Presidents Day is the day that the nation honors the men who have held the highest honor in the land. With 43 past Presidents over more than 300 years of being a country, the United States has had famous leaders, but it has also had its infamous leaders. While perhaps the nation has not always been proud of its Commander in Chief, it has always respected the office. For Presidents Day, you may wish to explore both the successes and failures of one or more of our Presidents. Depending on the grade level of your students, you may wish to consider some or all of the following:

Divide the class into groups of two or more students

Students feel more comfortable working as a group and can also benefit from the concept of groupthink, wherein they learn from each other instead of page after page of textbook. Getting an active discussion going is a healthy way of being able to encourage interpersonal communications in the classroom, while also covering more aspects of the President's life in a shorter amount of time.

Categorize the President's accomplishments, attitudes, and scandals

Have the students use their library or computer resources to develop information on their assigned President. Have some students work on the personal scandals. Have others explore the Commander's most famous policies. Have others go into things that may have influenced the job in his personal life. Have them make notes about their segment which they will then share with other members of their group.

Give them a chance to teach each other

For about 15 minutes, give each student the chance to teach the rest of the group about what has been learned in the reading materials. Encourage the other students in the group to listen and take notes so that they have an understanding of the entire term of the President.

Assign each group a collage

The collage may be presented in a number of ways, but encourage them to be creative by incorporating a visual presentation that encapsulates the President's entire time in office. Allow time to work on the project. Use markers, water colors, cut and paste, and virtually whatever they wish to use in the development of their collage. You will probably want to let them work on this project for the rest of the class period and on into part of the next class depending on the length of time you have to work.

Present

After adequate time has been put into the project, have each group stand up and teach a mini-class on the President's career and legacy. Great project for teenagers!

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