President
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Remind your children that a president is the leader of a group, company, or government. The president of the United States is an elected leader who has many responsibilities, including creating policies, leading the armed forces, and meeting with world leaders to discuss issues. The president also plays an important role in the law-making process. The Constitution of the United States was established to create a new system of government and outlines the responsibilities of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches. Remind your children that the president is the head of the executive branch. We recommend watching the Local and State Government movie together as a review.

Review with your children that before the United States was even a country, there were thirteen colonies that were under British rule. It may be helpful to identify the thirteen colonies and England on a map to show the vast distance between North America and England. The colonists no longer wanted to be ruled by a faraway monarch and wanted to establish their own system of government independent from England. They wanted to elect their own leaders and make their own decisions about taxes and welfare. A group of leaders drafted the Constitution to outline a new government and soon the United States of America was born. The Constitution explains a system of checks and balances and describes the role of the president. We recommend reviewing BrainPOP’s Constitution movie and other movies in the U.S. History unit. You may wish to screen a few of these movies for enrichment or have your children explore them independently.

The president has many responsibilities and your children should understand that the president does not have absolute power. Many decisions are made after approvals from all three branches of the government. Explain that Congress can suggest and discuss a bill and then vote to pass it. If the bill is passed, it gets sent to the White House. If the president passes and signs the bill, it becomes a law. But the president can also veto, or reject the bill. Then the bill gets sent back to Congress for another vote to override the president’s veto or further discussion and changes can be made to the bill. The president’s veto power is an important part of checks and balances in the United States government.

Other duties of the president include choosing judges to serve on the Supreme Court and leading the armed forces as commander-in-chief. Remind your children that the armed forces include the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard. The president also creates policies, or plans for the whole country to follow. For example, some policies might outline standards for cutting down air pollution or outline ways to improve schools. The president also meets with world leaders to discuss issues and make agreements as well as make decisions on how the government will work with other governments.

The president has many responsibilities and he or she gets assistance from the vice president, who can step in to do the job if the president is unable. The Cabinet is made up of a group of experts that specialize in specific areas, such as transportation, education, agriculture, and defense. The president chooses his or her own Cabinet members and relies on them to help make decisions.

Remind your children that a man or woman can be president and he or she can be of any race or religion. The president must be a natural born U.S. citizen, be at least thirty-five years of age, and have lived here for at least fourteen years. People can vote for their president ever four years. This means that a president serves four years at a time, which is called a term. A president can only serve for two terms. This allows others the opportunity to lead the country. Remind your children that a person who runs for an office is called a candidate. During an election, people listen to the candidates and vote for the person they think will do the best job. Have your children think about their school election and discuss the importance of making informed decisions about picking their leaders. Encourage your children to get involved with student and local governments and find ways to be active citizens.

President Teacher Activities – Click Here!

President Family Activities – Click Here!

President Teacher Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Dear President

Have your students write a letter to the president. What questions would they like to ask? What problems do they want to bring up? What ideas do they have about solving problems or addressing different issues? You may want to review how to write a business letter before they begin. You can mail the letters to: The White House,1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500.

President for a Day

Have your students imagine being president for a day? What would he or she do? What kind of decisions would he or she make? Review the responsibilities of the president and have your students write an essay or a diary entry about what they would do if they were president.

Past Presidents

Put the names of different presidents in a hat or box and have your students draw a name. Student can research their picked president and create a profile. Students may wish to create a mini-biography about their president, dress up and give a memorable speech made by their president, create a poster, or reenact a scene. Encourage your students to be creative. Then have students share their presentations with the whole class.

President Family Activities

© 1999-2009 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Family Timeline

Together with your child, create a timeline of when different family members were born. Then have him or her research to find out who was president at the time. Your child can then learn about major milestones during the presidency and the relative’s lifetime and mark them on the timeline. As more relatives are born and more presidents are elected, your child can add to his or her timeline.

Who’s on the Money?

As a math connection, present different coins and bills to your child. Name the value of each coin or bill and examine each closely. Look at the heads and have your child name the president or leader pictured. Then research online and find out the importance of each person pictured on the coin or bill.