Presidential Bookmarks

Presidential Bookmarks

Subjects

·  Social Studies -- U.S. History

Grade

·  3-5

Brief Description

Make learning facts about U.S. Presidents a bit more fun this year. Students in grades 3-5 use online resources to find basic information on a U.S. president. Then, using Microsoft Word, they create bookmarks containing a few facts about the selected president along with his photograph, print the bookmarks, and trade them with their peers.

Objectives

Students will:

·  Use online resources to locate basic facts about a U.S. president.

·  Use time management skills to complete activity within a given time frame.

·  Select key facts to be included on a bookmark created in Microsoft Word.

Materials Needed

·  Student Internet access.

·  Student access to Microsoft Word.

·  Laminator, hole punch, card stock, and other decorative materials (optional)

Lesson Plan

This lesson requires only 1-2 classroom periods to complete and is a great culminating activity for a civics or U.S. History class.

Begin the lesson by displaying a bookmark -- one either made by you (directions below) or purchased at a store. Tell students that they each will make a bookmark similar to yours, except theirs will contain information about a U.S. president. The goal is to find information on a president, determine the most important facts about his career, and then include those facts on a computer-generated bookmark.

Brainstorm with students the kinds of facts they think are most important to include. Ideas might include: information on wars waged during the presidency, laws passed, well-known accomplishments, and so on. If conversation lags, mention a famous president (Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy...) and ask student what that president is best known for. Write all ideas on the chalkboard.

Display the bookmark again. Ask: "Will all those facts fit on this bookmark?" Then explain to students that they must select the 3-4 most important facts to include. On the chalkboard, circle the types of facts that are most important. Don't forget to include years of presidential terms and perhaps dates of birth and death.

Next, assign to each student a U.S. president. Have students go to Grolier's The American Presidency Web site. (Preview this site before class and decide which of the four resources you want students to consult. For grades 3-8 you might want students to select the purple (New Book of Knowledge) or red (America the Beautiful) button, while you might prefer grades 8-9 choose the aqua (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia) or green (Encyclopedia Americana) button. Because a bookmark is so small, this assignment does not require multiple research sites.) Explain to students that they are to locate their assigned president, press the correct button for their grade level, read the bio information, and record the most important facts.

Now it's time to make the bookmarks. Have students complete the following steps:

·  Click Table.

·  Select Insert and then select Table.

·  In Number of Columns, type or select 1.

·  In Number of Rows, type or select 1.

·  In the blank to the right of Fixed column width (or Initial Column Width) type or select 1.25.

·  Click OK. (They have created a table consisting of one cell 1.25 inches wide.)

·  Click inside the table so the cursor appears there.

·  Hit Enter about 24 times until the table is 5 inches tall.

Students now can move their cursors up and down within the bookmark to add text about their assigned presidents. (Depending on time constraints and on whether or not the bookmarks will be printed with a color printer, you might want to limit students' use of font style, color, size, and so on.)

Students also can add a picture of the presidents to their bookmarks: They right-click the image of the president at the Grolier Web site (or hit Control and then click the image on a one button mouse or a Mac), select "Copy Image" or a similar command, click the bookmark, right-click (or Control and click) again, and select "Paste."

When the bookmarks are complete, have students print one copy of their bookmarks. Depending on time and resources, you might want to print the bookmarks in color or on colored paper, print them in black and white and let students color them, have students cut them out using pattern-making scissors, laminate them, or decorate them with a hole and string.

Using a copier, make one copy of each completed bookmark for each student in the class. Students can exchange bookmarks with their peers or give them to younger students as study helps.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on their:

·  Ability to pull out only the most relevant facts from a body of text.

·  Ability to manage their time well.

·  Creation of a bookmark with the appropriate content. (Emphasize content over appearance in this assignment.)