President’s Week Lessons & Activities
Abraham Lincoln
President’s Day is Monday, February 16th – and it kicks off President’s week. President’s Day falls between the birthdays of two very popular U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was born on February 12, 1809 and George Washington, our 1st President, was born on February 22, 1732.
Two other U.S. Presidents were born in the month of February as well. William Harrison was born on February 9, 1773 and Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911.
Here are some fun ways to weave learning about U.S. presidents into your homeschool days this week – or whenever your kids express an interest in finding out more about the presidents.
LANGUAGE ARTS
- POTUS (Presidents Of The United States) – is a feature of the Internet Public Library that provides information on U. S. Presidents. Read biographies and historical documents online, listen to audio files and watch video clips, get detailed information about election results, cabinet members, notable events, and enjoy some trivia. There is material here that is appropriate for a variety of age/grade ranges from about mid- elementary through high school and beyond. As always, parents should preview the material to determine suitability of content.
MATH
- Scholastic: Math Hunt – U.S. Presidents – In this online activity, learn historical facts about the U.S. Presidents. Then use your math skills including multiplication and division, fractions, multiplication with fractions, geometry (determining perimeter), and map skills to solve some challenging questions.
Fun with Money! – Many U.S. Presidents are displayed on coins and currency that lend themselves to fun math activities. Look for:
- Penny – Abraham Lincoln
- Nickel – Thomas Jefferson
- Dime – Franklin Roosevelt
- Quarter – George Washington
- Half Dollar – John F. Kennedy
- $1 Bill – George Washington
- $2 Bill – Thomas Jefferson
- $5 Bill – Abraham Lincoln
- $10 Bill – Alexander Hamilton
- $20 – Andrew Jackson
Sort the coins and bills. Count them. Stack them. Challenge the kids to figure out how many different combinations of coins they can use to equal one dollar or more.
Make a Coin Rubbing! – Put a coin (heads up) on the table. Place a piece of plain white paper on top of the coin. Take a crayon and rub it over the surface of the coin – and the image on the coin will transfer to the paper. Cut them out and use them as math manipulatives, or game pieces, or for pretend play.
SCIENCE
Make Dirty Pennies Shine with Fruit Juice – Family Education offers this free, fun science experiment that kids 4-10 are sure to enjoy.
HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES
WhiteHouse101 – This is one of the best sources for fun and educational facts on U.S. Presidents that will appeal to all ages. It’s housed at the official White House website. When you get to the site simply click on the picture menu to:
- Tour the White House
- Watch a terrific slide-show to learn about U.S. Presidents
- Read “Fun Facts” about U.S. Presidents
- Enjoy a delightful slide-show about First Pets
The White House Historical Association – Get a free lesson plan titled, Every Day Is Presidents’ Day at the White House, for grades K-3. Be sure to click on the “Activity” links at the bottom of the page to access free materials that supplement the lesson.
President’s Day Web Quest – Public school teachers created this resource that offers free, printable templates to conduct a web-based scavenger hunt for information about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They also offer templates to create Venn diagrams and a comparison report based on the information you find. There’s a quiz too. The site hasn’t been updated in a while, so some of the links to resources they recommend don’t work. However, you can find the answers you need at the WhiteHouse101 website mentioned above. You could also easily print out the templates and conduct this search offline at your local library.
Homeschool Helper – Get free unit studies on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and the American Presidents along with links to other Presidents’ Day resources, printables, and crafts. The owner of this site is a veteran homeschool mom who not only shares resources she has used successfully, but enables other parents to post and share unit studies (on a variety of subjects). While some of the content contains a Christian- based perspective, many of the resources will appeal to secular audiences as well.
ART & MUSIC
Kaboose.com: President’s Day – This HUGE, family-focused, advertising-supported media company maintains one of the very best reliable, updated, and consistent archives of supplemental educational activities, games, crafts, printables, and information. Their President’s Day page makes it easy on you to provide educational art activities that will entertain your kids while they learn.
DLTK: President’s Day – This terrific site offers free coloring pages and craft activities that are appropriate for ages 3-12. For President’s Day you’ll find an assortment of coloring pages, a TP roll craft to make a stovepipe hat, and even instuctions to make a milk-carton log cabin.
Listen to a song about Washington.
Listen to a song about Lincoln.
Make a 3-Cornered Hat on Washington’s Birthday!
Copyright 2009, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved.
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