Presidential Roles Activity
Teacher Guide
This activity should provide your students with a basic understanding of some of
the president’s roles. During the class visit, students will learn more about each
role.
Post each of the attached pictures around the classroom. Allow students a
chance to walk around the room to look at each picture before reading the roles
out loud.
Role 1: The President is our Commander in Chief. He is in charge of all armed
forces and he asks lawmakers in Congress to declare war. Which image shows
the president acting as Commander in Chief?
Students should select this picture. It shows
President Gerald Ford reviewing the troops in 1975.
President Ford was our 38th President.
Photo Credit: WHHA
Role 2: The President is our Chief Diplomat. He meets with representatives
from different groups as well as leaders of other countries. Do you see a picture
of the president acting as Chief Diplomat?
Students should select this picture. It shows
President Lyndon B. Johnson meeting with Indira
Gandhi, who was India’s Prime Minister, in 1966.
India is a country thousands of miles away from here.
President Johnson was our 36th president.
Photo Credit: WHHA
Role 3: The president signs bills into law. Before any bill put forth by our
countries lawmakers in Congress can become a law, the president must sign it.
For example, if Congress writes a bill asking for the voting age to be changed to
21 (from 18), the president must sign it before it can become a law. Can you
think of anything your parents have to sign before it’s “official?”
Students should select this picture. It shows
President John F. Kennedy signing a bill into law
during 1963. You may want to note to students that
he is not in the Oval Office for this event. He is in the
Photo Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Treaty Room inside the main house. President
Kennedy was our 35th president.
Role 4: The president is our Nation’s Leader. He represents everyone who lives
in our country. Whenever something good or bad happens in our country, the
president often addresses the nation. Can you think of any times that the
president has addressed our country? (Students might talk about after Hurricane
Katrina, or they may remember his State of the Union address—the president
gives the State of the Union address once every year; it is part of his job as
described in the Constitution.) Do you see which picture shows the president
acting as our Nation’s Leader?
Students should select this picture. This
picture is of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
addressing the nation in one of his famous
fireside chats. These “chats” were broadcast
on the radio, and many people tuned in to
listen to him talk about what was happening in
the country. President Roosevelt was our 32nd
president. He was in office from 1933-1945
(the longest of any president).
Photo Credit: Library of Congress
Photo Credit: WHHA
Photo Credit: WHHA
Photo Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Photo Credit: Library of Congress