Presidents of the United States Unit
A thorough Presidents of the United States unit study can be a unique way to learn American history and geography. However, a quick study of one or more presidents can be just as great.
In this mini unit study, my children completed research-based, project-based learning as they each explored the lives of five presidents and completed five creative projects. They had so much fun in the learning, planning, and presentations!
A Mini Presidents of the United States Unit Study
This unit took only two weeks!
I’ll get right to the short and sweet of how we did a Presidents of the United States unit so thoroughly, yet so quickly. We simply read a book everyday about past presidents, the job of being the president, and the White House and Washington D.C. Each kiddo had to choose five presidents to research and complete a project about each one. At the end of the two weeks, they presented their projects – short, sweet, and simple for me!
They were able to choose from the following project choices:
- a file folder report
- a photographic poster
- a sculpture and mini-report
- a cereal box report
- a newspaper article
- a mobile
I gave them very little direction in completing projects this time around. After the presentations, we talked about each project and the good points. We also evaluated what could’ve been better. My children were pretty hard on themselves – harder than I would’ve been! But, it was good for them to notice what they might improve on next time.
The Projects
Mahayla’s (7th grade)
Before presentations, the projects were displayed for viewing.
This photographic poster uses clipart from the internet and color copies from books as visuals with colorful note cards for information about the pictures.
A cereal box report utilizes all the sides for various bits of information and stores a fun object inside to show-n-tell during the presentation.
The mobile uses clip art from the internet and photocopies from books to hang on the strings from a hanger. Descriptions of the pictures are written on the back of each picture.
These are simple written reports.
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Caleb’s (4th grade)
This is another display of all the projects before presentation time.
Like above, this is another photograph poster.
This is a file folder report. The inside holds two pages of writings and drawings.
Here is another mobile.
And here is a newspaper article.
Presidents of the U.S. Literature and Informational Books
Reading great books was a big part of the learning and research. Besides the books below, my children also checked out books about the individual presidents they were studying when our library had some available.
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Presidents of the U.S. Notebooking Pages
This resource wasn’t available when my children completed their study of the presidents. However, for children who aren’t big on projects and/or they prefer written research that can be neatly organized, notebooking pages are a great option.
Presidents of the U.S. Games
I love using games to enhance our homeschooling. They are just so darn sneaky. And, trivia-style games help children effortlessly memorize crazy amounts of information. We thoroughly enjoyed the following games!
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I like your project idea. You say you gave them little direction. What did you tell them? I’d love to hear more about this way of teaching. It sounds like it gives the kids some independence, and that’s where we need to start heading.
Each child did an assortment of projects it seems. Did you give them a number to do or was that also their choice?
Your kids seem very conscientious. Tell us how you instill that in them.
Okay, there’s a week worth of blog post ideas! LOL.
I’ve been thinking about a post on project-based learning. Thanks for giving me a push! I’ll get to it very soon. :o)
LOVE THIS…. I may have to steal the idea.
As always I can count on you for some great things.
This looks like it was a fun and interactive Presidental unit study!