Peter Baker asserts in his analytical piece “For Trump, a Year of Reinventing the Presidency” that President Trump has continually shattered precedents established by previous presidents.

Assign this 3,000-word article for students to read. It might be a difficult read for some students, but it sums up a year’s worth of news for this topic.

To help students better understand and consider Mr. Baker’s arguments, we suggest giving students these five excerpts (PDF). Working in pairs, students should first explain Mr. Baker’s claim in their own words. Then they should respond: Do they think his analysis is accurate and fair? Within the article itself, Mr. Baker provides evidence to support his assertions.

Excerpt 1:

Mr. Trump is the 45th president of the United States, but he has spent much of his first year in office defying the conventions and norms established by the previous 44, and transforming the presidency in ways that were once unimaginable. Under Mr. Trump, it has become a blunt instrument to advance personal, policy and political goals. He has revolutionized the way presidents deal with the world beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, dispensing with the carefully modulated messaging of past chief executives in favor of no-holds-barred, crystal-breaking, us-against-them, damn-the-consequences blasts borne out of gut and grievance.

Excerpt 2:

The presidency has served as a vehicle for Mr. Trump to construct and promote his own narrative, one with crackling verve but riddled with inaccuracies, distortions and outright lies, according to fact checkers. Rather than a force for unity or a calming voice in turbulent times, the presidency now is another weapon in a permanent campaign of divisiveness. Democrats and many establishment Republicans worry that Mr. Trump has squandered the moral authority of the office.

Excerpt 3:

What worries insiders has electrified many on the outside. Mr. Trump has cast aside the mythology of a magisterial presidency removed from the people in favor of a reality-show accessibility that strikes a chord in parts of the country alienated by the establishment. That indifference to the way things have always been done has energized Mr. Trump’s core supporters, who cheer his efforts to destroy political correctness, take on smug elites and smash a self-interested system that, in their view, has shafted everyday Americans.

Excerpt 4:

In recent times, most presidents have sought to expand the power of their office, and Mr. Trump has continued that trend. Just as Mr. Obama, frustrated by opposition in Congress, made ambitious use of his executive power, only to be reined in at times by the courts, Mr. Trump has turned to his presidential pen to enact sweeping policies. But he has bristled at the restraints imposed on the presidency as few have, lashing out at judges, lawmakers, investigators and journalists who anger him and expressing frustration that he is not supposed to use the F.B.I. as he sees fit. His sense of government is not based on coalition building or a balancing act between equal branches. It is one where he deems what is necessary and the system should fall in line.

Excerpt 5:

Talk of “absolute” power and a noted affinity for foreign strongmen have fueled fears of authoritarianism. For the most part, Mr. Trump, with some notable exceptions, has demonstrated more bark than bite. But that bark has become a power unto itself, and the question remains whether he will follow through on his threats in the next stage of his tenure or whether his attacks will prove ultimately self-defeating. Mr. Trump is creating precedents that may outlast his tenure. He is making the presidency more authentic or more autocratic, depending on the vantage point. Either way, it may never be the same.

Once students have fully examined Mr. Baker’s argument, then the class can hold a Socratic seminar using the article to contemplate how, and to what extent, Mr. Trump has changed the presidency. Possible discussion questions include:

• In what ways is Mr. Trump reinventing the presidency?

• Do you think these changes are good or bad for the country?

• Is he making the presidency more “authentic” or more “autocratic”?

• Are the president’s actions and statements corrosive to American democracy? Or are they benign political tools for advancing his policy objectives?

• Do you think the changes President Trump is making will outlast his tenure?

• Do you think Mr. Baker’s analysis is accurate and fair?