All In a Day’s Work Name:

The Coolest Job in the Country!

Imagine you have been elected President of the United States. What do you
think would be the best part of the job? Having your own personal jet?
Living in the White House? Having a bowling alley in your house? (Yes,
there’s a one lane bowling alley in the basement of the White House!)

Being president is not just fun and games. You have real responsibilities.
Below is a list of things you would do as president of the United States.
Which do you think would be the hardest to do? Which do you think
would be the easiest?

Rank the tasks in each list from 1 (hardest) to 3 (easiest).

There is no correct answer! Use your own judgment.

____
2

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2

3
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3
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3

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2

2
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3
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3
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Anticipation Activity
All In a Day’s Work Name:

The President’s Rule Book Joe Biden is the

current president of
The President of the United States is the leader of our the United States. He
nation and the leader of the executive branch of was elected in
government. The Constitution of the United States gives all November 2020 and
took office on January
the rules for being president. It tells who can become 20, 2021.
president, what powers the president has, and some of the
roles and duties the president takes on.
Read it for yourself:

Lawmaking and the Prez

One of the President’s most important functions is not
in Article II—it’s in Article I, which talks about
Congress! (The Constitution can be sneaky that way.)
Congress is the lawmaking branch of government,
but the Constitution requires the president’s approval
before a bill can actually become a law. The president
either signs the bill to approve it or rejects the bill
with a veto and sends it back to Congress.

Reading p.1
 All In a Day’s Work Name:

Source: www.harris.senate.gov
Second In Command
The Constitution of the United States gives the president a helper: the
vice president. However, the Constitution doesn’t say much about
what the vice president does, except that the VP is also the president
of the Senate (one of the two lawmaking chambers in Congress). But
the VP only presides over the Senate to cast a tiebreaking vote or
when there is a ceremony. The rest of the time, the vice president
advises the president, travels the world negotiating with other
countries, helps carry out laws here at home, and is important to
many functions in the executive branch of government.

Kamala Harris is the current Vice

President of the United States.
Political Party Leaders
Source: www.joebiden.com

The president and vice president act as the leaders of their political
party. This role is not part of the Constitution, but has evolved over
time as part of the political process. A political party is an organized
group of people who share similar views and work to influence the
government in support of those views. As party leaders, the
president and vice president work to accomplish the party’s goals for
how the government should address the issues facing our nation.
Biden and Harris belong The Republican and Democratic parties are the two major political
to the Democratic Party. parties in the U.S.

Becoming President
In the United States, presidential elections happen every four years.
A president cannot serve more than two 4-year terms—a total of
eight years. This rule is found in the 22nd Amendment to the
Constitution, which was added in 1951. If a president has only
served one term and wants to be re-elected, that president ends up
spending a lot of time campaigning during the last year of the term.
If the president has already served a second term, often the vice
president will decide to become a presidential candidate. Many
presidents started out as the vice president.
Before the 2-term limit, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms in a
row! He took office in 1933 and died in
1945, a few months into his fourth term.

What If the President Dies?

There have been several times in the history of the United States
where a president has died. When that happens, the Constitution
provides that the vice president becomes president. It also gives
Congress the power to make a law saying who becomes
president if something happened to both the president and the
vice president. Congress did this in the Presidential Succession
Act, which puts the speaker of the House (the leader of the
House of Representatives) next in line after the vice president
and lists everyone who is in line after that.

Reading p.2
All In a Day’s Work Name:

A. I’ve Got the Power! M atch each responsibility of the

president and vice president with the correct power or duty
found in the Constitution.

President’s Responsibilities Powers & Duties Listed

in the Constitution:
1) ____ Lead weekly meetings where I ask the leaders of
executive branch departments for advice on how A. Power to carry out the laws
to handle the country’s most difficult problems.
B. Must protect and defend the
2) ____ Go to Congress and give my yearly “State of the Constitution
Union” speech on what’s happening in America.
C. Commander in Chief of the military
3) ____ Decide whether to approve or reject a bill that
Congress has sent me. D. Elected with the president to hold
office in the executive branch
4) ____ Follow the Constitution and the law even if I
disagree with it. E. May ask advisors, who lead parts of
the government, for their opinion on
5) ____ Decide whether to send more troops into war
different issues
knowing that some will die, but it will keep the
country safe.
F. Is the president of the Senate
6) ____ Make sure the Department of Homeland Security
properly carries out new airport safety laws that G. Pardon someone for a crime,
will anger some travelers. canceling their punishment

7) ____ Hold a press conference where I ask Congress to H. Make treaties with other countries
spend more money on space exploration. (with Senate approval)

8) ____ Decide whether to let someone out of prison I. Take office as president if the
based on the prisoner’s good conduct and current president dies, resigns, or is
particular circumstances unable to do the job
9) ____ Negotiate an agreement with another country J. Choose new Supreme Court justices
that would lower the taxes each one adds to the (with Senate approval)
sale of items from the other country.
K. Make recommendations to Congress
10) ____ Choose a new Supreme Court justice to replace about what laws are needed
one who is retiring.
L. Update Congress on how things are
Vice President’s Responsibilities going in the country
11) ____ Take over as president if I’m needed. M. Sign (approve) or veto (reject) bills
from Congress
12) ____ Act as leader of the Senate.
13) ____ Cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate. N. Can vote in the Senate if the
senators are equally divided on a
14) ____ Work with the president to run the executive vote
branch.

Review Worksheet p. 1
All In a Day’s Work Name:
B. So Many Laws, So Little Time! The ex ecutive branch is in charge of carrying out
thousands of laws, but the President doesn’t do this alone. Departments inside the executive
branch are responsible for carrying out certain kinds of laws. Complete the table by matching each
executive department to its function. Use the word/picture bank for help.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT FUNCTION

Works to protect the country against terrorism and make
1 sure the borders are safe.
Makes coins and paper money, tries to help the economy,
2 and collects taxes.
Keeps the United States safe using the Army, Navy, Marines,
3 Air Force, and other military resources.
Enforces federal laws, prevents crime, and punishes those
4 convicted of federal crimes.
Supports farmers, makes sure our food is safe, and gives
5 recommendations about good nutrition.
Works to protect the health of all Americans and offers
6 medical and other basic services to people in need.
Builds and maintains federal highways and railroads, makes
7 rules for air travel, and promotes transportation safety.
Provides funding to public schools and helps students pay
8 for college.

C. Crossword! Com plete the puzzle using 1 4

information from the lesson.

Down 2
1. Word that refers to the sequence of who will
become president if something happens
4. House of Congress the vice president leads 3
6. Number of times a president can be elected
Across
2. People that create the laws the president must
execute 6
3. Agreements presidents make with foreign
countries
5. What the president vows to protect and defend 5
in their oath of office

Review Worksheet p.2