DOCUMENT RESUME ED 402 219 SO 026 086 AUTHOR Aten, Jerry TITLE Presidents: Understanding America's Presidents through Research-Related Activities. A Good Apple Activity Book for Grades 4-8. Revised Edition. REPORT NO ISBN-0-86653-780-5 PUB DATE 93 NOTE 181p.; Published by Good Apple, an imprint of Modern Curriculum, Simon and Schuster Elementary, 299 Jefferson Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. AVAILABLE FROM Frank Schaeffer Publications, 23740 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Instructional Materials (For Learner) (051) Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher)(052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Active Learning; Activity Units; *History Instruction; Intermediate Grades; Junior High Schools; *Presidents of the United States; Resource Units; Social Studies; *United States History; Units of Study ABSTRACT This activity book is designed for grades 4-8 but could be modified for other levels. Mini-units begin with a brief biographical sketch of a U.S. president, including highlights of his life and administration. Twelve trivia questions accompany each sketch and require additional reading from other sources. Thought questions are based on an analysis of all that has been read about the president's administration and can lead to discussion. Additional activities and a Presidential Trivia game culminates the study. Writing and creative thinking experiences in the section, "A Changing Chapter," involve students in speculation on how the course of history might have been altered had certain events turned out differently. A complete answer key is included.(EH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** A Good Apple Activity Book for Grades 4-8 + P R T Understanding America's Presidents Through Research-Related Activities PERMISSION TO REPRODUCEAND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 This document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI pos'tion or policy. By sorry Aten BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1,0MX& REVISED EDITION PRESIDENTS by Jerry Aten Cover by Kathryn Hyndman Copyright ©1993, Good Apple ISBN No. 0-86653-780-5 Printing No. 98765432 Good Apple 1204 Buchanan St., Box 299 Carthage, IL 62321-0299 The purchase of this book entitles the buyer to reproduce student activity pages for classroom use only. Any other use requires written permission from Good Apple. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 3 DANKE SHER! ...to Polly, Wendy and Tyler for tolerating my absence from family living while I was researching and writing Presidents ...to Cindy, Jill and Virginia, whose moments of pondering my penmanship and hours of editing and otherwise preparing it for the printer should not go unnoticed. Pictures of the Presidents are reproduced fromthe Dictionary of American Portraits, published by DoverPublications, Inc., 1967, New York, New York. Edited by Rita Weiss,Everett Bleiler, Robert Hutchinson, Alan J. Marks, Clarence C. Strowbridge. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction iv Calvin Coolidge 85 George Washington 1 Herbert Hoover 88 John Adams 4 Franklin D. Roosevelt 91 Thomas Jefferson 7 Harry S. Truman 94 James Madison 10 Dwight D. Eisenhower 97 James Monroe 13 John F. Kennedy 100 John Quincy Adams 16 Lyndon B. Johnson 103 'Andrew Jackson 19 Richard M. Nixon 106 Martin Van Buren 22 Gerald R. Ford 109 William Henry Harrison 25 Jimmy Carter 112 John Tyler 28 Ronald Reagan 115 James Polk 31 George Bush 118 Zachary Taylor 34 Bill Clinton 121 Millard Fillmore 37 Their First Ladies 124 Franklin Pierce 40 A Heartbeat Away 125 James Buchanan 43 Faces in High Places 126 Abraham Lincoln 46 An Executive Order 127 Andrew Johnson 49 Executive Scramble 128 Ulysses S. Grant 52 Presidential Parallels 129 Rutherford B. Hayes 55 Winning the Presidency 130 James A. Garfield 58 The Search for a President 131 Chester A. Arthur 61 My Hometown 132 Grover Cleveland 64 Elections of the Past 133 Benjamin Harrison 67 Election Trivia 136 William McKinley 70 President for a Day 137 Theodore Roosevelt 73 A Changing Chapter 138 William Howard Taft 76 My Own Chapter 143 Woodrow Wilson 79 Presidential Trivia 144 Warren G. Harding 82 Answer Key 165 INTRODUCTION No student can fully understand the history of the United States and its present position in the world today without knowing something about the kind of men who have held its highest office. Oftentimes history text programs integrate into the chronology of America's story the most important contribution of the most signifi- cant of our Presidents along with a sprinkling of names and dates of those who had less of an impact. But every President, whether dynamic and strong or weak in power, has had a hand in shaping the history of this country. Each left his own per- sonal imprint, yet there are parallels which can be drawn from them all that make the true American Spirit what it is today and a literally fascinating subject for student research beyond mere textbook copy. The form of this book is an attempt to provide a starting point, a place for students to depart into research that will truly get them involved in the lives and personalities of our Presidents. The format of each mini unit begins with a brief biographical sketch of the President, including highlights of his life and administration. This is followed by Presidential Trivia, a series of twelve questions that will require addi- tional reading from other sources. The final phase in the study of each President contains thought questions based on an analysis of all that has been read about that President's administration and provides an excellent starting point for classroom discussion. The culmination of the study is the exciting Presidential Trivia, a game for the entire class requiring recall of all the accumulated research that has gone on. The game contains eighty cards, each containing five trivia questions. The format allows for its use by the entire class or as a competition between as few as two students. There are additional activities included that hinge on the study of all our Presidents. The section A Changing Chapter involves students in creative thinking and writing ex- periences where they speculate on how the course of history might have been altered had certain events turned out differently. There is also a complete answer key included. The number of men who have held the nation's highest office makes the study an excellent on-going project for the entire school year. It is suggested that each Presi- dent be highlighted for a few days, or even an entire week in the case of those whose administrations were more significant. During that time students complete their reading, finish the activity pages and wind up the study with a class discussion on the thought questions. Perhaps a special section of a bulletin board can be set aside to present words and deeds and events that are most remembered of that President's tenure in office. Finally, enthusiasm on the part of the teacher is helpful in coaxing children into a literally fascinating study of some of the most important and interesting personalities in our nation's history. 6 iv GEORGE WASHINGTON George Washington has long been recognized as the Father of our Country. The leadership he brought forth to the fledgling new United States was most instrumental in allowing it to not only survive, but to prosper and grow. Washington was a very strong individual, indeed, but the years of training and preparation in his youth and early adulthood were also very im- portant in preparing for the role he would assume. He was born in 1732, the son of a Virginia gentleman. The plantation environment would school him in the manners and ways of living that became commonplace to a true gentleman. As a boy, George's interest ranged from military strategy to the surveying of land both of which would become useful to him later in life. At the age of 21 (1753), Washington was sent by the Governor of Virginia to warn the French soldiers to leave lands already claimed by Virginia. Although unsuccessful, his disagreement over ownership of land between the French and the British would resultin the French and In- dian War, in which Washington also became involved. Between the time of the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Washington spent most of his time happily raising the stepchildren of his wife, Martha Dandridge Custis, and managing his estates. But the call of his country sounded again as he was elected as a delegate to the Second Continental Con- gress. The events at Lexington and Concord brought the delegates there to aunanimous backing of the handsome gentleman from Virginia as commander in chief of the Continental Army. When the hard fought victory over the British was finished, Washington returned to his beloved Mount Vernon. But the call of his country brought him to preside over the Constitu- tional Convention of 1787. Once the Constitution was hammered out, it became quite ob- vious that Washington should become the new nation's first President. After serving two terms, feeling weary and disappointed at the emergence of a two-party system, Washington retired. He returned to Mount Vernon and died less than three years later. 7 1 qEORDE WASHINDTON 7 fName fPresidential Trivia r r r1.The city in which Washington was inaugurated 1 2. Washington's wife Martha's maiden name before she married Daniel Parke Custis 3.