Maggie's Activity Pack

Maggie’s Activity Pack

Name ______

Date ______

Hail to the Chief!

In February, the people of the United States celebrate the birth of two presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. There have been many people who have served in this office. Look at the chart showing ten men who have been president. Use the information to answer the questions.

President Born Year Year Left Office Year of Death Inaugurated as President Benjamin 1833 1889 1893 1901 Harrison Dwight D. 1890 1953 1961 1969 Eisenhower James Madison 1751 1809 1817 1836

Millard Fillmore 1800 1850 1853 1873

Franklin Delano 1882 1933 1945 1945 Roosevelt Gerald Ford 1913 1974 1977 2006

James Monroe 1758 1817 1825 1831

Grover 1837 1885 1889 1908 Cleveland William Henry 1773 1841 1841 1841 Harrison Herbert Hoover 1874 1929 1933 1964

As you look at this table, you can draw some conclusions about these presidents. Look at the dates and answer these thinking questions. You do not have to do any math calculations.

1. Which presidents probably died while they were in office?

______

2. Which man, listed above, served the longest as president?

______© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.

3. Which man, listed above, served the shortest as president?

______

4. If you made a chart showing the order these men served as president, which man would be the earliest president? ______

5. Which man would be the last on the chart showing the order these men served as president? ______

Calculate Time – Use the years on the chart to answer these questions.

______1. How old was Gerald Ford when he died?

______2. How many years did Grover Cleveland live after leaving the presidency?

______3. About how old was James Madison when he was inaugurated as president?

______4. How old was Dwight Eisenhower when he died?

______5. About how old was Herbert Hoover when he became president?

______6. About how old was William Henry Harrison when he was inaugurated as president?

Chart Time With Presidents Hoover, Fillmore, Cleveland, William Henry Harrison, and Monroe Make a chart showing the order these men served as president. Start with the earliest serving president. Use your math skills to fill in the rest of the chart.

President Year He Became President Age At Death

Dear Colleague, I always like to present math problems in different ways. Because chart reading is such an important part of our high-stakes tests, we thought it might be helpful to combine chart reading, U.S. presidents, and math. We wanted to present some well-known presidents and others that children may not be familiar with. One word of caution about this activity…. it is always hard to be exact about years because the months of inauguration differ (it was changed to January 20th in 1937) and months of births and deaths may make for difficulty in determining the EXACT number of years. This means it is important to discuss with your class that their answers are approximations. More research as to months would be needed. This may be a wonderful way to differentiate for instruction. Send those children who need extensions to the computer or library. See how close their answers using only years are to the answers when you use months and years. You can make a chart of this, too. As for a social studies extension, ask a small group of children to research why the date of the U.S. presidential inauguration was changed. See what questions these math charts/problems bring to the minds of your students (i.e. What happened to William Henry Harrison?) Encourage children to research and find the answers to your own questions. You may also want your students to choose other presidents to include on a chart of their own. Individuals or groups can make charts and then you can put together a class math booklet with them. Children will practice their math calculation skills as they write “Answer Keys” for their charts. See if children can devise other thought questions for charts such as: Which of the men was youngest when he became president? These types of questions are great for mental math practice. As you know, mental math is essential to develop in children. I like to ask partners to whisper answers to each other rather than call on individuals to do “performance” math. This lessens anxiety… and cutting down on math anxiety is a goal for many of us! Happy teaching, Kathy

Answer Key: Drawing Conclusions (Mental Math) 1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and William Henry Harrison 2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 3. William Henry Harrison 4. James Madison President Year He Became Age At Death 5. Gerald Ford President Calculate Time James Monroe 1817 73 1. 93 William Henry 1841 68 2. 19 3. 58 Harrison 4. 79 Millard Fillmore 1850 73 5. 55 Grover Cleveland 1885 71 6. 68 Herbert Hoover 1929 90

Goals: Students will read a chart showing facts about various U.S. presidents. They will use the information on the chart to draw conclusions using mental math and to do calculations. Intermediate students create a chart of their own. Numerous math and social studies extension ideas are provided. This activity is available on the primary and intermediate levels. A companion emergent reader activity is also available. It correlates with the Number and Operations Strand and the Data Analysis and Probability Strand of NCTM’s National Standards.