President's Day Lesson Plans and Worksheets
Teachers Have Online and In-Class Options for Washington's Birthday
Jan 25, 2009
Because President's Day is a long weekend and students are not in school on the actual holiday, most students associate President's Day with sleeping in and ads on TV for President's Day sales. Teachers can make the holiday more meaningful by leading up to the days off with some informative lessons.
Understanding President's Day
Teachers should explain some basic facts about this federal holiday. Students should know that President's Day is officially called Washington's Birthday, but states can name their own holidays, so it became President's Day due to the proximity of Abe Lincoln's birthday. Washington was born February 22, 1732, and Lincoln was born February 12, 1809. The holiday is held the third Monday of February, so it could be confusing for students to associate it with a specific birthday, because the date changes annually.
President's Day Activities Connected to the Inauguration
If teachers did not have their students do inauguration lessons, Washington's Birthday offers the perfect opportunity for inauguration worksheets and online activities.
Online President's Day Lessons
Scholastic offers a fantastic collection of online activities. Scholastic web hunts are best for upper elementary students and middle school students. They are for students who are able to:
- read comprehensively
- follow multiple instructions
- write sentence-based answers
because the questions Scholastic asks are higher level thinking questions. Through the President's Day Web Hunt, students can learn more about the presidents and turn in their worksheet at the end of the computer hour. There are six activities on the web hunt, and the best activities include:
- George Washington: Truth and Fiction
- Analyzing Presidential Portraits
- Understanding the Job of Being President
- Take a Turn at Being President
The only flaw in the Scholastic Web Hunt is that there is not a specific Lincoln activity, because Washington's Birthday is the original President's Day.
President's Day Worksheets
Teachers looking for printable worksheets and lessons should bookmark School and Family's website. It is the simplest, cleanest website for teachers. It does not require registration, it is uncluttered, and the set up and search is simple and sensible.
For President's Day, School and Family offers:
- coloring sheets
- color by numbers
- a President's Day writing prompt and acrostic poems
- missing letter and word scramble worksheets
Teachers search for a topic, download and save the PDF file, and print the worksheet. The products are free and offer great opportunities for learning.
Using Constitution Day Activities on President's Day
Secondary students might feel that they are beyond presidential coloring sheets, although that is a great way to reinforce recognition of the presidents and create a presidential time line. Older students might benefit from using some of the Constitution Day lessons that honor the important document that guides Presidential decisions.
Teachers can use President's Day lessons on Lincoln's real birthday, Washington's real birthday, or any of the days surrounding the President's Day holiday. The most important goal is for students to understand and honor the Americans who took on the responsibilities of the nation's highest office.
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