What is President's Day?
We all love holidays, don't we? A day off from work or school is something that we all look forward to. Just like how we wait in February for the three-day weekend! We enjoy the holidays, but there is an important history behind it!
A government holiday that is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday of February each year is known as President's Day.
Let us tell you something very interesting. The real name for President's Day is actually for Washington's Birthday. America's first president, George Washington, was born on February 22nd in 1732. He spent his life serving his country. So when he passed away in 1799, February 22ndbecame an important day to honor his life and work.
But the holiday didn't become official till 1879 when President Rutherford B. Hayes signed into law. The day was then announced a federal holiday for celebrating an individual person.
We celebrate many federal holidays, such as Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. So which one is your favorite?
These worksheets contain a number of different activities using a dedicated set of vocabulary words related to the President's Day observance, including word search, fill in the blanks, scrambled words, word wall flash cards, acrostic poems, crossword puzzles, and more. The collection also includes six different packs of Bingo cards, which can be used during discussions of the topics. Last but not least, a KWHL (know, what, how, learn) diagram is included to help students pick a topic to explore in more depth. This is a purely American holiday that is always observed on the third Monday of the month of February. It originally started as a celebration of George Washington's life and quickly transitioned to observing the contributions of all the President's.
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Have you ever wondered why there is a limit to how long a person
can be president? George Washington was elected president
without anyone competition in 1788 and 1792, and he probably
would have been elected again in 1796, if he hadn't decided that
two four-year terms were enough.
Some of our former presidents are featured on U.S. bills
and on the faces of coins. Match the name of the president with the
currency or coin that features his image.
Nearly two years before slavery was officially abolished in the United
States, a group of school children in Massachussets wrote to
President Lincon to ask that he free all slaves under the age of 18.
What we know today about president's is so shaped for us by the news media.
How to Teach Students About U.S. Presidents
Learning about the nation's history can be boring for many kids, but only if teachers aren't creative. President's Day can be a good opportunity to learn more about Lincoln and Washington, but the U.S. has a long line of presidents. You can use other opportunities and activities to teach your classroom about presidents and their contributions.
If you are wondering how to teach students about US presidents, you can try out these activities.
Puppetry with Presidents
You don't have to get too complicated with the puppets. You can get a print of the president's head and stick it on a popsicle stick. You can ask the students to write a fun script about a theme or concept from the American history of a president. They can learn more about slavery and the Constitution, or even center the script around dinner parties at the White House.
They can learn more about presidents while mapping a story and designing plots. They can learn more story writing skills and storytelling while learning.
Baseball Cards of Presidents
Baseball cards are used to show off statistics related to a player's career. You can design baseball cards for presidents that showcase their accomplishments and achievements year by year. You can include political affiliation and biographical information. All you need to do is write down presidential information with a photo.
Campaign Posters
All presidents ran campaigns as a candidate since it has been part of the American tradition for around a century. You can get your students to research the issues that the nation was facing at their time and create campaigns for assigned candidates. Let them imagine how old presidents would campaign in modern society using new tactics, mottos, slogans, and campaign ads.
Experts
You can assign each student a different president and make them an “expert” on them. You can put together a great class of five students coming in to speak about the president every day. This can help them learn more about each president.
Bingo
Each kid can get a list of 24 presidents and tell them to fill out a bingo card one at a time. Make sure to tell them to free up the middle space. You can start the bingo game by reading a description of each president. Students can check off what president they think you are talking about. The student who gets a row of presidents first wins the Bingo!
Presidential Quizzes
There are some worksheets that you can create to quiz the students. However, we all know how students feel about quizzes. So, you can try and make them fun by incorporating rewards for whoever gets the most answers. Prizes can make the students more excited.
Presidential Movies
There are a lot of movies based on the life and work of different presidents. You can learn more by watching Presidential Facts, The American Presidents, and more. There are many presidential libraries on YouTube that you can put on. Some Hollywood films can also be a great option. 1776 is all about the founding fathers when they were fighting against the UK for independence. John Adams by HBO offers many interesting stories about his life. Thirteen Days also offers great insight into the Cuban Missile Crisis.
There are many fun ways to approach teaching and learning about presidents. Now that you know how to teach students about US presidents, you can try out these methods!
