You are about to play
Let’s see what you will
learn…
There are THREE main characters?
They represent the THREE branches of our government!!
Let’s see who the three main characters represent?
The President represents the ________________ branch. Executive
Who do the three main characters represent?
The legislator represents the ________________ branch
(Congress). Legislative
Who do the three main characters represent?
The Supreme Court Justice represents the ________________
branch. Judicial
What do the towers represent?
_________ becoming _______! Bills
laws
At the beginning of the game you, as
President, will give a speech about three
issues! My fellow Americans: I
am here today to make a pledge to each and every one of you. While there
are many important issues facing us, these three issues will be my
top priority…
This speech, is given once a year by our President to our Congress, it is known
as the…
__________of the _________ Address
State
Union
Bonus QuestionThe State of the Union is an
example of the President setting the __________.
a)vetob)time limitc)agenda
agenda
What is another way the President could start an
issue tower?
press conferenc
e
That’s right! The President brings attention to issues by talking to the press
and the citizens
Now the responsibility shifts to
the Legislative
branch…
Legislators are responsible to the people
they represent.That’s us!!
What is one way that they hear citizens’ ideas and
get their support?
We holdTOWN HALL MEETINGS!
Bonus QuestionWhy do the citizens’ views
matter?
a)Their views don’t matterb)The citizens vote for the
legislatorsc)Everyone has to vote on all
laws
Now that the issue has support
among the public…
Crafting Bills
That’s just a
fancy way of
saying that we
write stuff that
might become
law!
Crafting Bills
Legislators write policies or amendments
to attach to bills. There are 100 Senators
and 435 Representatives.
It’s hard to get that many people to
compromise on ideas!
Crafting Bills
Luckily, everyone doesn’t have to agree!
How much support does a bill need to pass in the
Legislature?A bill requires more than ______% to pass in Congress!
50
Now the responsibility shifts to the Executive
branch…
Here are the options when a bill comes in
front of the President? If the President approves the bill he
must _________ it.
If the President disapproves of the bill
he can _________ it.
SIGN
VETO
Out of this list, pick two things the President must think about before he
signs or vetoes a bill:
- How much support it has from citizens- Whether or not it will raise his salary
- Did his buddies like it or not - Making sure that it is Constitutional
Bonus Question
BUT WAIT!!The President can’t veto
a bill that is
_________________!A bill requires at least ______% (or 2/3rds) support in the legislature to be veto-proof!
67
veto-proof
Now the responsibility shifts to the Judicial
branch…
What do Supreme Court Justices use as their rulebook when judging
laws?The CONSTITUTION is our rulebook!
What happens if a law is NOT allowed
by the Constitution? The Court
will strike it down and
the legislative branch will
have to start over
again!
Each branch of government has the ability to influence
what the other branches can and cannot do…
This is calledchecks and balances!!
Now it is YOUR turn…
If you could play one of these roles in real life, which would you
choose? PresidentLegislator
Supreme Court Justice