U. S. Government: Democracy In Action

Chapter 8: The Presidency

Web Activity Lesson Plans

Introduction
In this chapter students learned about the requirements for a person to become president or vice president of our country, the Electoral College, the cabinet of the president, and the various components of the Executive Office of the President. In this activity students will take a closer look at the roles and responsibilities of the vice president and read about notable vice presidents of the past.

Lesson Description
Students will visit a Web site focused on the vice presidency to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of this office. They will read about notable vice presidents of the past, test their knowledge of vice presidential trivia with a quiz, and then write a poem about a particular vice president or about the office in general.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will be able to describe the roles and responsibilities of the vice president.
2. Students will be able to explain how the process of selecting the vice president has evolved over time.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. At first Electoral College representatives placed two votes; whichever candidate received the most votes became president, and whoever came in second became vice president. The 12th Amendment required the electors to cast separate votes for the president and vice president. Today, the presidential candidates choose the people who will run with them as vice presidential candidates, and the two run together as a party ticket.
2. The roles are to preside over the Senate, and to cast a tie-breaking vote should a Senate vote end in a tie.
3. In addition to ensuring the constitutional succession from vice president to president, the 25th Amendment provides for a process to fill a vacant vice presidency.
4. Students' responses will vary.
5. Students' poems will vary.