Progressive Presidents Lesson Plan

Lesson: A high school junior level lecture and activity designed to introduce students to the three progressive presidents of the early 20th Century.

Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson will be discussed and notes taken by students.

Afterward, an activity called “Grade the Prez” will be given to students.

Objectives: Compare the political trends of the Populist and Progressives to today’s current political trends.

Materials Needed: Paper, pencil or pen, textbook and Grade the Prez handout and overhead of lecture notes.

Preplanning: Accumulate all materials and have a solid understanding of the three progressive presidents.

Instructional Input: Lecture about Progressive Presidents and explain Grade the Prez handout. Explain that students will need to use their textbooks to grade the performance of the three Progressive Presidents.

Activity: After lecture notes are given, have students work on activity.

Students are to list three weaknesses and accomplishments, give an overall impression and assign a Final Grade to each.

Check for understanding: Handout will be returned at the beginning of the next class period. These questions will show the instructor what students got out of the exercise. Closure: Remind students to finish the activity as homework.

Assessment/Evaluation: Certain important aspects of the material covered will be on a test. Also, activity questions will be turned in so that the teacher may evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson.