Federal government

Cabinet Departments

The fifteen departments that advise the president and run the executive branch, covering the five students are most likely to hear about.

Grades 3–5~35 minNonpartisan

Word document — open it in Word, Pages, or Google Docs and adapt it for your class.

This lesson will cover the role of Cabinet Departments in the Federal Government and how they help the president and the broader government make important decisions that affect society.

01 Warm-up 5 min

Warm-up question (5 minutes): If you could help the president with one of these things (Money, Farming, or Law (rules)), which one would you pick? Why?

    • Let them talk about the question for about 3 minutes
    • Then transition to introducing the topic of Cabinet Departments and how they serve as advisors to the President.
02 Lecture 10 min

Lecture Time: Slideshow presentation (<10minutes):

    • Introduction
      • What are Cabinet Departments?
      • What do they do?
      • Why are they important?
    • The Cabinet Departments (There are 15 departments in total, but for the sake of time, only the top five most important will be covered)
      • Department of State
      • Department of the Treasury
      • Department of Defense
      • Department of Justice
      • Department of Homeland Security
03 Games 2 activities

Game #1: Department Freeze!

    • Objective: To help reinforce the information the kids learned about the various cabinet departments and their functions.
    • How to play:
      • Teach the kid about 5 “Power Poses” (poses representing the function and tasks of the various Cabinet Departments) that they will have to act out based upon certain clues that they will be given (sort of like if “Simon Says” and “Charades” were combined into a game).
        • These “Power Poses” will be assigned to 5 specific Cabinet Departments, with their respective clues, which have been covered in the lecture and are labeled below:
          • Department of State (World and Diplomacy):
            • Poses:
              • Handshake (reaching out a hand as in to give a handshake to a world leader)
              • Globe (cupping your hands to create a tiny globe, representing the world)
            • Clues:
              • “Oh no, two countries are having an argument and need to talk it out!” (Handshake)
              • “Oh no, an American traveling in India lost their passport and is lost!” (Globe)
          • Department of the Treasury (Money and Economy):
            • Poses:
              • The Vault (Making a big circle with arms in front of you, like storing a large pot of gold in a safe)
              • The Money Maker (slides your hands over each other like you are flexing your money, representing money being created and printed)
            • Clues:
              • “Oh no, the country needs a place to store all its money!” (The Vault)
              • “Oh no, the country doesn’t have enough money going around!” (The money maker)
          • Department of Defense (Military and Protection):
            • Poses:
              • The Shield (The Kid makes a cross with their hand across the chest, representing the department's role in defending the country)
              • The March (Marching in place while standing upright and tall, like a soldier)
            • Clues:
              • “Oh no, our friends are being attacked by our enemies” (The Shield)
              • “Oh no, the country is being attacked!” (March)
          • Department of Justice (Laws and Fairness):
            • Poses:
              • Scales of Justice (Having your hands held out on the sides, with the palms facing up and tipping side to side, representing the department's role to ensure justice)
              • Gavel (Pretend to hold a gavel and strike down on your palm, delivering a sentence)
            • Clues:
              • “Oh no, the trial needs to be completely fair” (Scales of Justice)
              • “Oh no, someone broke the law and needs to be punished” (Gavel)
          • Department of Homeland Security (Safety at Home)
            • Poses:
              • The Eagle Eye (Salute at the forehead, like looking out into the distance on a sunny day, and then raise your other hand in front of you, to stop someone)
              • Supply-up (Pretending to pick up and give away supplies to people, representing the department’s role in disaster relief and mitigation)
            • Clues:
              • “Oh no, long lines and security checks need to be managed at the airport!” (The Eagle Eye)
              • “Oh no, a big hurricane hit the coast, and our citizens need help quickly!” (Clean-up)
      • Have all the kids in the class stand up from their seats, and depending on class size, bring them to a large, open area in the class, or have them stay at their desks
      • Either at their desks or in the open area, have them all move in place
      • When you shout out a problem (one of the clues covered above) in the country, the kids have to immediately stop what they are doing and freeze into the correct power poses that are indicated by that clue
        • If you shout, “Oh no, a big hurricane hit the coast, and our people need help!”, the kids should freeze in the power pose of cleanup.
      • Anyone who does the wrong pose or keeps moving is eliminated from the game, having to go sit back down
      • This continues until there’s one remaining, at which point they are the winner (if a tie were to occur, then both can be crowned winners for the sake of time)
  • Game #2: Help the President!
    • Objective: To simulate the role of Cabinet Departments in the executive branch of the Federal government, specifically emphasizing their role as advisors to the president, helping them make important decisions.
    • How to Play:
      • Assign a person in the classroom to be the “president”. For the first round, this could be a teacher, and for all other rounds, it could be various students.
      • Evenly divide the class into the 5 various departments discussed in the lecture (State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security)
      • At the start of the round, have the president be faced with an issue that they will announce to the class
      • Any team that thinks it’s their job must announce “Call on us, Mr./Madam President!” and once they are picked, must give a solution ot the problem
      • Have the class take a vote on the solution, and if a majority approves, then it passes; if not, then another solution must be given
      • If a solution is passed, then a new president is chosen, and another round begins until the game is ended
    • Problems and Issues:
      • They can be anything, from big to small; however, they must be applicable to the different departments listed above so that it is feasible for the kids to come up with a solution rather than something unknown.
04 Wrap-up 5 min

Wrap-up Questions (5 minutes):

    • Why are Cabinet Departments important to the government?
    • What are some facts you learned about Cabinet Departments?