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Using Primary Sources:
Letters from the Presidents
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Subjects
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Grades 6-8, 9-12 |
Brief Description
This lesson introduces students to the minds and thoughts of presidents through their actual letters.
Objectives
Students
- learn about the personal lives of presidents.
- learn about presidents' personal and familial relationships.
- learn about the character and personalities of presidents.
- learn about how presidents reacted to the historic events in which they participated.
Keywords
biography, diary, journal, letter, president
Materials Needed
Lesson Plan
This lesson by seventh-grade teacher Steven Vetter comes from American Presidents: Life Portraits, a companion Web site to C-SPAN's 20th Anniversary Television Series American Presidents: Life Portraits. In the activity, students learn about the presidents by touring the American Presidents Web site. Then they choose one president and read a letter written by him. They use the letter to respond in writing to a set of questions that deal with its components and what it reveals about the writer. As a wrap-up to the activity, students create essays in response to one of five assignments.See the complete lesson at Using Primary Sources: Letters from the Presidents. There Vetter shares his rationale for the lesson and for using primary source documents in Using Letters of the Presidents in the Classroom.
Assessment
Evaluate students' written compositions.
Lesson Plan Source
American Presidents
Submitted By
Cara Bafile
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
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GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics
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GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-C.5-8.1 Civic Life, Politics, and Government -
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-C.9-12.1 Civic Life, Politics, and Government
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History
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GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.3 Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
NSS-USH.5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
NSS-USH.5-12.5 Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
NSS-USH.5-12.6 Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
NSS-USH.5-12.7 Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
NSS-USH.5-12.8 Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
NSS-USH.5-12.10 Era 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the Present)
SOCIAL SCIENCES: World History
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GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-WH.5-12.7 An Age of Revolutions, 1750-1914
NSS-WH.5-12.8 The 20th Century
TECHNOLOGY
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GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research Tools
See more lessons at Presidents' Day Activities!
Click here to return to the Hail to the Chief! lesson plan page.
Last updated 2/13/2012
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You've reached the end of another grading period, and what could be more daunting than the task of composing insightful, original, and unique comments about every child in your class? The following positive statements will help you tailor your comments to specific children and highlight their strengths.
You can also use our statements to indicate a need for improvement. Turn the words around a bit, and you will transform each into a goal for a child to work toward. Sam cooperates consistently with others becomes Sam needs to cooperate more consistently with others, and Sally uses vivid language in writing may instead read With practice, Sally will learn to use vivid language in her writing. Make Jan seeks new challenges into a request for parental support by changing it to read Please encourage Jan to seek new challenges.
Whether you are tweaking statements from this page or creating original ones, check out our Report Card Thesaurus [see bottom of the page] that contains a list of appropriate adjectives and adverbs. There you will find the right words to keep your comments fresh and accurate.
We have organized our 125 report card comments by category. Read the entire list or click one of the category links below to jump to that list.
AttitudeBehaviorCharacterCommunication SkillsGroup WorkInterests and TalentsParticipationSocial SkillsTime ManagementWork Habits
Attitude
The student:
is an enthusiastic learner who seems to enjoy school.
exhibits a positive outlook and attitude in the classroom.
appears well rested and ready for each day's activities.
shows enthusiasm for classroom activities.
shows initiative and looks for new ways to get involved.
uses instincts to deal with matters independently and in a positive way.
strives to reach their full potential.
is committed to doing their best.
seeks new challenges.
takes responsibility for their learning.
Behavior
The student:
cooperates consistently with the teacher and other students.
transitions easily between classroom activities without distraction.
is courteous and shows good manners in the classroom.
follows classroom rules.
conducts themselves with maturity.
responds appropriately when corrected.
remains focused on the activity at hand.
resists the urge to be distracted by other students.
is kind and helpful to everyone in the classroom.
sets an example of excellence in behavior and cooperation.
Character
The student:
shows respect for teachers and peers.
treats school property and the belongings of others with care and respect.
is honest and trustworthy in dealings with others.
displays good citizenship by assisting other students.
joins in school community projects.
is concerned about the feelings of peers.
faithfully performs classroom tasks.
can be depended on to do what they are asked to do.
seeks responsibilities and follows through.
is thoughtful in interactions with others.
is kind, respectful and helpful when interacting with his/her peers
is respectful of other students in our classroom and the school community
demonstrates responsibility daily by caring for the materials in our classroom carefully and thoughtfully
takes his/her classroom jobs seriously and demonstrates responsibility when completing them
is always honest and can be counted on to recount information when asked
is considerate when interacting with his/her teachers
demonstrates his/her manners on a daily basis and is always respectful
has incredible self-discipline and always gets his/her work done in a timely manner
can be counted on to be one of the first students to begin working on the task that is given
perseveres when faced with difficulty by asking questions and trying his/her best
does not give up when facing a task that is difficult and always does his/her best
is such a caring boy/girl and demonstrates concern for his/her peers
demonstrates his/her caring nature when helping his/her peers when they need the assistance
is a model citizen in our classroom
is demonstrates his/her citizenship in our classroom by helping to keep it clean and taking care of the materials in it
can always be counted on to cooperate with his/her peers
is able to cooperate and work well with any of the other students in the class
is exceptionally organized and takes care of his/her things
is always enthusiastic when completing his/her work
is agreeable and polite when working with others
is thoughtful and kind in his/her interactions with others
is creative when problem solving
is very hardworking and always completes all of his/her work
is patient and kind when working with his/her peers who need extra assistance
trustworthy and can always be counted on to step in and help where needed
Communication Skills
The student:
has a well-developed vocabulary.
chooses words with care.
expresses ideas clearly, both verbally and through writing.
has a vibrant imagination and excels in creative writing.
has found their voice through poetry writing.
uses vivid language in writing.
writes clearly and with purpose.
writes with depth and insight.
can make a logical and persuasive argument.
listens to the comments and ideas of others without interrupting.
Group Work
The student:
offers constructive suggestions to peers to enhance their work.
accepts the recommendations of peers and acts on them when appropriate.
is sensitive to the thoughts and opinions of others in the group.
takes on various roles in the work group as needed or assigned.
welcomes leadership roles in groups.
shows fairness in distributing group tasks.
plans and carries out group activities carefully.
works democratically with peers.
encourages other members of the group.
helps to keep the work group focused and on task.
Interests and Talents
The student:
has a well-developed sense of humor.
holds many varied interests.
has a keen interest that has been shared with the class.
displays and talks about personal items from home when they relate to topics of study.
provides background knowledge about topics of particular interest to them.
has an impressive understanding and depth of knowledge about their interests.
seeks additional information independently about classroom topics that pique interest.
reads extensively for enjoyment.
frequently discusses concepts about which they have read.
is a gifted performer.
is a talented artist.
has a flair for dramatic reading and acting.
enjoys sharing their musical talent with the class.
Participation
The student:
listens attentively to the responses of others.
follows directions.
takes an active role in discussions.
enhances group discussion through insightful comments.
shares personal experiences and opinions with peers.
responds to what has been read or discussed in class and as homework.
asks for clarification when needed.
regularly volunteers to assist in classroom activities.
remains an active learner throughout the school day.
Social Skills
The student:
makes friends quickly in the classroom.
is well-liked by classmates.
handles disagreements with peers appropriately.
treats other students with fairness and understanding.
is a valued member of the class.
has compassion for peers and others.
seems comfortable in new situations.
enjoys conversation with friends during free periods.
chooses to spend free time with friends.
Time Management
The student:
tackles classroom assignments, tasks, and group work in an organized manner.
uses class time wisely.
arrives on time for school (and/or class) every day.
is well-prepared for class each day.
works at an appropriate pace, neither too quickly or slowly.
completes assignments in the time allotted.
paces work on long-term assignments.
sets achievable goals with respect to time.
completes make-up work in a timely fashion.
Work Habits
The student:
is a conscientious, hard-working student.
works independently.
is a self-motivated student.
consistently completes homework assignments.
puts forth their best effort into homework assignments.
exceeds expectations with the quality of their work.
readily grasps new concepts and ideas.
generates neat and careful work.
checks work thoroughly before submitting it.
stays on task with little supervision.
displays self-discipline.
avoids careless errors through attention to detail.
uses free minutes of class time constructively.
creates impressive home projects.
Related: Needs Improvement Report Card Comments for even more comments!
Student Certificates!
Recognize positive attitudes and achievements with personalized student award certificates!
Report Card Thesaurus
Looking for some great adverbs and adjectives to bring to life the comments that you put on report cards? Go beyond the stale and repetitive With this list, your notes will always be creative and unique.
Adjectives
attentive, capable, careful, cheerful, confident, cooperative, courteous, creative, dynamic, eager, energetic, generous, hard-working, helpful, honest, imaginative, independent, industrious, motivated, organized, outgoing, pleasant, polite, resourceful, sincere, unique
Adverbs
always, commonly, consistently, daily, frequently, monthly, never, occasionally, often, rarely, regularly, typically, usually, weekly
For students, the welcome warmth of the spring sun, the tantalizing sight of green grass and manicured base lines, the far off sound of a bat meeting a ball, the imagined scent of popcorn and hotdogs, can be powerful distracters. Desperate measures are called for! Bring the game into the classroom -- and score a home run -- with this week's Education World lessons and activities. Although most are designed for students in grades 5 and above, many can be adapted for younger students as well.
BATTER UP!
Begin your study of baseball by reading the poem Casey At the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888.) Discuss how sports affect the lives of fans as well as players. Ask students to tell about an occasion when sports positively or negatively affected their own lives. Students might also be inspired to write their own poems about baseball. You might share The Story Behind the Poem "Casey at the Bat".
History -- write about baseball history. Arrange students into groups and assign each group a period of time from 1845 to the present. Invite students to explore Baseball Almanac: Year-By-Year History, Baseball History: National Baseball Hall of Fame, Legendary Ladies of Baseball, and Negro Baseball Leagues and have each group prepare a report about baseball-related events during its assigned period. Encourage each group to share its report with the class. Students might also create a timeline of the highlights of baseball history and display it, with their reports, on a classroom or hallway bulletin board.
Math -- figuring averages. Invite students to explore the information about batting averages at Mathletics: Baseball. Then provide them with information about hits and at-bats for a fictional baseball team and ask them to determine the batting averages of each player. If you teach older students, you might share A Graphical History of Baseball. Click the link at Batting Stats > League Batting > ML Batting Average and share the graph of Major League batting averages from 1900 to the present. Then challenge students to plot the averages over the years of their favorite team.
Art -- design a stamp. Encourage students to read about the history of Baseball On Stamps, then invite them to design a stamp honoring their own favorite player or players.
Speech and drama -- present a skit. Invite students to pair off and recreate the Abbott and Costello skit, Who's On First?
Math -- set player salaries. Challenge students to imagine that Major League Baseball has decided to do away with long-term contracts and set players' salaries based on their performance the previous year. Arrange students into groups. Agree as a class on certain criteria that will guide salary considerations. For example, agree on
the position players you will examine (students might examine the 15 field players on the team who had at least 200 at-bats in the previous year)
how much money a team is allowed to spend on its eight starting fielders
whether to pay all rookie players a base salary or base their salary on the previous year in the minor leagues
Assign each group a different team. The groups must agree on a way to measure the offensive performance of their (15) players, create a table on which they will display the previous year's stats, and come up with "fair salaries" that reflect the abilities of the players based on the previous year's data.
COVERING ALL THE BASES
Baseball-related activities cover every curriculum area.
Language arts -- use it in a sentence. Point out to students that a number of baseball-related terms, such as batting 1000, struck out, and play ball have come to be used in everyday language. Brainstorm a list of those terms and then ask students to use them in a non-baseball-related sentence. You might supplement their list with some of the expressions from Wikipedia's English-Language Idioms Derived from Baseball. If you teach younger students, you might see how they do at answering the questions that are part of National Geographic's Talking Baseball Quiz (link not workding 2/19/2010).
Science -- find out about physics. Invite students to visit the Exploratorium's Science of Baseball site and click How Far Can You Hit One?, Scientific Slugger, and Fastball Reaction Time to learn how gravity, wind resistance, reaction time, and other scientific factors affect the speed and trajectory of a hit baseball. Then encourage students to explore the entire site to learn about some other historical and scientific aspects of baseball.
History -- create a timeline. Ask students to visit Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson, Wikipedia: Jackie Robinson, or other sites about the first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues. Then invite students to research other team sports, such as basketball, football, and soccer, to learn when each of those sports was integrated. Have students expand the search to learn more about the entire history of integration in the United States. Then encourage them to create a timeline of important civil rights milestones in this country.
Character education -- find the heroes. Point out to students that sports figures are often thought of as heroes by their fans. Ask each student to choose a well-known player from the past or present and to research that player's life. Then have students write a report that answers the questions: Do you think the player was a hero? Why or why not? As a starting point, you might use The Hall of Famers list from the Baseball Hall of Fame.
GET IN THE GAME!
The Great American Pastime has something for everyone -- on or off the field.
Language arts -- write a letter. Encourage students to write a letter asking their favorite baseball player what personal characteristic helped him achieve his goals. You can find a list of team addresses on the Major League Baseball Web page Kids: Mail Call.
Health and safety -- make a poster. Encourage students to learn about baseball injuries and safety by visiting Web pages such as ASAP - A Safety Awareness Program on the official Little League site, Tips to Prevent Baseball Injuries, and Baseball Safety for Children. Then have each student make a poster about baseball safety to take home. Combine the best ideas from the individual posters onto a large poster and display it on a classroom or hallway bulletin board.
Physical education -- play ball! Invite students to play Cone Baseball.
EXTRA INNINGS
Some games are rained out. When that happens, it's always a good idea to have another game plan. Your students will enjoy these online games when they can't have the real thing! (Note: Most online baseball games require the Shockwave plug-in.)
Math Baseball
Batter's Up Baseball
Fetchfido's Free Online Games: Baseball
Sports Illustrated Kids: Games
ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL SITES
You might use one of these sites to find or develop additional classroom activities.
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Sports news, information, humor, activities, and more from SI for Kids.
Guide to Baseball Fiction: Children's Books
A list of children's books about baseball, from early readers to young adult novels.
National Archives and Records Administration Featured Document:
A Letter from Jackie Robinson
Contains a letter Jackie Robinson wrote to Dwight D. Eisenhower after the President urged African-Americans to be patient in their fight for equality.
An Introduction to Sabermetrics
An explanation of baseball statistics and how they're determined.
MORE SPORTS SITES
These are excellent resources for current baseball news.
MLB.com
The Official Site of Major League Baseball includes information, news stories, team links, and more.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
News and information from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
CNNSI.com
A sports site maintained jointly by CNN and Sports Illustrated. Click MLB to find lots of news stories on the subject.
ESPN Sports
Click MLB for baseball news and views.
Copyright © 2021 Education World®
Having a tough time finding the right words to come up with "areas for improvement" comments on your students' report cards? Check out our helpful suggestions to find just the right one!
The following statements will help you tailor your comments to specific children and highlight their areas for improvement.
Related: 125 Report Card Comments for positive comments!
Needs Improvement- all topics
is a hard worker, but has difficulty staying on task.
has a difficult time staying on task and completing his/her work.
needs to be more respectful and courteous to his/her classmates.
needs to listen to directions fully so that he/she can learn to work more independently.
is not demonstrating responsibility and needs to be consistently reminded of how to perform daily classroom tasks.
works well alone, but needs to learn how to work better cooperatively with peers.
does not have a positive attitude about school and the work that needs to be completed.
struggles with completing his/her work in a timely manner.
gives up easily when something is difficult and needs extensive encouragement to attempt the task.
gets along with his/her classmates well, but is very disruptive during full group instruction.
has a difficult time using the materials in the classroom in a respectful and appropriate manner.
has a difficult time concentrating and gets distracted easily.
is having a difficult time with math. Going over _____ at home would help considerably.
is having a very difficult time understanding math concepts for his/her grade level. He/she would benefit from extra assistance.
could benefit from spending time reading with an adult every day.
is enthusiastic, but is not understanding ____. Additional work on these topics would be incredibly helpful.
is having difficulty concentrating during math lessons and is not learning the material that is being taught because of that.
understands math concepts when using manipulatives, but is having a difficult time learning to ____ without them.
is a very enthusiastic reader. He/she needs to continue to work on _____ to make him/her a better reader.
needs to practice reading at home every day to help make him/her a stronger reader.
needs to practice his/her sight words so that he/she knows them on sight and can spell them.
needs to work on his/her spelling. Practicing at home would be very beneficial.
can read words fluently, but has a difficult time with comprehension. Reading with ______ every day would be helpful.
could benefit from working on his/her handwriting. Slowing down and taking more time would help with this.
is having difficulty writing stories. Encouraging him/her to tell stories at home would help with this.
has a difficult time knowing when it is appropriate to share his/her thoughts. We are working on learning when it is a good time to share and when it is a good time to listen.
needs to work on his/her time management skills. _______is able to complete his/her work, but spends too much time on other tasks and rarely completes his/her work.
needs reminders about the daily classroom routine. Talking through the classroom routine at home would be helpful.
is having a difficult time remembering the difference between short and long vowel sounds. Practicing these at home would be very helpful.
is struggling with reading. He/she does not seem to enjoy it and does not want to do it. Choosing books that he/she like and reading them with him/her at home will help build a love of reading.
frequently turns in incomplete homework or does not hand in any homework. Encouraging _______to complete his/her homework would be very helpful.
does not take pride in his/her work. We are working to help him/her feel good about what he/she accomplishes.
does not actively participate in small group activities. Active participation would be beneficial.
has a difficult time remembering to go back and check his/her work. Because of this, there are often spelling and grammar mistakes in his/her work.
does not much effort into his/her writing. As a result, his/her work is often messy and incomplete.
is struggling to understand new concepts in science. Paying closer attention to the class discussions and the readings that we are doing would be beneficial.
is reading significantly below grade level. Intervention is required.
does not write a clear beginning, middle and end when writing a story. We are working to identify the parts of the stories that he/she is writing.
is struggling to use new reading strategies to help him/her read higher level books.
is wonderful at writing creative stories, but needs to work on writing nonfiction and using facts.
has a difficult time understanding how to solve word problems.
needs to slow down and go back and check his/her work to make sure that all answers are correct.
is not completing math work that is on grade level. Intervention is required.
is struggling to understand place value.
is very enthusiastic about math, but struggles to understand basic concepts.
has a difficult time remembering the value of different coins and how to count them. Practicing this at home would be helpful.
would benefit from practicing math facts at home.
is very engaged during whole group math instruction, but struggles to work independently.
is able to correctly answer word problems, but is unable to explain how he/she got the answer.
is having a difficult time comparing numbers.
Related: 125 Report Card Comments for positive comments!
Student Award Certificates!
Recognize positive attitudes and achievements with personalized student award certificates!
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