In anticipation of tomorrow's test on the executive branch, Sam took notes on the role of the president as chief executive, as head of state(ceremonial duties), and as the economic leader of the country(submitting a proposed budget). We discussed the president's obligation under the Constitution to report to Congress annually in the State of Union address and the current controversy wherein the Speaker of the House chose not to invite the president to make the annual address. Sam asked about the government shut -down ,and we discussed the stalemate and the financial impact it is having on federal workers. During our second hour, I introduced the federal court system ,and we reviewed Sam's homework on the reading related to the subject. On the whiteboard, I outlined the definition and application of the exclusive jurisdiction of federal courts in certain cases , and of concurrent jurisdiction where both the state and federal courts have the power to adjudicate a matter. I then distributed a supplementary hand out on the federal courts identifying the three levels of courts , and the difference between a trial court of original jurisdiction and an appellate court that only hears appeals under its limited appellate jurisdiction. Last, Sam took notes on the few instances where the US Supreme Court actually can hear a case in the first instance i.e. has original jurisdiction,for example where a foreign country or ambassador is a party. For homework tomorrow,Sam is to study for her test on the executive branch. For the subsequent post-test session , I assigned reading the supplementary handout,plus pages 223-226 in the text and answering questions 1 and 3 on pg 226.