Introductory Activity :

Description: This activity provides students with a creative way to present their research on presidents. This activity can be tied into a larger unit of study on presidents.

Goals: Students will use trading cards to present biographical information about presidents.

Body :

Anticipatory Set:
Ask students, ?Who is familiar with trading cards?? Inform students that they will do a double entry journal on the subject of trading cards. Hand out the journal pages and ask students to complete the left side of the double entry journal. (On the left hand side of the page is a list of questions for students to answer. Assure students that taking a guess is okay. Students should not erase any answers that they have written.)

After students have completed the left hand side of the journal, hand out a trading card to each student. Give students a couple of minutes to look at the cards. Now they may complete the right hand side of the double entry journal. (Students answer the same questions as before, but this time they have additional knowledge about trading cards.) Students can draw pictures or write sentences to answer the questions. When finished, ask students to share what they wrote for their journal entries.

Direct Instruction:
Inform students that they are going to apply what they learned about trading cards to presidents. Students will work in groups of two (or larger groups if necessary). Each group will choose one of the books provided to research information on a president (you may assign a president to each group or have the groups choose a president). Hand out one trading card sheet to each group. On the board, list the main points that must be on the sheet: picture, name, facts (2 personal and 2 presidential), history: born/died, etc. When completed, students will share their trading cards with the rest of the class.

Guided Practice:
A sample trading card sheet can be done with the entire class if needed. Depending on the needs of the class and time provided, the teacher should decide if this is necessary.

Conclusion Activity :

Special Comments: Post the trading cards in the classroom or put them in a book. The collection can be used as a quick reference guide.

Evaluation Activity :

Observe students as they are working, looking for signs of cooperation. Include any other personal assessments such as complete sentences, correct spelling, or anything else your class is working on. Make sure to notify students of how you are grading them before they begin their work. Listen to their final presentations to see if they chose relevant facts.