American Presidents

A Site to Complement C-SPAN's 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits
March-December 1999
American Presidents Teacher Guide
President Notebook
Recommended Use: Secondary Level


This teacher guide is based on a lesson plan developed by Jim Bannister, C-SPAN in the Classroom member from Lakeside Middle School in Nine Mile Falls, WA. C-SPAN is provided to his area by Optel.



Goal: To present a memorable biographical sketch of each president.

Objectives:

  • To understand presidential facts, accomplishments, and characteristics
  • To gain knowledge of the lives of each American president
  • To develop research and organizational skills

    Resources & Materials Needed:

  • VCR
  • television
  • notebook (one for each student)
  • American Presidents web site
  • C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits series

    Programming Note: Every week, C-SPAN airs live programs from an historical site of importance to the featured president. Every Friday evening at 8pm ET, C-SPAN re-airs the week's programming on the featured presidents including a five minute biographical vignette. The LIVE program schedule can be obtained from the American Presidents web site.

    Time Frame: Fifteen minutes to one class period for each president, periodically throughout the year


    Procedure:
    In this activity, students will collect information about the lives of the 41 presidents and present their knowledge as chapters in their own presidential notebooks. The following procedure can be used to study each president.

    1. Distribute handouts to students which provide a framework to organize information:

    Presidency: Events that occurred during his time as president, including states that entered the union, cultural trends, and scientific discoveries. Use visual aids, such as a license plate from states, maps showing the expansion of the country, pictures showing contemporary styles.

    Characteristics: These are ‘fun facts’ of the presidents, i.e. Zachary Taylor death after consuming cold milk and cherries; J.Q. Adams swimming naked in the Potomac and his secret whispering spot; or Andrew Jackson escaping assassination attempts, not to mention marrying a woman who was not yet divorced.

    Accomplishments: Offices attained and other accomplishments prior to the presidency.

    2. Present to the class basic facts about the president, including the following: party affiliation, electoral count, vice-president(s), wife, religion, birth, death, and children. This information can be found by visiting C-SPAN's American Presidents web site

    3. Show the class a portrait of a president. Ask students to brainstorm a list of qualities associated with the particular president. Create a class list using the board in front of the classroom.

    4. Next, introduce the class to stories or fables about the president. Instruct students to visit C-SPAN's American Presidents web site and research the president in order to develop an appropriate nickname. All these names should have the sir name ‘man’ such as George Washington is "The Man," as the father of our country and Thomas Jefferson is "The Ideal Man," because of the Declaration of Independence. James Buchanan is "The Lonely Man," based on his bachelor status, etc. The students can use the nicknames as the title of their chapters.

    5. Test student's knowledge and Internet research skills by taking C-SPAN's daily American President quiz. Instruct students to create their own quiz questions based on the president the class is currently studying.

    6. Show a 3-6 minute video clip from American Presidents: Life Portraits about the president Students should take notes on characteristics they find interesting to add to their book.


    Evaluation:
    Students should maintain all of the information they have gathered from the above activities in their notebooks. From the information, students will write a chapter for each president. Students will also be evaluated through a question and answer session, and through tests.


    Review Opportunities:
    Throughout the year, students can refer to their chapters and other resources such as the American Presidents web site to study related subjects. For example, when studying the Civil War, I present a quote from James Madison, who foresaw the problems of north vs. south during the Constitutional Convention.

    • Twenty Years of Public Affairs Programming. Created by America's Cable Companies.