Social Studies Lesson Plan

Overview: When the dust settled after the November election, it was clear President Bush would have a challenge working with a Congress with Democrats in power. How will this work? What must Bush and the legislators do to not reach a stalemate?

Suggested time allotment: One week to explore the way the balance of power works with Congress and the President. One week to prepare an informative lesson about this to the rest of class.

Objectives

Students will:

1. Read background about the balance of power and how this has worked historically.
2. Explore current news analysis about what might happen.
3. Present the findings to class through multi-media, oral reports or a debate.

Curriculum Standards from the National Council for the Social Studies: Thematic Strands, from “Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.”
• VI - Power, authority and governance. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance… High school students develop their abilities in the use of abstract principles. They study the various systems that have been developed over the centuries to allocate and employ power and authority in the governing process.

• X – Civic ideals and practicies. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic….High school students increasingly recognize the rights and responsibilities of citizens in identifying societal needs, setting directions for public policies, and working to support both individual dignity and the common good. They learn by experience how to participate in community service and political activities and how to use democratic process to influence public policy.


Resources and materials:
Web sites with information:
• President Bush has had to deal with something similar before. Read “Bush's bipartisan experience in Texas may not translate,” by Julie Mason in the Houston Chronicle, Nov.
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• One particularly difficult topic for the two sides will be the War in Iraq. Read John Yaukey’s analysis in USA Today, Nov. 12, 2006, “Chasm remains between Bush's, Democrats' Iraq positions.”
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• Bloggers offer plenty of views from many angles about what the balance of power means. Check them out with the Technorati search engine – “Who’s saying what. Right now.”
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• Special report in The Economist, Nov. 9, 2006: “America's mid-term elections: The Democratic Party's takeover of Congress will make George Bush's life more difficult. But it also gives him a chance to reinvent himself.”
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