Each year on Presidents’ Day, we spend time teaching the children about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. And for good reason. They were both a big deal.
But there were others who also left their mark on America’s history in other ways. FDR helped the nation recover from the Great Depression. Theodore Roosevelt cared deeply about conserving our country’s natural resources. And Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his work to strengthen diplomacy and cooperation among others.
This year, we’re planning on going a little beyond Washington and Lincoln in our Presidents’ Day plans. We think Presidents’ Day should be about the collective group.
We start by checking out a few books about a variety of past presidents. If you visit your local or school library, you’ll find plenty, but one of our favorites is Lincoln and Grace by Steve Metzger. It’s the true account of why Abraham Lincoln decided to grow a beard… and it was all because of a letter written by an 11-year-old child, Grace Bedell. Our students get a real boost knowing a child can have that kind of impact.
PRESIDENT’S DAY PRINTABLES
But we also want to make sure our students have a book of their own to read. We created American Presidents as a tool to spark some interest and get conversations going about U.S. presidents. It’s just right for first and second grade readers and sets the stage for some follow-up comprehension work.
Then, everyone will get their own nonfiction writing template, My Presidential Report, to work on. This can be done individually, but if you’re students are new to the process of doing research, we suggest letting the children collaborate in pairs.
Depending on your students’ abilities and stamina, it will likely take a couple days to complete the reports. Whenever they’re finished, save a little time for them to present their reports either in a whole-class setting or in small groups to increase engagement.
MORE IDEAS FOR PRESIDENTS’ DAY
Before you wrap up your lesson plans for Presidents’ Day, take a look at these fun ideas. They’re creative and get the kids engaged in a way they’ll remember.
- Plan for Presidential Role Play – Have students take turns sitting in a mock Oval Office chair and making a brief speech about what they do if they were president. They could also create campaign posters to support their ideas.
- Hold a Presidential Press Conference – Assign students to play the role of different presidents and have the rest of the class be reporters. The reporters can ask questions, and the presidents can answer based on facts you’ve taught them.
- Design a Mount Rushmore Mashup – Challenge students to redesign Mount Rushmore, including the four presidents they think should be memorialized in the monument. After finishing their drawing, allow time for students to explain why they made those choices.
- Pose Presidential Problems – Give students real-world scenarios a president might face, such as “Our state needs more schools,” or “Many people need help finding jobs,” and challenge them to brainstorm solutions like a leader would.
- Design a New Coin or Dollar Bill – Have students design a new coin or bill featuring a president and explain why they made that particular choice.
Happy teaching!
BOOKMARK FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH👇
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