Transcript
Page 1: Happy Birthday George! Presidents' Day Centers Activities

Happy Birthday George!

Celebrating Presidents ’ Day…

the ____________ grade way! Onceuponasubstitute.blogspot.com % 2012 % Cortney Bystrom

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Blow out the candles and make a wish because we are celebrating George Washington’s 280th Birthday!

Wait…how can he be 280 years old?! THAT’S OLD!

George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732. When he was

born, America wasn’t even a nation yet!

Americans celebrate his birthday along with Abraham Lincoln’s on the Monday before Washington’s and after

Lincoln’s birthday on February 20th, 2012.

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Presidents’ Day is a holiday honoring past presidents of the United States. This learning center offers 8 activities that will help you learn more about

America and our presidents!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Activit ies:

1. Lincoln Penny Pinchers (2 Pennies, eraser, dry erase marker)

2. Making Monuments (Monument books, copies of blueprint pages)

3. Liberty Letters (Copies of Letter Templates, Blank Envelopes)

4. If I Were President… (Time For Kids Graphic Organizer – see link)

5. Star-spangled String (String hung in classroom, clothespins, star template, red/white/blue paper, scissors, glue, President flashcards, President pics)

6. Mini Mount Rushmore (See material list on page)

7. Pop-Out Paper White House (See materials on page)

8. Coloring Sheets/Flashcards/Books (Supplied by teacher http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/presidents_day/)

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1.

Lincoln Penny Pinchers

Happy Birthday, Lincoln! With a partner, have one person be heads and the other tails. Take turns flipping coins to see which column reaches the top first. Use the erasable

marker to put an x in the boxes. Who will win?!

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2.

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2.

Making Monuments

Imagine this… You are an artist and you have been asked to design a new

monument for a president. Which president would you choose? What kind of design would you create?

What is a monument?

A monument is a building or statue that honors a person or an event. Some monuments honor presidents.

Take a look at a monument book for some ideas for your design. Research the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Mount Rushmore, etc.

Right:LincolnMemorialtohonorour16thPresident

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Make a monument blueprint by sketching your idea on graph paper for the construction workers to use in

their planning.

Don’t forget to name the monument after the president you have chosen!

Name: ___________________________________

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Page 8: Happy Birthday George! Presidents' Day Centers Activities

3.

Liberty Letters

Write a letter to the President and mail it to the White House! It takes 6-8 weeks to get a reply, but your class may get a packet back from the President that includes stickers and information about all the presidents… and

more!

Don’t forget to put your school’s return address on the

envelope!

Include the Return Address:

______________________

______________________

______________________

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Things to tell the President:

• All about your school/grade • What you know about presidents and

American symbols • What you want to learn • If you have any ideas • Thank you for _______________. • What you like about America • How you want to help your country

Steps to writing your letter:

1. Use the letter form provided. 2. Address the envelope using the address on the

letter above “Dear Mr. President.” 3. Use your best handwriting! 4. Put in an envelope provided by your teacher.

Teacher Link for Letter Template: http://www.abcteach.com/free/w/writingprompt_lettertopresident.pdf

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___________________________

©2003-2008 abcteach.com

____________________________

____________________________ (your address)

____________________________ (the date)

President Barack Obama

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Sincerely,

____________________________ (your signature)

____________________________ (your name)

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4.

If I were President…

Being president takes a lot of responsibility. They make many decisions and must listen to the people of America. Use the worksheet to draw and write answers for each

box.

Who knows…

You could be President someday!

(Teacher link to print worksheet - http://www.timeforkids.com/content/if-i-were-president-0)

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5.

Star-Spangled String

Class Goal: To have 44 stars on our Star-Spangled String!

Your Task:

1. Make a star by tracing the star template on red, white, or blue paper.

2. Choose from the list of presidents and place a check next to the one you pick.

3. Find this President’s picture in the Ziploc/envelope. (Teacher must cut out pictures provided)

4. Glue this picture onto your star. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents)

5. Find this President in the U.S. President Flashcards.

6. On your star, write one interesting fact you found.

7. Hang your star on the string by using a clothespin to attach it to the string.

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List of Presidents: 1. George Washington, 1789-1797

2. John Adams, 1797-1801 3. Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809 4. James Madison, 1809-1817 5. James Monroe, 1817-1825 6. John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 7. Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837 8. Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 9. William Henry Harrison, 1841 10. John Tyler, 1841-1845 11. James Knox Polk, 1845-1849 12. Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850 13. Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853 14. Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857 15. James Buchanan, 1857-1861 16. Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865 17. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869 18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-1877 19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881 20. James Abram Garfield, 1881 21. Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885 22. Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889 23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893 24. Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897 25. William McKinley, 1897-1901 26. Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909 27. William Howard Taft, 1909-1913 28. Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921 29. Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923 30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929 31. Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933 32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945 33. Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953 34. Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961 35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963 36. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969 37. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974 38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977 39. James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981 40. Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989 41. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993 42. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001 43. George Walker Bush, 2001-2009 44. Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-

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Star Template

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6.

Min i Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is a monument in South Dakota that honors 4 Presidents important in the first 150 years

of American history:

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Theodore Roosevelt

Abraham Lincoln

From 1927 to 1941, more than 400 men and women helped to carve the mountain. They had to work hard by climbing 506 steps everyday to get to the top! Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor. Did you know that 90% of the carvings were done using more than 800 pounds of dynamite?! Did you know that each President’s head is as tall as a 6-story building? Or

that each nose is 20 feet long and each mouth is 18 feet wide? THAT’S BIG!

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Make a Mini Mount Rushmore

You’ll need:

• A penny, nickel, dime, and quarter • White paper • Blue construction paper • Brown crayon or colored pencil • Tape • Glue • Scissors

Make it!

1. Tape your coins onto your white paper in this order: From left to right, penny, dime, nickel, quarter. Make sure the Presidents' heads are facing down!

2. Flip your paper over and rub your brown crayon or pencil over top of the coins and all around. You'll see the Presidents' faces appear!

3. Cut your white paper into a mountain shape and tape or glue it onto a piece of sky blue paper.

**Special Note: Keep in mind that the Theodore Roosevelt is the President on Mount Rushmore, Franklin D. Roosevelt is the President on the dime.

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7.

Pop-Out Paper White House

For more than 200 years, the White House has been a home for many Presidents and their families. It is also recognized as a

symbol of America.

Fun Facts

• There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators.

• At various times in history, the White House has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.

• Presidential Firsts while in office... President James Polk (1845-49) was the first President to have his photograph taken... President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama... President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.

• With five full-time chefs, the White House kitchen is able to serve dinner to as many as 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1,000.

• The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface. • For recreation, the White House has a variety of facilities available to its residents, including a

tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/history)

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Build it!

What you need: Printed Paper White House Blue and Green construction paper Scissors Glue

Make it!

1. Prepare your background paper. Glue a small strip of green paper onto the bottom of a full sheet of sky blue paper.

2. Cut out your printed paper White House. Cut around each piece of the building carefully. Don’t forget to cut out the flag! Look at the small cut out, cut out the rectangles carefully to make the pillars.

3. Glue the back of the White House onto your construction paper.

4. Put the front pillar section on the building by folding on the dotted line.

5. Glue these folded parts on to your White House where it says “Glue Here.” It should look 3D. on these tabs.

6. Color and glue your American flag on top!

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TeacherResource:http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/support-files/paperwhitehouse.pdf

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Happy Birthday George: Celebrating Presidents ’ Day the _________ Grade Way !

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Learning Center Objectives: Students will…

• Discover why America celebrates the national holiday of Presidents’ Day. • Collect and record data. • Demonstrate knowledge in a writing process with attention to organizing ideas in a letter format. • Design and construct models of American monuments and memorials. • Learn various facts about past presidents of the United States. • Understand the responsibilities of the President of the United States.

Description of Activities: The following learning center offered students with an interactive way to honor and celebrate Presidents’ Day. A variety of activities relating to mathematics, language arts, and social studies helped students discover the significance behind the national holiday and what it means to be an American. The basket used to contain all materials for the center was located on a table for students to access during their free time or after completing an assignment. All of the activities were outlined in the binder and included most of the materials needed (templates, worksheets, flashcards, books, coloring sheets, clothespins, colored paper, string, President photographs, pennies/coins, dry erase marker, etc.). After introducing the learning center to the class, no additional teacher instruction was needed to complete the activities.

1. Lincoln Penny Pinchers Students learned that Presidents’ Day not only acknowledges the birthday of George Washington, but of that of Abraham Lincoln as well. This math activity allowed for students to record data based off of their penny flipping experiment. In pairs, they took turns flipping two pennies to see which side, heads or tails, occurred the most. Students plotted this data on the chart using a dry erase marker.

2. Making Monuments As an extension of our social studies unit on American symbols, students used their knowledge of monuments and memorials to propose a blueprint design of a building/statue honoring a president of their choice. Students drew their design on graph paper provided at the center and named the monument after the president.

3. Liberty Letters This activity provided students with additional practice as they wrote a letter to President Barack Obama. Letter templates including the White House address was included and students followed the procedure outlined to address their envelope.

4. If I Were President… Students were asked to complete a worksheet that illustrated and described four choices they would make if they were elected into presidency.

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5. Star-spangled String Using president flashcards, students researched a president and placed one learned fact on the back of a cutout star. This star also included a picture of the president and was hung from a string located in the corner of the classroom. Students used clothespins provided to attach their star to the red, white, and blue string.

6. Mini Mount Rushmore This art activity used coins to make mini representations of the national monument of Mount Rushmore. Students read about the monument and discovered how the Presidents’ faces matched with those on our penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. (Note: Theodore Roosevelt is on Mount Rushmore, but Franklin D. Roosevelt is on the dime.) Using a brown crayon, students followed directions to create a crayon rubbing of their own national monument. White paper and sky blue background paper was attached.

7. Pop-Out Paper White House Students read fun facts about the White House located in Washington D.C. They created a pop-out replica of the President’s home using the template and background paper provided.

8. Coloring Sheets/Flashcards/Books Additional coloring sheets featuring Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, the Presidents’ Seal, and other American symbols were provided for students to use. Flashcards and books were placed in the basket that included the binder of activities.

Interactive Qualities: All activities were easily accessible and available for students to bring back to their tables. Interactive qualities included flipping coins, recording data, constructing models of monuments, coloring American symbols/presidents, making coin rubbings, writing letters, and creating President fact stars. Not only did these activities offer an extension to their social studies unit on “Ways of Living” (Culture/American symbols, etc.), but it also provided students with opportunities to strengthen their fine motor skills. Each of the eight activities could be worked on independently or in a group setting.

Evaluation: My observations allowed me to conclude that the center greatly benefited student learning. Those who chose to participate in the activities showed interest in the different games and some even explored the activities during their in-classroom break. The students were able to gain new knowledge in addition to building off of what they had already learned in previous social studies lessons. Having the connection directly relate to a national holiday in which the students did not have school gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the different ways Americans celebrate Presidents’ Day.

Range of Activities: In the process of creating my learning center, I attempted to adapt to a variety of multiple intelligences and interests. I made activities interdisciplinary and sought to make each activity hands-on using various manipulatives (i.e. pennies, flashcards, letters, pop-out paper white house, etc.). Secondly, I explained the majority of the activities using the least amount of written instruction. With the variety of reading levels embedded within my classroom, I offered more advanced reading materials in the basket, while directions in the binder were more concise and easy for readers of any ability to follow. The activities catered towards multiple intelligences including: spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal.

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