Lesson Plan 6 The Presidents Cabinet Seventh Grade Civics Goal: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills

to demonstrate their understanding the governmental system of the United States. Objectives: Working both individually and in groups, students will be able to interpret Article section II of the Constitution and explore the role and significance of the Presidents Cabinet. Required Materials: PowerPoint Presentation/Cabinet Exercise worksheets/List of prompts for the Cabinet Exercise. Detailed Lesson: Warm up Activity: Students will be asked to write a few sentences elaborating on two of the oral presentations given during Fridays Current Events Day. Students will be encouraged to look back at their notes they were prompted to record during said presentations. After the students are given roughly five minutes to write their thoughts, volunteers will be asked to share their recount of the two current events presentations he or she chose to elaborate on. This entire process will take a little under ten minutes to complete in its entirety. Activity for the day: Todays class will begin with a PowerPoint that will introduce the topic of the Presidents Cabinet. The beginning of the PowerPoint will consist of mostly pictures to see if students can identify high profile members of President Obamas cabinet during his first term as president. The presentation will then begin to elaborate on the role and responsibilities of the Cabinet. A portion of Article II section 2 of the Constitution is included within the presentation, so students can understand where the Presidents ability to have a cabinet originates. Students will be called upon individually to read one sentence of the section of the constitution included in the presentation. The remainder of the presentation lists the fifteen Executive Departments within the Presidents Cabinet. Students will be instructed to take careful notes during the presentation of this PowerPoint, and to copy all fifteen of the Executive Departments listed, as students will need this information for future classes. This PowerPoint should take an estimated 10 minutes to complete. Here is the link to the presentation: http://www.scribd.com/doc/120517914/ThePresident-s-Cabinet For the remainder of the class, a stimulation exercise will be utilized for students to understand the significance of the assistance and guidance the cabinet provides for the President. The class will be divided into groups consisting of four of five students. Each group will chose one

President, while the three or four remaining students will be cabinet members. Each student who is designated as a cabinet member will be given a sheet of paper with information relating to the United States relations with a foreign nation, education, and homeland security. Questions will be asked to the President of the group, who will have no knowledge of the information needed to answer said questions, prompting the Presidents to turn to their cabinets for advice and information on the situation. Thus, students will mirror efforts by the executive branch with the completion of this exercise. The prompts for this exercise are located at the end of The Presidents Cabinet PowerPoint Presentation. Wrap up Activity: Students will be asked to write the role of the cabinet in their notebooks, and discuss their position during the role playing activity done in class. Students will be asked how their position fits in to the Executive Branch Homework: Students will be supplemented with a worksheet about the Secretaries of the Executive Departments. Students will also be cautioned ahead of time that something is off with the homework reading, and it will be up to them to decipher what is missing from the worksheet when comparing the sheet to their notes taken in class during the PowerPoint Slide. Whats off about this worksheet is the Department of Homeland Security is missing from the list of Secretaries, hence it was written before 9/11/2001. Part of the next classs in class research assignment will be to research the origin of the Department of Homeland Security. Here is the link to the homework worksheet: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/19.htm

The Presidents Cabinet: The President Congratulations! You have been elected President of the United States. As President, you have numerous responsibilities, one of them being addressing the public on issues that your Executive Departments deal with. Since the Presidency possesses so many responsibilities, you have the advice and assistance from your cabinet when making decisions to promote the general welfare of our nation. In just a few moments, a Presidential Press Conference will be held, during which you are responsible for addressing issues that the Secretaries of your Cabinet must advise you on before you address to the Nation. It is your job to take notes as your secretaries brief you on issues. Use the space below to take notes about what you will share with the class during the Press Conference.

The Presidents Cabinet: The Secretary of State Congratulations! You have been appointed to the position of Secretary of State. It is your responsibility to advise the President on foreign-policy issues, carry out the country's foreign policy, maintains relations between foreign countries and the United States, negotiate treaties and agreements with foreign nations, and speak for the United States in the United Nations. Seeing as the President is responsible for so many things, it is your job to brief the president on the state of the following foreign nations. The President has no knowledge of this information because he has been handling other Presidential responsibilities! After all, the President is a very busy person! However, he will be asked about this information in a Press conference today. It is your job to relay this information to the President so he can brief the nation on the state of foreign affairs. The Current State of Foreign Nations: 1) Haiti: The Haitian government is asking other countries to provide emergency humanitarian aid after Hurricane Sandy caused major damage to the nation. Though the eye of the storm passed over Haiti, the passing hurricane caused many rivers to overflow. The Haitian government is estimating that 70% of the crops in Haiti's south are destroyed. There is concern over what the Haitians will do for food. Officials say that as many as 54 people died. The United Nations said that 1.6 million people were affected. Haiti is still struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake nearly two years ago. 2) Turkey: The leader of the country of Turkey says Kurdish rebels have detonated a car bomb in the southeast region of Turkey. The bomb has reportedly killed 18 people. The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the explosion occurred Sunday in the town of Semdinli, near the border with Iraq. The bomb went off close to a wedding celebration. Erdogan blamed the attack on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is fighting for selfrule in Turkey's southeast and is active in Semdinli. Hundreds of Kurdish inmates are on a hunger strike to demand increased rights for Kurds, and tens of thousands of people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984.

3) Israel: Israel's military chief of staff has toured the Golan Heights a day after three Syrian tanks entered a military-free zone set up in a 1974. Israel complained to U.N. peacekeepers over the invasion. Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told Israeli soldiers on Sunday to be on high alert, warning that violence from Syria's civil war might reach Israel. Several Syrian bombs, apparently misfired, have exploded inside Israel. Israel captured the Golan Heights area from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. Before that, Syria used the highlands to intrude on Israeli villages below. The military free zone was created after the 1973 Mideast war.

The Presidents Cabinet: The Secretary of Homeland Security Congratulations! You have been appointed to the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. It is your responsibility to advise the President on possible terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as hurricanes, blizzards and tornados within the United States. Since the President is responsible for so many things, it is your job to brief the president on possible security threats to our nation. The President has no knowledge of this information because he has been handling other Presidential responsibilities! After all, the President is a very busy person! However, he will be asked about this information in a Press conference today. It is your job to relay this information to the President so he can brief the nation on the state of the nations security. Current Threats to the United States National Security: 1) Hurricane Sandy: Five days after Superstorm Sandy made landfall, areas in the northeast such as the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania still have downed power lines, flooded homes and crippled transportation systems. The storm could bring temperatures as low as the 20s and "strong gusty winds," rain and coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service. With overnight temperatures dropping, the 874,000 customers without power in New York state, most of them in New York City, Long Island and the northern suburbs, were urged to go to shelters for heat. The city also planned to hand out blankets to residents who refuse to leave their homes despite the lack of power and heat. 2) Bomb Threat in Los Angeles: An anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat on a United Airlines flight scheduled to leave from LAX to London on Saturday evening, according to multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. Flight 934, bound for Heathrow Airport, was moved to a secure part of LAX and was examined, according to the sources, which were not authorized to discuss the case and didnt want to be identified. The sources said the call came from a female caller using a Las Vegas payphone. 3) Suspicious devices on Airlines: A TransLink attendant at the Metro-town SkyTrain Station in Burnaby found a suspicious device roughly six hours after a makeshift bomb was discovered on the tracks in Surrey.

While Transit police said early indications were that it doesnt look anything like the Surrey device, as of 10 p.m. Friday, an RCMP bomb disposal unit was still trying to determine whether the Burnaby discovery was dangerous.

The Presidents Cabinet: The Secretary of Education Congratulations! You have been appointed to the position of Secretary of Education. It is your responsibility to advise the President on providing money and grants for educational programs and services. Since the President is responsible for so many things, it is your job to brief the president on possible security threats to our nations. The President has no knowledge of this information because he has been handling other Presidential responsibilities! After all, the President is a very busy person! However, he will be asked about this information in a Press conference today. It is your job to relay this information to the President so he can brief the nation on educational grants and services. Current issues with Federal Education Grants and Legislation: 1) Changes to the Pell Grant Program: Thousands of college students affected this fall by a change in the duration of Pell grants, which help students from lower-earning families go to college. The grants, once capped at eight years, now have a lifetime limit of six years or 12 full-time semesters. Last year about 64,000 of the 9.4 million students receiving Pell grants had received them longer than six years. There is now concern about when students will be cut off from their Pell Grants. Schools now are working to notify students nearing their lifetime maximum. Most students will be notified of the cutoff after receiving Pell Grants for the first 4.5 years. 2) Fixing Financial Aid for Students: Americans are deeply worried about our system of higher education. In fact, almost 90% of Americans believe that higher education is in crisis. Between 2000 and 2010, state and local funding per student for higher education fell by 21%. This follows decades of declining investment and fuels massive tuition hikes, which have hit students hard. About 84 percent of young adults believe that making college more affordable should be a priority for Congress. The federal debt and the Budget Control Act have increased pressure on Congress for across-the-board cuts, including further cuts to education. 88% of young people agree that increasing financial aid and making loans more affordable for post-secondary education and training helps make the economy stronger. 3) Extending the Race to the Top Program Because of Hurricane Sandy: The U.S. Department of Education has set a new deadline for the Race to the Top district competition after Hurricane Sandy thwarted the original Oct. 30 due date.

Applications for districts in most states will be due Friday, Nov. 2. Districts in states that have been declared federal disaster areas because of Hurricane Sandy have until Wednesday, Nov. 7 to apply. That means the extension applies to districts in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Virginia, West Virginia. Having a few extra days to complete the application process probably won't help districts that are running into trouble completing a key requirement of the contest: getting their teachers' unions to sign onto their application.

The Presidents Cabinet: The Secretary Agriculture Congratulations! You have been appointed to the position of Secretary of Agriculture. It is your responsibility to advise the President on the safety and regulation of food production and the governments relationships U.S. farmers. Since the President is responsible for so many things, it is your job to brief the president on news about the regulation of food production and relations with American farmers. The President has no knowledge of this information because he has been handling other Presidential responsibilities! After all, the President is a very busy person! However, he will be asked about this information in a Press conference today. It is your job to relay this information to the President so he can brief the nation on the regulation of food production in the United States. 1) Meat Recalls: Black Earth Meat Market is recalling approximately 99 pounds of beef tongue products because they may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from cattle. The problem was discovered during a routine Food Safety Assessment at the establishment. Tonsils are considered a risk and must be removed from cattle of all ages. Wayne Farms Inc., is recalling approximately 28,528 pounds of frozen, fully cooked, chicken products because they may contain foreign materialspieces of a plastic pen. The products were produced on Oct. 3, 2012. The products bear the USDA mark of inspection and the case codes 372277174001 through 372277254005 on the label. The products were distributed to a facility in Kentucky for further processing into potential retail products. 2) Milk Production: Milk production in the 23 major States during September totaled 14.7 billion pounds. The amount of milked produced in the United States has decreased 0.5 % from September of 2011. The total amount of milk produced in August of 2012 was estimated 15.3 billion pounds, down slightly from milk production in August of 2011. The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major States was 8.47 million head, 5,000 head more than September 2011, but 25,000 head less than August 2012. Primary data used to determine these estimates were obtained from a sample of producers. Questionnaires are mailed to producers near the end of the month to obtain data for the first day of the month. Additional reports are obtained by telephone, as needed, to supplement the mail response.

3) Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan M. Garcia is urging farmers and ranchers affected by Hurricane Sandy to keep detailed records of all losses, including livestock death losses, as well as expenses for such things as feed purchases and extraordinary costs because of lost supplies and or increased transportation costs. FSA recommends that owners and producers record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences, including:

Documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses; Dates of death supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts; Costs of transporting livestock to safer grounds or to move animals to new pastures; Feed purchases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed; Crop records, including seed and fertilizer purchases, planting and production records; Pictures of on-farm storage facilities that were destroyed by wind or flood waters; and Evidence of damaged farm land.

USDA will continue working with state and local officials, as well as our federal partners, to make sure people have the necessary resources to recover from this challenge.