Download a Presidents’ Day FREEBIE here
Below is an abundance of lessons ideas, resources and activities to help plan a thematic unit for Presidents’ Day and US Symbols. Be sure to check out the link to my “If I were president” FREEBIE writing above.
book recommendations
Click here to find each book on Amazon.com- These are just a few of the Presidents’ Day books that I like. Some are a little long for Kindies, but can be read over time or pages skipped. I also linked some cute books with familiar characters about voting, presidents, and national symbols.
VIDEOS- MY YOUTUBE PRESIDENTS’ DAY PLAYLIST
I’ve collected videos and read alouds on a Presidents’ Day YouTube playlist. Click here to access the playlist and use in your classroom!
ACTIVITIES
I usually roll our unit on National Holidays/Presidents’ Day with national symbols. During this unit we discuss: What is Presidents’ Day? George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Presidents and their roll, and various national symbols.
Art: Make American flags using paint or construction paper; do a project based learning activity by assigning each group a national symbol and have them create and label it, create your own flag, and/or make George Washington and Abraham Lincoln portraits. Follow Art Hub drawing videos and write a sentence to go along with your drawing. Grab my Presidents’ Day puppet freebie and create both presidents with this reversable template!
Fun Friday Snack: Make American flag snacks using graham crackers, icing, and blue and red M&M’s (or Twizzlers).
Science Experiment: This is an easy and fun experiment investigating why the Statue of Liberty is green. This isn’t the exact download I used in my classroom, but very similar (I can’t find the exact one I used). But the basic gist is that you soak pennies in vinegar and salt and over time they will start to turn green!
Vocabulary Sort: These vocabulary cards can be used for a hunt around the room instead of a sort. I make a T-Chart on the carpet and we work on it together. Afterwards, I have them work on the sort printable independently. Review Videos- George Washington | Abraham Lincoln
Writing: First, we watch the brainpopjr.com video on Presidents to understand what a president is and what they do. Then, we read a book about being president, like:
Use the this narrative writing prompt: “If I were president…” I love the answers that the kiddos come up with- one of my favorites, “If I were president, I would make everyone eat spaghetti.” Mine would be to pay teachers more and abolish meetings, but I digress…
Reading/Writing: I use emergent readers for US Symbols and Washington and Lincoln. Check out the links to TpT and Pinterest above to find emergent readers. Have students read about Washington and Lincoln and then practice informational writing by writing a fact about each. We used graphic organizers and sentence starters (for some) Make portraits to go with each. I also use a US Symbols vocabulary scavenger hunt around the room.
Math Centers: Use real or fake money to sort and count, or take an opportunity to teach a mini unit on money while learning about Presidents’ Day and US Symbols. Check out my “race to 100” freebie using pennies!
I like to make my math and literacy centers match the weekly theme. These math color codes printables are meant for an independent or partner math centers. There are 4 different types of color codes to match skill levels- great for review, a challenge, or meet them where they are. You can print the color answer key for them to check their work as they go or when they get stuck.
Next math center is a crowd favorite- MYSTERY PICTURES! Students color in the 100’s chart according to the color code to reveal a picture. This set has national symbols, too!
Enjoy! [Hopefully you have the day off ;)]
Caffeine and Crayons 
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