The Topic: Presidents of the United States Don't miss visiting the companion webpage to this project; to access hundreds of biographical and informational websites on individual presidents and their wives, go to Presidents and First Ladies for hundreds of additional resources.   Easier - The President of the United States is the chief executive of the country. The President is elected by the people of the United States through the Electoral College. George Washington was the first president. George W. Bush became President of the United States in 2001. He is from the Republican party.   Harder - The president is the highest elected position in the United States government. In the United States, a presidential election is held every four years to select a new president. It is possible for a president to serve up to two terms which is eight years. To be eligible for the presidency, a candidate must be a natural-born citizen, must have lived in the United States for a minimum of 14 years, and must be at least 35 years old.   The president is the head of the executive branch of the government. In addition to leading the country, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Although there are many political parties, the president has been either a Democrat or a Republican since the mid 1800's.   American Presidency at Grolier Online http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ The website presents the history of presidents, the presidency, politics, presidential biographies, and historical election results. Resources are categorized for varied grade levels. Similar Website: 2) U.S. Presidents Lists and Records http://www.worldbook.com/fun/presidents/html/intro.htm 3) Electing a President http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/election/president.htm   American Presidency: A Glorious Burden http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/index.html At this site, you can learn about the foundations of the presidency, life and death in the White House, presidential campaigns, and much more.   American President from PBS http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amerpres/index01.html This website presents site the heroic, personal, and political story of the American presidency. Related Websites: 2) American President http://www.americanpresident.org/home6.htm 3) Character Above All: An Exploration of Presidential Leadership http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/ 4) Inaugural Classroom http://www.pbs.org/inaugural97/ 5) Presidents at American Experience http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/indexjs.html 6) American Presidents: Life Portraits from C-Span http://www.americanpresidents.org/   Presidents of the United States http://www.usahistory.com/presidents/ Here you find a comprehensive site for presidential resources. It includes links to each president, inaugural speeches, vice president pages, and other information about the office of the president.     Using resources found at the websites, complete one or more of these activities.   Complete a President's Puzzle. Go to America's Presidents and complete the crossword puzzle on the President's job as you explore some great Web sites. You also might try your hand at the Name the President , where you name the president from the picture shown and learn some tidbit information. Or see if you can identify the presidents at Funbrain.com's Who Is That.   Build a Presidential Library. Visit the Presidential Libraries website. Select a president and visit their library. Do you think their library reflects their presidency? Why or why not? What do you think should be included in a presidential library? Create your own presidential library on a web page. Be sure to include a link to the official library.   Feature a President. You probably know a lot about Bill Clinton, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt, but what about lesser known presidents? Choose a little known president. Write a persuasive speech trying to convince your class that this person made an important contribution and should be better remembered. Use the Presidents and First Ladies page for links to specific presidents.   Create a Mobile. Create a mobile showing the contributions of a president. Each hanging element should describe some aspect of their presidency.   Write a Inaugural Speech. Read three inaugural speeches. Compare and contrast these speeches. What do they have in common? Write a short speech that includes the key elements of a good inaugural speech. Write it for the present day or any time in the past. What do you think the inaugural speech will be like for the next president? What about in the year 2020?   Explore the First Ladies. How has the role of the first lady evolved since the first president? Write about a first lady and how her role reflected the time she was the first lady. Create a class time line of first ladies.   Ask an Expert. Design some questions for Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson. Email them to their impersonators. Use the Ask Abe or Ask Thomas Jefferson websites.   Write a Skit. Learn about a president at our Presidents and First Ladies page. Write a skit that reenacts a particular event from the president's life. Dress up as the president. Videotape the skit and share it with another school.   Select a Photograph. Explore photographs taken during the administration of a president. Select a photograph of a president or a photograph taken during his presidency. Write about why you think this photograph reflects their presidency.   Write a Presidential Haiku. Compose a short poem in the Japanese style of haiku: that's three lines, the first five syllables long, the second seven syllables and the third five syllables. The subject of your original poetry should be one of the presidents. Need some help or examples? Visit Presidential Haiku.   Complete a President Webquest. Adapt or follow the directions found at one of the following webquest sites: 1) Do You Want to Be President? by S. Horgeshimer http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/shorgeshimer/webpage/preswebquest.html 2) Hail to the Chief: Electing a President http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/index3.html 3) Who Should Be President Aaron Burr or Thomas Jefferson? http://farmingdaleschools.org/fps/files/pres.htm   Websites By Kids For Kids American Presidents (2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002911/ This site includes biographical information on each of the presidents as well as information on a few first ladies, presidential elections and campaigns, activities, and a collection of links.   Civil War: Abraham Lincoln (Section of a ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/netscape/people/lincoln.html This site tells of Lincoln's leadership in the Civil War. Related Websites - Also By Kids For Kids: 2) Abraham Lincoln for Primary Children http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/lincoln/ 3) Life of Abraham Lincoln http://www.berwickacademy.org/lincoln/lincoln.htm 4) Abraham Lincoln online http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/projects/LinkOn/ 5) Abraham Lincoln research site http://www2.connectnet.com/~dmp/G5_writing/Hilary.html   Dwight Eisenhower http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/great/2kyle.htm This is the site of a brief biographical report written by a fifth grade student. Related Biographical Report: 2) Theodore Roosevelt http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/great/2mike.htm   Executive Branch: Home of the President (Section of a 1999 ThinkQuest Project: Guide to the Government) http://library.thinkquest.org/13506/exec/exec.html The Executive branch enforces laws, defends the country, and so much more! But it's just the president and the vice president, right? En contraire, my friend! There's a lot more to it than that! More than the constitution's writers ever imagined.   Everything You Need to Know about the U.S. Presidents (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5501/ Here you learn about U.S. Presidents.   George Washington http://www.jwjhs.reg4.k12.ct.us/tc/ Learn about George Washington Related Website - Also By Kids For Kids: 2) George Washington (2000 ThinkQuest Junior) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002425F/   Impeachment Process (1999 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/25185/process.htm This site explains the United States impeachment process.   Innocents Abroad: American Presidents and Foreign Policy (2000 ThinkQuest Internet Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/C006287/ This site discusses of how American foreign policy has been shaped by the men who made it and the unique political environment they made it in.   Presidential Exploration (1997 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/11492/ Here you find information about the presidents of the United States. The Oval Office and The Convention are your main sources of information. But also stop by the Recreation Room, The Floor, and then take a leisurely walk out The Gates.   Presidential Libraries http://www.nara.gov/nara/president/address.html This website provides a list of the presidential libraries as well as addresses and websites.   Presidents' Projects http://surfaquarium.com/rollcall.htm Classes from around the nation have joined Mr. McKenzie's Fourth Grade class in this ongoing project by researching each of our Presidents and creating a web page sharing their lives, accomplishments and home states. There is still lots of room for other class projects here!   US Presidents (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/6293/ This site has basic facts and trivia about all the presidents.   Where in Virginia Are Eight of America's Presidents? (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5636/Main/Presentation1/main.htm This is the site of an online quiz on eight of the presidents born in Virginia. The riddles lead the user to each president's 'home' on the Internet.   Who is Your Favorite President of the United States? http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/presidents/presidents.htm Do you know how a president gets elected? It is not as simple as you think. Learn about the Electoral College. Read a brief biography of each of our past presidents. Choose your favorite president.   More Websites on the Presidency Air Force One from Boeing http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/af1/ Air Force One is a Boeing 747-200B aircraft that was extensively modified to meet presidential requirements. Related Websites: 2) From the Archives of the USAF Museum http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/fta/fta0598.htm 3) VC-25A - Air Force One http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/VC_25A___Air_Force_One.html   Hall of Presidents from the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution http://www.npg.si.edu/col/pres/index.htm Here you can read a brief biography on each president along with a description of their displayed 'portrait.'   I Do Solemnly Swear: Presidential Inaugurations http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html Here is a collection of files and pictures of presidential inaugurations from George Washington's day to the present.   Inside the White House from National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/whitehouse/whhome.html You got the nomination, you campaigned, you won. Then you took the oath of office, made the first speech of your administration, and danced the night away. Click here to move into the Oval Office and make your mark as President.   Presidents of the United States http://www.netcolony.com/news/presidents/ This giant links-site claims to be the most comprehensive site on the Internet for presidential resources.   White House for Kids http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/kids/html/home.html Discover the history, take some tours, learn about the pets, traditions, sports and patriotism of the White House. Tours include: Oval office, Vice president's West Wing office, Diplomatic Reception Room, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room and the Press Room.   Websites For Teachers Early Presidents and Politics by M. McPherson (Grade 4) http://www.trinity.edu/departments/education/TCKC/495pres.htm Lessons in this unit cover early presidents and supporting individuals from the terms of George Washington through Andrew Jackson. Major issues of each president's term as well as humanizing information about each person are emphasized throughout the unit.   Inaugeral Classroom: Lesson Plans (Grade 6-12) http://www.pbs.org/inaugural97/lessonplans.html This site houses a large collection of lesson plans for study of the Inauguration, the Executive Branch, or discussing specific administrations or periods in American history.   President's Day http://www.angelfire.com/ma/1stGrade/pageq.html It is hard to believe that two great presidents have their birthday in the same month! In honor of them and all the men who have served as our President, we set aside a day in February for them. Here are some ideas to honor The Chief Executive of the US in your classroom. Related Website: 2) President's Day Activities and Crafts http://www.geocities.com/kingfamilyaz/www/enchantedlearning.com/crafts/presidentsday   Presidential Interview: A Panel of Presidents by S. Scott (Grade 8) http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst046.html A structured forum of the last five presidents of the United States will be interviewed. The panel will answer questions as they recap their foreign and domestic policies. Questions posed by other class member are to elicit responses so that students will become familiar with the implications of leadership of the former presidents and the incumbent.   Presidents of the United States of America by MP Brown http://pw2.netcom.com/~svydog/usp/usp.htm Here you can download the educational Freeware package for Windows 95. There is information and portraits on all forty-two Presidents covering their lives and time in office.   Where Does the President Live? (Grades 1-3) http://pd.l2l.org/success/lessons/lesson7/pssd2_l.htm In this lesson students discover that the president of the United States works and lives in the same building. Using the Internet, students tour the White House. They learn important things about this huge 132-room mansion and fun facts, like it take 570 gallons of white paint to cover the outside! Then students role-play what it might be like to be president or members of the First Family.    President executive office commander-in-chief First Lady 4-year term elections politics vote inauguration White House government cabinet Oval Office biographies speeches State of the Union Address Electoral College political party bipartisan campaign impeachment assassination caucus candidate oath debate convention running mate Presidential Library succession        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 1/01. Updated by the King Family, 7/04.