Lesson Title: Exploring the Leaders of America for President’s Day
Dive into the rich history of U.S. leadership with an engaging lesson that celebrates the legacy of our nation’s presidents.
From Washington’s groundbreaking leadership to modern trailblazers like Obama to the most recent Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump election, this interactive lesson plan combines learning and patriotic duty with fun. Wrap it all up with an exciting Goosechase Scavenger Hunt, where students will compete, collaborate, and explore presidential history like never before.
Let’s turn history class into a Presidential Pursuit!
Grade: 5 - 12
Subject: History, Social Studies
Learning Objectives:
- By the end of this lesson, students will:
- understand the historical significance of President’s Day
- recognize key contributions of selected U.S. Presidents
- engage in a fun, interactive review using a Goosechase Scavenger Hunt.
Materials:
- Mobile devices with the Goosechase app downloaded (one per team).
- Projector or smartboard
- Computers/tablets for research (if possible)
- Printed handouts or digital links
Preparation:
- Create an Experience on the Goosechase app with a series of Missions focussed on the history of past American presidents.
- Develop Missions that require students to demonstrate their understanding and the various contributions of past presidents. Example Missions:
- Photo Mission: Take a photo of something in the room that symbolizes leadership and explain why.
- Trivia Question: What year did Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address?
- Text Mission: Name two amendments signed during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency.
- Video Mission: Record a 10-second video reenacting a famous presidential speech.
- Research Challenge: Find and submit a fun fact about a president of your choice that wasn’t mentioned in class.
- Text Mission: If you were to run for president today, what would be some goals of your political platform?
- Find example Missions in the Goosechase Templates below.
💡
Try using our free, AI-powered Mission Generator for ideas!
- Adapt the difficulty of the Missions based on the proficiency levels of your students to keep the activity inclusive and engaging for everyone.
- Prepare hints or resources that might help students solve the Missions if needed.
- Divide students into teams and assign each team a mobile device with the app, or have students complete the scavenger hunt individually.
- Run your Experience during one class period or for the entire week.
- App Set-Up
- Dedicate time to ensuring all students have the Goosechase app downloaded and joined to the Experience to avoid any tech issues.
📲
Share this link with students to easily download the app!
Lesson Plan Outline:
- Introduction
- Warm-Up Activity:
- Ask students, “Why do we celebrate President’s Day? Which U.S. Presidents do you think had the biggest impact on our country, and why?”
- Facilitate a brief discussion.
- Overview:
- Explain the history of President’s Day, originally established to honor George Washington’s birthday, and how it has evolved to celebrate all U.S. Presidents.
- Warm-Up Activity:
- Teaching Segment
- Key Focus Areas:
- George Washington – First President, Revolutionary War leader, set many presidential precedents.
- Key Focus Areas:
- Abraham Lincoln – Leadership during the Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt – New Deal programs, WWII leadership.
- Barack Obama – First African American President, Affordable Care Act.
- Use a short multimedia presentation or timeline handout to guide students through these key figures and their accomplishments.
- Group Activity: Quick Review
- Divide students into small groups.
- Provide a set of quiz questions or matching activities where they pair presidents with their achievements, famous speeches, or historical events.
- Goosechase Scavenger Hunt
- Read through Missions with students, emphasizing the importance of accuracy and critical thinking in their responses.
- Monitor progress and provide assistance as necessary.
- If working in teams, encourage them to strategize and collaborate to solve the Missions.
- Sit back and enjoy watching your students collaborate and demonstrate their learning.
- Debrief and Reflection
- Review the activity, discussing which Missions were the most challenging or fun.
- Discuss how teams collaborated and solved problems together.
- Review any educational content covered through the Goosechase missions.
- Optionally, award prizes to the team(s) with the highest score.
Optional Post-Experience Activities:
- Personal Reflection
- Students complete a personal reflection piece on what they have learned about previous presidents. Students can choose one president and focus on them highlighting why they feel they are significant to American History.
- Class Presentation
- Individually or in groups, students select one past president to research and present on.
Assessment
- Assess group research projects and presentations.
- Observe students' participation and collaboration during the Goosechase activities and whole-class discussions.
- Review the submissions in the Goosechase app to assess understanding of Presidents Day.
- Assess students’ written reflection or presentation about an individual they researched
Ready Made Experience Templates to Try
President's Day
Test your knowledge and learn some fun facts about America's favourite presidents!
Want a copy of this lesson plan to use with your class?
What is Goosechase EDU?
Goosechase is an online platform that helps educators create and run interactive learning experiences in their classrooms and beyond. Sign up and try creating an Experience, or contact us to learn more about our school and district-wide solutions!
