President for a Day

Teaching Theme of the Week

from Education World®

Students imagine they are president of the United States for one day! What would they do? What would their day be like?

Subjects: Language Arts

Grade Levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

Objectives
Students will:

• learn general information about the duties of the president of the United States, and
• create a schedule for one day as president.

Keywords
president, United States, schedule, duties

Materials Needed

• a picture of the current president from a recent newspaper, magazine, or online source
• teacher-selected library, textbook, or online resources about the duties of the U.S. president
• paper
• pens or pencils
• computers with Internet access, e-mail access, and word processing program (optional)

Procedure

1. Show students a picture of the current president from a current print or online source. Ask students: What are the duties of the president? What do you think the president does on a typical day? Write students' responses on the board.
2. Discuss general information about the president's duties from a library, textbook, and/or online sources. Here are a few suggested sites:
   • The President's Job 
   • The President's and Vice President's Jobs 
   • Ben's Guide to the President of the United States (Grades 3-5) 
   • Ben's Guide to the President of the United States (Grades 6-8) 
   • Constitutional Powers of the President of the United States 
3. Say to students: Imagine that you are the president of the United States for one day. What would you do for that day?
4. Have each student write a paragraph about the day and write a schedule for the day.

Variation: If computer access is available to everyone, have students use a word processing program to write their paragraphs and schedules.

Extension: Have the class send their projects to the White House via regular mail or e-mail. See Contacting the White House for details.

Assessment
Evaluate students' completed paragraphs and schedules.

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