George or Abe…President’s Day Fun!

This past week was the perfect week to learn all about two famous presidents, George Washington & Abe Lincoln.  We used Monday and Tuesday to wrap up our poetry unit and celebrate Valentine’s Day which left 3 days to complete this unit.  I could have used more days but we squeezed in as much as we could in the three we had. 
George or Abe...President's Day Fun! - First Grade Roars!
The first two days we did exactly the same thing but with different presidents. We began by using the mini reader and reviewing fact and details.  Then we completed an anticipation guide using the new Scholastic Kids biographies pictured below.   
Next, we worked on our informative writing.  I have to tell you by now they are really shining with their writing.  Most students write one complete page and several are up to 2-3 pages.  You can see that we create a web first and then as we add our facts, we check them off.  My students also include an introduction and conclusion.   I saved both of these pieces for our craft at the end of the unit.
We had a little extra time for Abe Lincoln so we read this cute new book as well. 
Then we wrote what we would put under our hat if we were like Abe.  
I thought they turned out pretty cute!
On the last day, we worked on comparing and contrasting the two presidents.  First we discussed who we would want to meet.  We made this graph together. 
Then we surveyed our friends and created our own tally and bar graphs. 
Next we wrote an opinion writing on who we would rather meet.  
We had to justify why we made our choice. 
After  that, we split into groups and made posters to compare and contrast.  This was by far their favorite activity and they are so proud when they finish. They use a third reader to help them look for similarities and differences plus all the other things they have learned.  

As you can see by their faces, team work is fun and rewarding!

Finally, we looked at our informative writing from the week, picked our best piece and made the craft to go with it.  Half of us made George and half made Abe!  
These kiddos are always amazing me with their love for learning, and amazing talents.  We had a super week learning about these two important presidents and how they changed the America we live in today!  
If you would like to grab these goodies they are all put together for you here.

Megan

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Hello!

I’m Megan, a first grade teacher and a mother to 7 amazing children. I love to create and collaborate with teachers. When I’m not teaching, I love spending time with my family, baking and playing tennis.

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