Civics & Government · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda

Active learning helps students grasp the nuances of executive orders and memoranda by moving beyond textbook definitions. When students analyze real orders, debate their implications, and role-play presidential advisers, they see how these tools shape policy in real time, not just in theory.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Civ.4.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.13.9-12

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Case Study Analysis
• 40 min · Small Groups

Document Analysis: Executive Orders Across History

Provide brief summaries of five executive orders spanning eras: the legal basis for Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, FDR's Japanese American internment order, Truman's desegregation of the military, and a recent immigration or environmental order. Small groups assess each using a consistent rubric: authority cited, Congress's response, court outcome, and historical legacy.

Differentiate whether executive orders are an efficient tool of governance or a bypass of democracy.

Facilitation Tip

During Document Analysis: Executive Orders Across History, have students annotate orders with questions about their scope and impact before discussing as a class.

What to look for

Present students with a hypothetical scenario involving a presidential directive. Ask them to identify whether it is more likely an executive order or a presidential memorandum and explain their reasoning based on the directive's scope and formality.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Governance Tool or Democratic Bypass?

Half the class prepares arguments that executive orders are efficient tools for unified executive action; the other half argues they bypass democratic deliberation. After the formal exchange, students must reach a written consensus on what conditions -- if any -- justify a major executive order without prior Congressional approval.

Explain how the other branches can check an unconstitutional executive order.

Facilitation Tip

In the Structured Debate: Governance Tool or Democratic Bypass?, assign roles with clear talking points to ensure all students participate.

What to look for

Facilitate a class debate using the prompt: 'Resolved, that the increased use of executive orders in recent decades represents a necessary adaptation to partisan gridlock, rather than a threat to democratic principles.' Assign students roles as proponents or opponents to prepare arguments.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Is This Constitutional?

Present three presidential action scenarios -- one clearly within executive authority, one clearly outside it, one genuinely ambiguous. Students write individual assessments first, then compare reasoning with a partner. The debrief introduces Justice Jackson's Youngstown tri-part framework as a tool for constitutional analysis that students can apply to future scenarios.

Analyze why the use of executive orders has increased in recent decades.

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share: Is This Constitutional?, provide a timer for each phase to keep discussions focused and equitable.

What to look for

Ask students to write two sentences explaining one way Congress can check an executive order and one sentence explaining how the Supreme Court can check an executive order.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 35 min · Individual

Role Play: Advising the President

Each student plays a presidential advisor presented with a policy goal that Congress has refused to pass. They write a one-paragraph memo: can the President achieve this goal by executive order? If yes, what is the legal justification? If no, what are the alternatives? A panel of "legal advisors" reviews the strongest proposals and the class evaluates the reasoning.

Differentiate whether executive orders are an efficient tool of governance or a bypass of democracy.

What to look for

Present students with a hypothetical scenario involving a presidential directive. Ask them to identify whether it is more likely an executive order or a presidential memorandum and explain their reasoning based on the directive's scope and formality.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching executive orders benefits from a balance between legal precision and real-world relevance. Avoid presenting these tools as purely partisan or controversial; instead, emphasize their historical and administrative roles. Research shows students better understand checks and balances when they see how the branches interact over time, so use longitudinal data to highlight patterns.

By the end of these activities, students should be able to distinguish between executive orders and memoranda, evaluate their constitutional legitimacy, and explain how other branches check their use. Successful learning is evident when students cite specific examples and apply their knowledge to new situations.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Document Analysis: Executive Orders Across History, students may assume all executive orders are controversial.

  During this activity, point students to the dataset of routine orders (e.g., federal holiday declarations) to contrast with high-profile cases like FDR’s internment orders.

• During Structured Debate: Governance Tool or Democratic Bypass?, students might believe Congress cannot respond to executive orders.

  During the debate, have students research and cite specific congressional tools, like funding restrictions or statutory amendments, using examples from Youngstown v. Sawyer.

• During Role Play: Advising the President, students could assume executive orders are a modern or partisan tool.

  During the role play, provide excerpts from Washington’s and Lincoln’s orders to show their historical use and dispel partisan myths.

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Methods used in this brief

• Case Study Analysis
• Formal Debate
• Think-Pair-Share
• Role Play