All About the Presidents of the United States: 8 Exciting Ways to Teach 2nd Graders
When it comes to teaching 2nd graders all about the Presidents of the United States, you can have a few tricks up your sleeve. Some 2nd graders know who the President is, what their job is, and a few facts about the President and their responsibilities. However, lots of 2nd graders have no clue.
Teach your 2nd graders all about the Presidents of the United States with a fun unit. In the unit, you should talk about what jobs and responsibilities a President has to the people of the United States. There should be some instruction on how a President is elected to office, as well as some interesting facts about Presidents from the past.
Pre-made Lesson Plans All About the Presidents of the United States
For easy-to-follow lesson plans, you need look no further! This US Presidents Activities and Worksheets includes lots of great lessons, vocabulary, reading comprehension passages, worksheets, and activities for teaching your students all about the Presidents of the United States.
The premade lesson plans in my unit will help your students understand the role of the President in the United States government. They will understand why we need a President, how the President is elected, and what the President does. Your 2nd graders will even learn fun facts about the past them and will be able to amaze their parents with fun information to spout off at home!
Presidential Vocabulary
Teaching your students about about vocabulary will also help them better understand the concepts you want them to learn about.
Some words they will need to know are:
- President
- Leader
- Election
- Ballot
- White House
- Term
- Veto
- Commander-in-Chief
Make understanding these vocabulary words easy by using the pre-designed vocabulary word wall included in the U.S. Presidents Activities and Worksheets. You will find vocabulary words you can print and put on a mini word wall for your unit all about the Presidents of the United States or you can use the posters with detailed illustrations of the vocabulary words and terms.
Make Anchor Charts: All About Presidents of the United States
I’ve found that 2nd Grade students love the opportunity to create something and I’m sure your class is no different. Allow their creativity to reign while making posters. Use these printable posters for your students to decorate that you can find within the Government Activities: U.S. Digital Activities and Worksheet Bundle.
You can also let your students create their own poster based on some of the vocabulary words students are learning about, or create their own poster based on their favorite President.
There are lots of fun ways to incorporate interesting facts about past Presidents, their likes, and accomplishments onto a poster. These posters can be displayed around the classroom or even in the hallways at school to help teach other students all about the Presidents of the United States.
Books All About Presidents of the United States
If you are teaching a unit on Presidents, it might be a good idea to get your school librarian involved. Go and visit the library to find some good books to read your 2nd grade students all about the Presidents of the United States. The librarian will have some great ideas, and you may even stumble upon a book with facts you were unaware of yourself or needed to be reminded of!
Fact Cards
We all know that taking notes and physically writing it down helps students remember information better. Help your students learn and remember facts and information about different Presidents with some fun fact cards.
Fact cards are fun to make on your own with pieces of card stock or construction paper. You can let your students’ imagination soar with the way they want to write, draw, or remember their Presidential facts. Or, you can use these premade ones that are available for you in the U.S. Presidents Activities and Worksheets resource or in the Government Activies: U.S. Presidents Digital Activities and Worksheet Bundle.
Timeline Chains All About Presidents of the United States
In my experience, timelines are boring. That is my opinion as an adult, so I can hardly imagine what 2nd-grade students think of timelines. That being said, timelines and dates are important to know about, especially when it comes to facts about Presidents of the United States. It seems we’re at an impasse, but wait!
Timeline chains are a twist on a traditional timeline that your 2nd graders will love. Included in the U.S. Presidents Activities and Worksheets AND the Government Activities: U.S. Presidents Digital Activities and Worksheet Bundle are timeline chains. Timeline chains are worksheets you can print and hand out to students to write important facts about a President, much like a traditional timeline.
The fun twist comes when you cut those facts apart, roll them together, and make a paper chain out of the links of facts! It’s a hands-on learning experience where students get to know important facts, work together to put them in the correct chronological order, and make a decoration to put around the room.
Presidential Research Brochures
Whether you have kids work alone, in pairs, or in small groups, presidential research brochures are a good idea. Included in the Government Activities: U.S. Presidents Digital Activities and Worksheet Bundle AND the U.S. Presidents Activities and Worksheets is this fun activity. This printable resource allows students to come up with interesting facts, important achievements, and a fun portrait of a President. Allow students to pick from a list or assign Presidents of the United States for your students to learn about!
President book report
After giving telling and teaching your students all about the Presidents of the United States, let them choose one President to research in a book. Encourage your students to fill out the Book Report all about which President they chose, and who wrote the book they read. Then leave room for them to talk about three facts they learned and two questions they still have.
FREE Social Studies Curriculum Pacing Guide
Learning all about Presidents is only one facet of social studies that you may want to teach your 2nd grade students. Check out the FREE Social Studies Curriculum Pacing Guide to help make social studies easier and more fun to teach!
More All About the Presidents of the United States Activities for Kids
There are so many different ways to teach your students all about Presidents. We went over a bunch today, but you could also teach about the Presidents by creating plays, watching movies, or exploring field trip options to learn more about the Presidents of the United States. With so many options, making learning all about Presidents in your classroom easy will be a breeze. Let me know which ideas you will use in your classroom!
The activities in this post are from my Presidents Worksheet Pack.
Click HERE for the printable unit and HERE for the digital version. OR save money by purchasing the paper and digital bundle HERE.
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Check Out More Social Studies Activities Here:
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING US SYMBOLS
