student+activities

Today we will begin our lesson on Presidents' Day. Take a moment and think about what you know about the President and write it in the first column of the KWHL chart that you received at the beginning of class today. We will be discussing what you already know and what you would like to learn about the President by completing the remaining columns as a class. **Place your KWHL chart in your Social Studies jounal ﻿ we will be using it again at the end of the week.**

Get ready because we will be reading, "The Persident's Job." This will help you understand how much money the President makes, what responsibilities are involved with his job and many other interesting facts.

Today is the beginning of election week! Our class will be choosing a President and our voting day will be on Friday. If you have an interest in becoming President of Room 205, please write a two paragraph essay on why you would make an excellent President. During center time this week, you will be working on a campaign commercial. You can choose to work individually or in a group. The commercials will be shown on Friday in the classroom before our official vote.

Today we will be making a Lincoln Penny Pendantand the following materials are on your desk: blue yarn, construction paper (red, white and blue), and a penny. Place the red star on the bottom, place a small amount of glue in the center of the red star and place the white star on top. Take a second small drop of glue and and place it on the white star in the center. Place the blue star on top and then with a small drop of glue, attach the penny to finish the star. Make sure that Abraham Lincoln's head is facing up. Using a hole punch (in your desk box) place one hole at the top of the star and thread the blue yarn through the hole. You are now ready to move onto our next project!
 * The ladybug group will begin at the computer center. Please take your Lincoln Pendant and a pencil with you. Click on the tab that says "Brain Pop Jr." that is already open on your computer. Once the movie on Abraham Lincoln has loaded, click on play. *While you are watching the video, pick 4 pieces of information and write them on the four red points of the red star on your Lincoln Pendant. Watch your spelling and punctuation. Please leave the computer window for Brain Pop Jr. open for the next student.
 * The dragonfly group will begin on the reading rug. Please take your clipboard and a pencil to the rug. I have placed the Abraham Lincoln Vocabulary Sheet near the rug. Take one and complete with a partner on the rug. Please make sure you use your baby bear voices.
 * The ant group will begin at the oval table in the back of the classroom. Please take a pencil with you to the table. Once your group gathers at the table review the rules for using our class set of digital cameras. You will be starting your commericals today. You may pair up in groups of 2/3 or you may work individually, it is your choice. Make sure you take a piece of paper to brainstorm before you begin recording. Plan out your commercial on paper and have everyone who is working on the commercial place their name on the form. The commercial must be atleast 30 second long, but no more than 2 minutes in length. If you have any questions, please ask.

Centers will last approximately 10 minutes. Listen for the bell to move to the next center.

At the end of the story, we will begin centers: Start by picking up a beige piece of construction paper and a feather. Sit down at the table and you will see three small cups of black ink. Dip the cut (small) end of the feather just a litte bit into the ink. Try to write your name first. If you need more ink, place the end of the feather in again. Continue trying to write numbers, letters or names of your classmates. T ﻿ ape your feather to your paper and take it to the drying rack. At the conclusion of centers, we will all return to our seats and be writers! On your desk you will find a sheet of paper that has the following: If I met George Washington today, I would ask him ......... think this over and begin writing. Please make sure you use correct spelling and punctuation. If you have a question about a word, look at your desk dictionary (A-Z Speller) first and then ask your teacher.
 * Meet me on the rug as we read **, "The Story of George Washington." [[image:george_washington.png width="97" height="113"]]
 * The ladybugs will begin at the computer center. Please open the tab that says, "interactive George Washington wordsearch" Scroll down approximately half way and you will see a box in the middle of the screen with an apple, click on the play button and your game will begin. The game gives you 5 minutes to find 10 vocabulary words. Try your best to find the words and if you complete the game before our centers end, keep playing! Don't forget to mark on the computer center chart how many words you found by your name.
 * The ants will begin at the digital video camera center and continue working on your projects from Tuesday.
 * The dragon fly group will begin on the table closest to the reading rug and learn to write with a quill pen just like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I have printed the directions and placed them on the board by the table.

Centers will last approximately 10 minutes. Listen for the bell to move to the next center.

Today is a very exciting day! Our class will be taking a virtual field trip to the White House. I will begin the interactive tour with the group and explore the Rose Garden, Press Briefing Room and the Oval Office. The class will break off into your center groups.
 * Ladybugs will begin with the computer center to explore the White House on your own. Please use the following link: White House Interactive Tourto begin. You will see a small window open up, please click on the arrow to continue to the tour. Please use your time wisely and look at as many areas as possible during your center. After you have completed your tour, please pick up your worksheets from my desk and begin to design your own Oval Office. Be creative! The worksheets ask very specific questions, please answer each question completely.
 * The ants will be reading "Every Day is Presidents' Day at the White House," by using the document camera which will show the article on the front projection screen. At the end of the reading, I will provide you with a short written multiple question quiz on the information from this reading. Please complete this on your own and turn the quiz into the work completed bin on my desk.
 * The dragonfly group will begin centers by finalizing the presidential commercials for presentation on Friday.

Centers will last approximately 15 minutes due to amount of work for each center. Listen for the bell to move to the next center.

It is class election day!!


 * If you have a speech prepared for the election, please turn it in first thing on Friday morning.
 * We will begin by reviewing the information learned throughout the week. As a group, we will complete the last column on our KWHL chart. The finalized chart should be kept in the Social Studies journal for grading.
 * The commercials completed during the week will be presented by each group/individual at this time. If there is a speech to accompany the video, it will also be given at this time.
 * At the end of the presentations, each student will be given a ballot with the names of students running for class president. Please choose only one name and place a check in the box with that name. You do not have to put your name on the ballot.
 * All ballots will be placed in the ballot box and counted by the teacher before the end of the day. The class president will be announced.