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Ask the Presidents Grade Level: 3-6
Story Preview: Penny shows her lack of understanding of and knowledge about the presidency when she e-mails to her teacher a joke about the president. Her teacher's reaction spurs Penny to go online to learn more about what a president does. There, she discovers a Web site at which former presidents chat about their accomplishments, and learns what those men consider to be the important qualities of a president.
Roles: Narrator, Penny, Ms. Abbington (teacher), I_Like_Ike (Dwight Eisenhower), Honest_Abe (Abraham Lincoln), Gentleman_Farmer (George Washington), Monty_Cello (Thomas Jefferson), New_Deal (Franklin D. Roosevelt), Pillbox_Hat (Jacqueline Kennedy), PT_Boat_Commander (John F. Kennedy), Great_Communicator (Ronald Reagan)
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Setting: present day, school and home
Theme: Presidents' Day
Vocabulary:
- dud: failure or misfit
- secede: withdraw from a group
- Confederacy: union of persons, parties, or states
- morals: values or beliefs
- virtues: good or admirable qualities
- executive branch: the branch of the U.S. government responsible for carrying out the laws; includes the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, and heads of some agencies.
- legacy: something received from a predecessor
- promote: contribute to the growth of
Props: none required
Follow-Up Questions:
- What are the full names of the presidents in the script?
- What is the full name of each of those president's first ladies?
- What branch of the U.S. government is the Supreme Court part of?
- What is the Declaration of Independence?
- Which presidents gave their lives for their office?
- Which president do you think had the most difficult term of office? Why?
- Do you agree that "courage, commitment, and communication" are the most important qualities of a President?
- Do you think Penny only dreamed about the chat room? Why or why not?
Follow-Up Activity:
Separate students into small groups and ask each group to research a president in this script: I_Like_Ike (Dwight Eisenhower); Honest_Abe (Abraham Lincoln); Gentleman_Farmer (George Washington); Monty_Cello (Thomas Jefferson); New_Deal (Franklin D. Roosevelt); Pillbox_Hat (Jacqueline Kennedy) and PT_Boat_Commander (John F. Kennedy); or Great_Communicator (Ronald Reagan). Have students look for information that explains the alias used by each speaker and comments he or she makes. (For example, why does John F. Kennedy call himself PT_Boat_Commander and the "man who accompanied Pillbox Hat to this chat"?) Next, have students create a profile for the speakers that includes the years that each president served, place of birth, and other key facts. Reconvene to share their findings as a class and put the presidents on a timeline based on the events they discuss and their years in office.
Click here for a printable script.
Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
Copyright © 2006 Education World
02/10/2006
Updated 01/20/2010
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Looking Forward
To Monday Morning
Halloween Fun
SECRET GHOST
Prior to Halloween, send out to colleagues a notice about the "Secret Ghost" activity you are planning. This notice will help you determine those who will be interested in participating. The following poem might accompany the notice. Change the days of the week in italic type as needed so that the final revealing takes place on Halloween day. For example, in the poem below, Halloween day is on a Tuesday.
Halloween is almost here
So let's set out to spread some cheer.
On Wednesday, start with a card
Now surely, that won't be too hard.
On Thursday, brighten up the room
A decoration should lift the gloom.
On Friday, bring a little treat
Something edible and fun to eat.
On Monday, there's a pumpkin theme
Pretty simple, it would seem.
On Tuesday, bring a scary witch
To complete your task without a glitch.
At half-past-three we'll end the fun
By trying to guess the guilty one.
Can you pick the Ghost who has been concealed?
On Tuesday, all will be revealed.Contributed by by Jeri Rohl, Van Buren Intermediate School District, Lawrence, Michigan
Once you have determined who will participate, each participant writes her/his name on a pumpkin-shaped piece of paper and places it into a plastic pumpkin container. Then each participant draws a name from the pumpkin and becomes that person's Secret Ghost. During the week before Halloween, participants secretly give small items to the person whose name they drew according to the plan described in the poem above and the list below:
Monday: a card
Tuesday: a decoration
Wednesday: something edible
Thursday: a pumpkin-themed gift
Friday: a witch-themed gift
The Secret Ghost might leave gifts in the recipient's mailbox, on his/her desk, or pinned to a classroom bulletin board. Or the Secret Ghost might have the gift delivered by another person.
At the end of the week, assemble all participants so they can guess the identity of their Secret Ghost and see if their guesses are correct as they personally give the last gift of the week.
STOCKING UP ON SWEET REWARDS
Food makes great rewards for staff members. And immediately after Halloween is a great time to buy candy on sale. Stock up on some of the candy items below and when the time is right, attach an appreciative saying to the candy and give them at staff meetings, put them on staff members' desks, or drop them in teachers' mailboxes. Some examples of candy rewards include
Starbursts -- You are bursting with enthusiasm!
Peppermint Pattie -- Get students to have the sensation of learning!
M & Ms -- You are Marvelous and Motivated!
Red Hots -- Our staff is "Red Hot!"
Hershey Hugs -- Huge Undertaking -- Great Success!
GRIN AND SHARE IT
One Halloween, a trick-or-treater came to my door dressed as Rocky, complete with satin shorts and boxing gloves.
Soon after I gave him some goodies, he returned once more.
"Aren't you the same Rocky who left my doorstep a few minutes ago?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, "but now I'm the sequel. I'll be back five more times tonight."
Find more smiles, chuckles, and grins in my books Laugh Lines for Educators and Grin and Share It!
Drive your staff happy!
Diane
Education World®
Copyright © 2008 Education World
Peanuts Comic Strip
Click for a PDF (portable document format) printable version of this Every-Day Edit activity.
Scroll down or click for work sheet text and answer key.
Click for our archive of Every-Day Edit activities from previous weeks.
Click for Ideas for Using Every-Day Edit in the classroom.
Activity Key
Uncorrected Text
From the first day the peanuts comic strip appear in newspapers, the antics of Charlie Brown and his dog, snoopy had readers in stitches. Created by Charles M Schulz, the strip first appeared in October 1950. Other Peanuts characters included Linus Lucy, and Sally. In the strip, when ever things went rong, Charlie's response was, Good grief!" When Schulz died in February 2000 many wondered if Charlie would ever kick the football.
Answer Key
From the first day the Peanuts comic strip appeared in newspapers, the antics of Charlie Brown and his dog, Snoopy, had readers in stitches. Created by Charles M. Schulz, the strip first appeared in October 1950. Other Peanuts characters included Linus, Lucy, and Sally. In the strip, whenever things went wrong, Charlie's response was, "Good grief!" When Schulz died in February 2000, many wondered if Charlie would ever kick the football.
Note: Some students might choose to remove the comma after the word dog, so the sentence would read...
From the first day the Peanuts comic strip appeared in newspapers, the antics of Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy had readers in stitches.
That would not be incorrect.
Copyright © Education World
Subject: Reading
Grade: 3
Lesson Objective: To read an excerpt from Trumpet of the Swans and discuss how it relates to the life cycle of swans.
Common Core Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Materials:
Printable Student Handout Worksheet
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White chapter 1 excerpt- http://www.exodusbooks.com/Samples/Harper/1315Sample.pdf (to read aloud and, if possible, one per student)
Starter:
Say:
What do you know about the life cycle of swans? (Allow the students to answer.)
Main:
Say:
Today we are going to be talking about swans and their life cycle. First, we are going to read part of the book, The Trumpet of the Swan.
This book is by E.B. White, who was also the author of Charlotte’s Web.
While I read part of chapter 1 to you, I would like you to be thinking about the setting of the story and what experiences the character has in those settings. (Read the excerpt)
What was your feeling while you were listening to the part of the story? (Allow the students to answer)
I am going to give you a worksheet that has questions about the excerpt that I read to you. I will also be giving you a copy of the excerpt so that you can read it to yourself.
After you have finished reading the excerpt again and doing the worksheet, we will talk about your answers.
Does anyone have any questions?
Feedback:
Say:
Who would like to share your answers? (Allow the students to share.)
Related lessons:
Emergency Sub Plan: Life Cycle - Writing - Lesson Objective: To write the rest of the story based on the chapter read from The Trumpet of the Swan
Emergency Sub Plan: Life Cycle - Science - Lesson Objective: To learn about the life cycle of trumpeter swans and then answer questions about the life cycle
Emergency Sub Plan: Life Cycle - Math - Lesson Objective: To use multiplication and division to solve word problems
Emergency Sub Plans Complete Library
Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer
Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.
Copyright© 2019 Education World
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