b. Which resources can be utilized to help alleviate these problems?
3. There has been an influx of illegal immigrants that have begun to
come over the border. As a result people have been moving into the
cities and homes have started to become slums with overcrowding also
becoming an issue. Also because of this the schools have reached
capacity and they are calling for more resources. There has also been a
call for more food to be brought in to help feed all of these people. Jobs
have also become scarce because of all of the competition.
a. Which departments can help with this situation?
b. Which resources can be utilized to help alleviate these problems?
Wrap-Up: To reinforce the idea of the cabinet I will have a few students give
their ideas and thoughts of the activity in a final summary. I want the
students to recognize that the cabinet discussion can get confusing, there is
a lot to manage at once, and that there needs to be good communication
with the president. I will have them write a paragraph regarding their
thoughts and have them submit it at the end of class (5-7 minutes) I will also
have students turn in their agency profile.
Homework: Have students study for the quiz next class on the bureaucracy.

Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is a cabinet-level agency responsible for enforcing
the laws of the United States federal government. DOJ ensures public safety
against foreign and domestic threats, including terrorism, and preventing crime.
The department includes such venerable law enforcement agencies as the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US Marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). DOJ is led by the
United States Attorney General, the nations top law enforcement official and chief
legal adviser to the President. Another top DOJ official is the Solicitor General, who
represents the federal government in cases heard before the US Supreme Court. In
spite of its mandate to enforce the law, Justice Department officials have been
accused at times of bending or breaking the law to suit the political whims of an
administration. This has been especially true during the current reign of President
George W. Bush, whose attorneys general and solicitors general have been deeply
involved with extralegal aspects the Global War on Terrorism campaign.
- AllGov.com
(http://www.allgov.com/departments/department-of-justice?
detailsDepartmentID=573