Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.35
The Standard
Analyze Article II of the Constitution as it relates to the executive branch, including appointments, oath of office, Commander-in-chief of the military, powers of the president, eligibility for office, succession (25th Amendment), executive orders, treaties, length of term (20th and 22nd Amendments).
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Function And Structure of the U.S. Political System
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read Article II and later amendments to work out who can serve as president, when a term starts, and what happens if a president cannot serve. They explain the president’s powers over appointments, treaties, the military, and executive orders, along with limits on those powers.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can check a candidate’s eligibility and explain the oath, four-year term, January 20 start, and two-election limit. They can tell when a vice president becomes president rather than acting president. They can explain why a Cabinet nominee needs Senate confirmation, a treaty needs a two-thirds Senate vote, and an executive order cannot override a law.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think the commander in chief can declare war or that an executive order can create a law. They may confuse Senate confirmation of appointees with approval of treaties. Some think the vice president becomes president during a temporary disability, rather than acting president.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A president temporarily cannot serve, so the vice president takes over. Does the vice president become president or acting president? Can an executive order override a law passed by Congress?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed excerpts and cards marked “Cabinet appointment,” “January 20,” and “temporary disability” to match to the right passage.
Ask: “Can a president command troops and also declare war?” Have students cite Article II and Congress’s war power in their answer.
Run a card sort with two headings: Senate confirmation and Senate two-thirds vote. Use cards for a Cabinet secretary, an ambassador, and a treaty.
Print a Federal Register executive order on federal hiring; students underline its cited legal authority and name one limit on the order.
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