Legislative, judicial, executive—the founding fathers of the United States set up the three branches of government to act as a system of checks and balances. But what if the presidency was eliminated? Viewers of a short video consider the question and even suggest alternatives to the current system of electing a president every four years.

Concepts

presidential campaigns, presidential elections, presidential roles and powers

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Have groups chart the amount of local media attention given to local issues versus time given to presidential coverage

Classroom Considerations

• Part of the "America From Scratch" BPS series
• The order of the videos does not matter
• Requires individual copies of the viewing questions worksheet

Pros

• As an enrichment exercise, the worksheet includes a link to a related article

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.3 SL.11-12.3