I'll be honest, in the past I always do some sort of activity...but I never am completely satisfied with the level of authenticity at the end of the day. I have been guilty of just finding a few president based worksheets or discussing it for a little with my students. We never dig deep into the true meaning of the American holiday.
So...I have created two products (hopefully more to come) that I would be proud for my students to complete. I would feel like they could apply reading, writing, thinking, collaborating, and listening all into one activity. After taking a few courses recently in hopes to get my Certificate for Literacy Instruction I have learned the importance of authentic work and having students understand the connection between reading and writing.
Research a President
This first product is a breakdown of all of the presidents we have had in the United States. There is a page per president to fill out information such as:
- Presidency dates
- Previous office/job
- Vice president during term
- Political party
- Research collected about president (early life, family life, important events during his time in presidency)
I am really excited to use this in my classroom, as I can see it will be an easy project to prepare for and students will gain the necessary skills when it comes to researching and putting that into an essay form. I'm not asking students to write a 3 page report on their president, as there would not be enough information to get that complete. But I feel the lesson is authentic and can teach students a lot about our past presidents. Plus it will make a great bulletin board!
Get the product here
Interviews with Great Americans
Another idea that I am wanting to try in my classroom is a product where they research a Great American (or President) and pretend to interview them. They will answer the 9 questions as if the Great American (or President) is answering. If you feel this could get too confusing for students, have students pair up. For example, I would research Abe Lincoln and my partner would research George Washington. We would interview each other answering the questions about our person we researched.
After the (9) questions have been answered, you can choose how the students present the information. Do you want them to dress up and present it to the class? Do you want them to write an essay? Compare and Contrast two of the people selected? Or my personal favorite...make a newspaper article about the information they found. This would be a fun way to write informational articles! I have created a few newspaper templates, and left space for students to draw a picture next to their writing. Once again, I see great potential with this for a bulletin board idea. How fun is it to let students draw at any age? They really can surprise you! I know what you're thinking...where do you get the time to let them sit and draw? These spaces are fairly small, so it won't take a lot of class time out of the other subject areas.
Find the product here
Good luck teaching about Great Americans/Presidents. I hope you can create an authentic activity for students to complete and not stick worksheets in front of them and cross your fingers they leave with new knowledge about the holiday.
Links for the Research:
Other In-Class and Online Activities
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