Dear Educator:

This site is designed as a resource for you to use around the events in January 2005, but also as a broader resource for study of the executive branch of American government, past presidents, the Constitution, and elections.

The lessons featured here were designed for students in grades 6-12; each contains objectives, procedures, background information, related links, assessment recommendations, and ideas to extend the lesson for further study or for adapting the lesson to younger/older audiences.

Additionally, please explore the list of related lessons and activities found elsewhere on PBS.org. There, you are sure to find dozens of presidential lessons that cover a variety of subject areas and grade levels!

The Inauguration and the Media
Compare how different news sources cover the 2005 inauguration, write editorials, and look at international coverage of the U.S. presidency.

The Inauguration and the Constitution
Investigate constitutional guidelines for presidential inaugurations, and explore how the inaugural ceremony incorporates the three branches of the federal government.

George Washington: The President Without Precedent
Through Washington's inaugural speeches and other online source material, identify important national precedents he set and learn about life in the new republic.

Thomas Jefferson: The Revolution of 1800
Examine how Jefferson's inauguration in 1800 tested constitutional rules for electing a president and embodied partisan politics; investigate how the election 200 years later raised similar concerns about the electoral process.

Andrew Jackson: King Mob or Champion of American Democracy?
Explore the inauguration of Andrew Jackson in 1828 and identify the ways Jackson's election signaled important changes in the American political landscape.

Related Lessons and Activities: Secondary

Speeches and Poetry

American Experience: The Presidents
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/
There is much to learn about the presidency by studying the men who occupied the office. All have been immensely different from one another. Woodrow Wilson, the peacemaker ; Kennedy, the Cold Warrior; Jimmy Carter the engineer; "Silent Cal" Coolidge and the bellicose Theodore Roosevelt. We've had Richard Nixon, the anti-communist and Ronald Reagan, the actor turned politician. All of the characters are complex and all of their stories surprising. Their lives and careers provide us a panoramic view of America.
(*There are separate plans for the following presidents: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan.)

Math-Related Lessons

PBS Mathline: Pythagoras and President Garfield
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president/activity2.shtm
Analyze President Garfield's proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.

PBS Mathline: The White House Blue Room
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president/activity3.shtm
Practice graphing ellipses by learning more about the Blue Room in the White House.

General Curricular Resources

The American President
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/
Each of the Web site's installments presents the stories of several presidents, linked by a common theme. FAMILY TIES and HAPPENSTANCE, for example, are presented under the umbrella title A MATTER OF DESTINY. FAMILY TIES investigates the fact that power and influence, even in a democracy, are handed down from generation to generation in a few privileged families. Profiled are John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. HAPPENSTANCE explores the careers of five presidents—John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, and Harry Truman—who moved from the vice presidency to the White House upon the death of the president.

Character Above All
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/
This 1996 Web site explores the importance of personal character and moral integrity in presidential leadership. The questions are many and varied. Questions like: Does character matter above all else? If so, how do we measure and and judge character? What does history tell us about presidential character? And, by the way, please define what is meant by "character?" Is there a difference, for instance, between personal character and political character? Does personal character have only to do with sex and infidelity? Nine presidential historians, writers and others share their research and study or experience with one or more of the last ten presidents of the United States.

Related Lessons and Activities: Elementary

National Geographic: Inside the White House
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/
Travel inside the White House with virtual tours and interactive games like "Decorate Your Own Oval Office."
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/world.htm
Decorate the Oval Office
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/ovalfrm.htm
Mapping the Area Around the White House
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/mainmpfr.htm
Travel: Spots of Interest in D.C.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/whitehouse/mntrvfra.htm

PBS Kids Democracy Project: President for a Day
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/presforaday/index.html
This activity provides a job description for the presidency, so students understand what kinds of skills and competencies are necessary in that office. Students have the opportunity to role play the president for a day, making decisions about different events that a president might actually experience (meetings with Cabinet members, speeches to the public, bowling in the White House).

Dear Presidential Diary
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/presdiary.html
In this creative writing exercise, students develop five first-person diary entries exploring the duties and privileges of the presidency.

Presidential Places Quilt
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/presidentialplaces.html
Honor past presidents and explore their connections to Washington, DC landmarks through research and the creation of a class quilt, to be displayed in the school and presented to the U.S. president through digital photography and creative writing.

Painting Presidential Portraits
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/presportraits.html
Redesign U.S. paper currency to recognize six U.S. presidents and describe their significant accomplishments.

The Perfect President
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/perfectpresident.html
Identify the legal requirements, previous experiences, and personality traits that equip someone to be a successful president. Write a job description and a newspaper article. Evaluate how selected past presidents measure up to the criteria generated by students.

IOU -- An Introduction to the National Debt
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/nationaldebt.html
One of the President's most important duties-setting national priorities through the federal budget-is explored here, with a special focus on the national debt, explained in introductory terminology.

PBS Mathline: Math and the Presidents -- Comparing Costs
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/concepts/president/activity1.shtm
Calculate the cost of the Louisiana Purchase and Thomas Jefferson's library in current terms, and compare presidential salaries in the 19th century and today.