Celebrate Presidents' Day Learning History
Teaching Social Studies and Language Skills Around the Presidency
Feb 6, 2009
Presidents' Day offers a chance to fill your classroom with historical books, charts and centers. Since so much of U.S. history is centered about presidents, use this opportunity to teach skills of sequence, career awareness, compare and contrast, fact and opinion, writing narrative and dialogue, as well as cultural and historical awareness. Many of these activities require students to develop research skills as they learn about the presidency.
Sequence Card Game With Presidents
Use purchased or class-made Pick Three cards with names of presidents and dates of their term, and any other information desired. Shuffle cards and let each player pick three cards. Then they lay the cards down in chronological order. Allow use of a list or book to foster research skills when appropriate. Also, information on the cards can be adjusted to the level of the students. When students are working in teams of four, the fourth student can be team captain to settle any disagreements of fact, using texts, charts, or other material as a guide.
Career Awareness
Students will make a job description for the position of president (to extend include anyone else who works in the executive branch of government). Include needed education, skills, and personality characteristics which would help one perform that job.
Compare and Contrast Presidents
Children will select two presidents to research, and use a Venn diagram to list facts particular to each president on each side, listing similar experiences or events in the middle. (This can be extended with students turning this information into a paragraph or more comparing and contrasting the two presidents they have researched.)
Fact and Opinion About Presidents
List 5 facts and 5 opinions about presidents. (To extend the activity, assign 10 each and require students to underline feelings words in the opinions, and write a way to prove the facts). When students disagree, there is an opportunity to develop debating skills and learn about supporting your side with information and facts.
Writing About Presidents
After reading a presidential biography, write a journal entry about "a day in the life" of that president. Include hopes and dreams for the country, some plans for the future, and at least one sentence about the personal life of that particular president.
A great way to teach the skills of writing dialogue involves choosing two presidents. Then students write a conversation between these two heads of state about their experiences in the presidency. This can also be done in pairs with each child representing one president, passing the paper back and forth to write this presidential exchange.
Cultural and Historical Awareness
Make a chart, table, or time travel brochure listing three or more presidents and telling one song, fad, or event which occurred or was popular then. Include at least one important event which happened during that president's term of office.
Primary school teachers can use Presidents' Day to teach many skills of reading, language and history. This cross-curriculum classroom experience can include sequence, career awareness, comparing and contrasting, fact and opinion, writing skills, and cultural and historical awareness.
These social studies and language arts skills will go far in preparing students to be fine citizens of the future.
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