Civics & Government · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

The Cabinet and Advisory Councils

Active learning works for this topic because students need to grasp the nuanced relationships between formal roles, advisory power, and institutional loyalties. Simulations and discussions help them move beyond memorization to analyze real decision-making dynamics in the executive branch.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Civ.6.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.1.9-12

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 50 min · Whole Class

Cabinet Meeting Simulation: A Foreign Policy Crisis

Students are assigned Cabinet and NSC roles (Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor, CIA Director, and others) and receive a briefing on a fictional foreign policy scenario. Each role-player presents their department's recommendation; the student playing the President must decide and explain which advice they followed and why.

Explain how a President chooses their inner circle.

Facilitation Tip

For the Cabinet Meeting Simulation, assign roles in advance so students prepare brief talking points aligned with their department's interests.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are President. Would you rely more on your Cabinet secretaries or your White House staff for advice on a major economic crisis? Explain your reasoning, citing at least two specific roles or functions of each group.'

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

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Who's in the Cabinet and What Do They Run?

Stations feature profiles of five current Cabinet departments, including their budget, workforce size, and a major recent policy challenge. Students annotate each station: What decisions does this department make? How does its size affect the President's ability to manage it directly? Which departments are most likely to develop independent institutional interests?

Analyze what happens when a Cabinet secretary disagrees with the President.

Facilitation Tip

In the Gallery Walk, ensure each poster includes the department name, key responsibilities, and a notable agency or program.

What to look for

Provide students with a short scenario where a Cabinet secretary and a White House advisor have conflicting recommendations. Ask students to write one sentence identifying who likely has more influence and why, based on the text.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Cabinet Secretary vs. White House Advisor -- Who Has More Influence?

Pairs read brief accounts of three cases where Cabinet secretaries and White House advisors disagreed (examples from Nixon's domestic policy and Reagan's Iran-Contra period work well). Students discuss what factors determine whose advice a President follows: proximity, loyalty, formal authority, or expertise.

Evaluate whether the Cabinet is still a relevant body in modern governance.

Facilitation Tip

During the Think-Pair-Share, provide a case study prompt that forces students to weigh institutional loyalties against presidential directives.

What to look for

Ask students to list one way the Cabinet has changed since George Washington's presidency and one reason why the Executive Office of the President is considered more directly controlled by the President.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by emphasizing the president's discretionary power over the Cabinet while highlighting how institutional structures shape behavior. Avoid framing the Cabinet as a unified body—it functions as a collection of independent agencies. Use comparisons across presidencies to show that advisory systems are not static but reflect individual leadership styles.

Successful learning looks like students accurately distinguishing the Cabinet's advisory role from the President's unilateral authority, identifying key department heads and their agencies, and explaining how advisory structures influence policy outcomes. Students should also articulate tensions between departmental loyalty and presidential priorities.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Cabinet Meeting Simulation, watch for students debating policy as if the Cabinet has formal voting power.

  Use the simulation's debrief to explicitly state that the Cabinet is advisory only. Ask groups to reflect on whether their recommendations were adopted or ignored, highlighting the president's discretion.

• During the Gallery Walk, watch for students assuming all Cabinet members have equal influence with the President.

  Have students examine department budgets and staff sizes on the posters, then discuss how these factors might affect access to the Oval Office.

• During the Think-Pair-Share, watch for students conflating Cabinet secretaries with White House advisors as equally confirmed roles.

  Prompt pairs to compare the confirmation processes for each role using the materials from the activity, then share findings with the class.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share