President's Day in the Classroom

Activities to Use in Class on America’s Day of Presidents

Jan 14, 2010
Joe Nowak

Lincoln Re-enactor, Max Daniels of Illinois - Used with Permission of Max and Donna Daniels

President's Day is not just about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Use this holiday to make students aware of America's rich heritage of leaders.

The federal holiday now known as President’s Day evolved over two hundred years. It started as a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, then Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and finally all who have served as president. It presents teachers with an excellent opportunity to introduce students to the presidents, the presidential office, and the responsibilities of the person sitting in the oval office.

The History of President’s Day

On February 22, 1796, the last full year of George Washington’s term as president, the holiday of Washington’s birthday was born. It did not become a federal holiday until 1832, one hundred years after the birth of George Washington.

Abraham Lincoln became the next president to be honored on February 12, 1865, the year after his assassination. His birthday never gained the status of an official federal holiday.

Congress passed legislation in 1968 requiring all federal holidays to be celebrated on a Monday. The thinking on this was to make these federal holidays 3-day weekends. It was an attempt to discourage high levels of absenteeism that seemed to occur on days before and after holidays occurring in the middle of the week. President Richard Nixon combined Washington’s holiday to President’s Day in 1971. It was to honor primarily George Washington and Abraham Lincoln but now honors all persons that have lead America as president.

Student Activities for President’s Day

Student activities for this holiday can run from a study of presidents of the past to a look at the current president. Here are just a few ideas for classroom activities.

Presidential Scavenger Hunt or Webquest
Visit the White House on line
Various Projects involving a presidential theme
United States Currency and the Presidents

Scavenger Hunt or Webquest for President’s Day

Create a list of presidential quotations and have students research which president said what and what were the circumstances leading up to the quote. Turn it around and randomly assign each student several presidents. The student must then find the defining moment of that president’s term of office. Students can then report this information to the class.

Teachers can make a webquest assignment for students. By going to a favorite search engine and typing “presidential webquest” hundreds of webquests created by other educators can be found. These exist for all grade levels.

Visit the White House Online

The White House, home of the president while in office, has a rich history all its own. This is an opportunity to make students aware of that history. They can even visit the White House online. Some questions to answer about the White House:

Have all the U.S. presidents lived in the White House?
When was the White House built?
How did it come to be called the White House?
Where does the president live in the White House?
Where does he work in the White House?
Along with the White House, the president has access to Air Force One. How does the president perform his duties while in the air?

Projects with a Presidential Theme

President’s Day lends itself to a multitude of classroom projects. All require students to do a certain amount of research. It also allows students to demonstrate their creativity.

Write the president a letter. Students can elect to send an email or snail mail. What response do they get? If they send snail mail, does their response arrive on presidential stationary? Have students share the president’s responses to their letters. Are the letters different or form letters?
Have students create presidential “collector’s” cards – like baseball cards. Along with a picture of the presidents let students determine what other statistics (birth, death, term of office, height, political party, etc.) need to be listed on the card.
Have students create trivia questions about the presidents. Then split the class into two or more teams and compete for the most presidential team.

Presidents on United States Currency

Presidents are closely associated with United States Currency. Topics students might discuss:

Why are living presidents not displayed on United States currency?
What presidents appear on what coins? Paper currency? Which presidents appear on both paper and coin currency?
Who was the first president to appear on a coin?
Discuss the current release of presidential one dollar coins. How many students have seen or used them?

The activities listed above provide opportunities for students to use their creativity in crafts (presidential "collector's" cards), make a virtual visit to the White House, discuss and reseach information about any or all of the presidents, and the use of presidential images on United States Currency.

More projects and activities for President’s Day can be found at Activities, Worksheets and Crafts for Presidents Day. This is certainly not the only site. Simply go to a favorite search engine and type “President’s Day Activities” or “President’s Day Projects” to find even more ideas on things to do in class for President’s Day.