Meeting the Common Core with President’s Day Activities: From our Forefathers to Obama

President’s Day, is an “inclusive” celebration of all our nation’s presidents.  Teach students about our nation’s leaders this month by incorporating history into all aspects of your classroom.  Get your class interested with an introduction by sharing brief videos; try one on George Washington or Presidential Fun Facts.

Depending on grade level, read with students about the Seven Roles for One President. Make a class chart to summarize the roles, or even try a class wiki post. Using online interactives like the If You Were President: A Scholastic Online News Activity in reading instruction can help further student understanding. With the Scholastic interactive, students get to imagine as if they are president, choose their advisors, learn about the responsibilities of the president, and get to make (and defend!) virtual decisions.

Also mingle history and math with U.S. Presidents: A Math Hunt Activity. Students will learn about U.S. presidents while solving math problems. Math problems focus on fractions, multiplication, and division. If students are stumped by a question posed by a history-based word problem, they get to “Hunt for the Answer” on a linked educational website.

Washington's Inauguration, 1789, Architect of the Capitol

Let’s not forget the significance of George Washington, which is—of course—the goal of this next activity.  Plays about the President: George Washington asks students to remember more than just a few facts about our country’s former leader by acting out a class play. It also includes a Bibliography and three class activities; vocabulary discussion, a writing prompt, and researching/reporting on another related subject.

Read President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address. Students can learn more about President Obama staring his second term by reading an article on their own or by following the account of a student who was in attendance for the ceremony.

President Barack Obama holds a conference call with advisors to discuss the Aurora, Colorado shootings, during the motorcade ride to Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach, Fla., July 20, 2012. White House photostream

Also use the free Brain Dip Magazine app to help students analyze the President’s speech in multiple subjects, by grade level according to Common Core Standards. By combining reading, writing, and math with history, students are provided with a comprehensive lesson that will enhance their understanding.

Left to Right: Integrating Technology and the Election in Your Classroom

As November approaches, we are surrounded by tons of resources and information related to the upcoming election. Between the news, rallies, debates, and even bumper stickers, political stories are everywhere this time of year, so why not incorporate them into your teaching? Here are some fun ways to introduce the material to students and even get them involved in their own electronic poll!

At Scholastic's website, students can learn election basics like who is running for President and the history of Election Day. There is a student interview with President Obama, political vocabulary, and an area to virtually “Meet the Candidates!”. Check out these great resources for an election-themed math lesson:

• Once students have an idea of who is running, teachers can create a free online poll. Students can see the results instantly, and class results can then be compared online to the Scholastic Student Vote Winner.
• The New York Times FiveThirtyEight Blog is a great source of election-related charts and graphs you can share with your students. 
• If you’re looking for election-related videos to help reinforce your lesson, NBC Learn’s Decision 2012 has pulled together a collection of videos and related resources on the 2012 election.

Engage your class in a discussion of how we use polls, charts, graphs, and other organizational tools to help us understand the election, identify patterns in different groups, and predict possible outcomes.  Check out PowerUp’s resources on Organizing strategies in math for more ideas.

Image source:
  by  DonkeyHotey