In what year in their term do presidents have the most success in Congress?

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. What is the big story this chart tells?

3. Why do you think that is?

4. What is one consequence of this?

5. If you were advising Donald Trump, based on this chart, what advice would you give him?

6. If you were advising the leaders of the Democratic party, what advise would you give them?

7. Sketch in a line for how you predict Donald Trump will do.

8. Explain which party currently has a majority in congress and how that might affect Donald Trump's success?

9. What questions do you have about this?

10. In this chart, which of the presidents was the most successful?

11. In this chart, which of the presidents was the least successful?

12. Explain why that was?

13. What is the connection between divided government and a president's success in getting legislation passed?

14. Was there any president who offers a counter example to the overall trend in the chart?

15. Do you believe, that Donald Trump will have a positive or negative impact on Republican candidates in the midterm (2018) elections?

Learning Extension

Watch Schoolhouse Rock's I'm Just a Bill to learn why it's so hard to get a bill through Congress.

Action Extension

Contact one of your US Senators. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senator. Tell your Senator whether you believe they should generally work with or against Donald Trump.

Bonus Charts