The President’s Cabinet

Lyrics

Chorus
Presidents, they need some help
They can’t do the job all by themselves
We’ve got the Cabinet, the advisory crew
The heads of the departments, and here’s what they do
(×2)

Verse I
The Department of State, the most important one there
Advises the president on foreign policy affairs
The Department of Treasury prints the cash
Manages the finances, and collects the tax

DOD, The Department of Defense
Represents our military women and men
Department of Justice defends the law of the land
The Attorney General’s the main woman or man

Chorus

Verse II
Throughout the states, the government owns area
Run by the Department of the Interior
The Department of Agriculture; the USDA
Takes care of the farmers and the food on our plate

The Department of Commerce is always on their toes
They’re in charge of promoting our economy’s growth
The DOL, the Department of Labor
Protects the rights that employees favor

Chorus

Verse III
Health and Human Services, DHHS
Protects the health of all of us, they never settle for less
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
Promotes fair housing and affordable rent

The Department of Transportation, the DOT
Maintains roads and highways for the whole country
The energy policy and nuclear safety
Is guarded by the Department of Energy on the daily

Chorus

Verse IV
Check it out: the Department of Education
Maintains public schools throughout the nation
The Department of Veteran Affairs is on the list
Providing veterans of war with special benefits

Homeland Security defends our homeland
Protecting our borders is part of the plan
These 15 people, plus the Vice
Assist the President with good advice

↥ return to top

Description

This song teaches about the departments in the President's Cabinet. It introduces the Cabinets and Cabinet officers in order of establishment, which is also the order of succession.

The song discusses, among other departments, the Department of Education, the Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security. It explains the role of the Attorney General and the Department of Transportation. The teaching materials at the bottom of the page, including lesson plans, worksheets, and activities help teachers and homeschool parents generate teaching ideas for the song topics. By learning this song, students will have a greater grasp of the role of cabinets of president.

This social studies song is suitable to help teach all 44 presidents and the order of their presidencies to elementary school students (4th grade, 5th grade and 6th grade), middle school, high school, home school, and college classes.

↥ return to top

Related Reading and Activities

Reading

Teachervision.fen.com
U.S. President’s Cabinet
This website provides a description of each department featured in the Cabinet. Though subscription-based, you are allowed access to a certain number of documents before you must log-in.

Whitehouse.gov
The President's Cabinet
Students will get a brief summary of the Cabinet, as well as detailed profiles and pictures of member.

The official websites for each department of the Cabinet:
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of State
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Homeland Security

Lesson Plans & Activities

Trumanlibrary.org
A Cabinet Meeting
For this activity, the teacher will form an agenda for a mock Cabinet meeting, and assign roles to each student. There are other games and puzzles on this site as well.

Middleschool.net
The President’s Cabinet (internet & printers required)
Students will use computers to create templates for collecting information and photographs of each secretary, and then print them to form larger charts.

PBS.org
The President’s Cabinet: Choosing the Right Person for the Job
This is a multi-day lesson plan designed to give students an opportunity to better understand the three branches of government, and checks and balances. The activities include graphing data and participating in a classroom debate. National curriculum standards are listed.

Media

BrainPOP.com
Branches of Government (video) (subscription and login required)
Tim and Moby talk about the three different branches of the United States government and how the system of checks and balances helps limit the power of each branch.

↥ return to top

State Standards

State standards listed here are representative of school standards across the United States.

(Many related standards among US Government topics are listed on other social studies song pages)

New York

U4.3H2 (Grades 7&8 H) - The Evolution of an 'unwritten constitution' 2. The President's Cabinet: Change Power

Illinois

14.A.3 - Describe how responsibilities are shared and limited by the United States and Illinois Constitutions and significant court decisions.
14.B.3 - Identify and compare the basic political systems of Illinois and the United States as prescribed in their constitutions.
14.A.4 - Analyze how local, state and national governments serve the purposes for which they were created.

↥ return to top