Presidents’ Day is February 16, 2015
Make history come alive by researching past and current presidents. The following activity will support your ELA standards and facilitate higher-level thinking skills.
1. Introduction/Pre-reading Activity
Read a book about Presidents’ Day as a class. Review the main ideas found in the book. Show a list of US Presidents in chronological order. Students may also create a timeline of US Presidents.
Presidents’ Day
2. Generate Research Questions
Based on your whole group reading, have students come up with additional questions about their president. These questions will help your student stay on task and guide their research.
3. Find Resources
Have students use Big Universe and filter by **Presidents** or the name of their president. You could also assign books to a group of students.
Abraham Lincoln
4. Take Notes
Use a graphic organizers, to help students gather information. Find a graphic organizer to meet your needs. You could design your own visual information organizer based on student questions.
5. Report Findings
Have students share their answers with the class. Think, pair, share, is a great model to follow when research is done individually. Research has shown that discussion increases comprehension.
6. Extension Ideas
Compare and contrast various presidents in small groups. Provide your students with a Venn diagram. Have them complete this within their group. Assign jobs to students within the groups.
7. Additional Resources
Rourke’s Complete History of Our Presidents Encyclopedia, Volume 1
ISBN: 9781606942949
From the Publisher: “Rourke’s Complete History of Our Presidents Encyclopedia is a wonderful addition to any library or classroom collection. Each volume has been updated with new graphics, maps, and information. Volume 13 includes the most current information about the 2008 election, as well as Barack Obama. Volume 14 has a cumulative glossary, index, report writing help, maps, and more fascinating information about presidential transportation.”
Making a Connection to CCSS (Grade 4)
Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.