On Jan. 20, in the culmination of an extraordinary political comeback, Donald J. Trump was officially sworn in as president of the United States for a second time. Mr. Trump’s return comes four years after being voted out of office and being impeached for trying to overturn that election.
Within hours of taking the oath of office, he had signed dozens of executive orders and issued nearly 1,600 pardons. His actions touched on some of the biggest policy issues in American life, including health, the environment and immigration. Mr. Trump also promised other consequential changes in the coming days.
This lesson plan provides students with a way to keep up with the flurry of announcements and to track, analyze and critically assess Mr. Trump’s ambitions to remake America and usher in what he calls a new “golden age.”
As a warm-up activity, students share their hopes and fears about the new presidency. Then, they focus on one issue that Mr. Trump has addressed and track it over the coming weeks. To go further, we encourage students to write an open letter about an issue they care about and submit it to our contest this spring.
What are your hopes and fears for President Trump’s second term? Why?
Spend some time answering that question. You may freewrite, create a two-column list, build a mindmap or use any other method that helps you brainstorm.
If you need more information before answering, you can watch the video embedded above with highlights from Mr. Trump’s inaugural address, read his speech in full or read this news analysis from The Times about his first hours in office.
After you’re finished, you may want to briefly discuss your thoughts, feelings and ideas with a partner or your class.
Then, if you would like, go further by responding to our related student forum and reading what other teenagers had to say.
Activity
In a barrage of executive orders, Mr. Tump signaled a sharp reversal from existing policies on issues including immigration, the environment and diversity initiatives.
Here is some of what he has said or done in the first hours of his presidency:
Part I: Pick one of these issues — or choose another from this list of executive orders — and dig deeper to find out how the Trump presidency will affect it. Here are questions to address now:
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What is the issue, why does it matter to you, and what is at stake for the nation and the world?
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What has Mr. Trump said he would do — or what has he already done — about this issue?
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How do you know? What sources are you using to get your information?
Part II: Over the next few weeks and months, keep track of what is going on with this issue and share your reactions and questions:
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What actions has the Trump administration taken, what has been the impact and what obstacles or pushback has it faced?
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Are you pleased or critical of the results? How would you have handled the issue differently?
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What questions do you still have?
Going Further
1. Reflect on what you have learned.
Consider these questions, whether in writing or discussion with your class:
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What have you learned about how the government works? How much power does the office of the presidency have? What checks and balances are in place, and how well do they work?
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How much effect can ordinary people have on these issues, whether on a national or local level? How do you know?
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What questions came up as you followed the issue? What predictions can you make about its future?
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How do Mr. Trump’s actions measure up to what he said he would do? What grade would you give him?
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Return to the hopes and fears you wrote about at the beginning of the lesson. Have they changed? If so, how or why? What are you thinking or feeling about Mr. Trump’s second term?
2. Write an open letter.
In our Open Letters Contest, which runs from March 12 to April 16, we invite students to write public-facing letters to people or groups about issues that matter to them. If you feel strongly about the issue you tracked for this activity, then consider submitting to our contest. Think carefully about to whom you want to address your letter — whether it is the president, a member of Congress, someone involved in the issue or who it affects, or anyone else — and how you want that person or group to take action.