At a Glance:
| Grades: | 6, 7, 8 |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Social Studies |
| Topic: | Presidential Speeches |
| Lesson Length: | 45 mins - 1 hour |
Standards / Framework:
What will students learn in this activity?
Students will explore and summarize influential speeches made by U.S. presidents.
What should students know before this activity?
Students should be familiar with the role of the U.S. president, the Executive Branch, and some historical context about key events and figures in American history.
How can teachers introduce this lesson?
- Ask students:
- "Can you think of a U.S. president who made a speech or policy that had a significant impact on our country?"
- "What do you think makes a presidential speech or policy influential or memorable?"
- "How do you think a president's words and actions can reach audiences outside of the White House and classrooms?"
What will students do?
- Show students the video on past Presidential Inaugural speeches from NBC News to introduce them to the tradition of presidential addresses and the significance of these speeches in shaping the nation's direction.
- Organize students into small teams and provide a list of U.S. presidents and their renowned speeches. Within their groups, have students engage in research to identify a speech or policy that has left a significant mark on the nation's history. This list may encompass renowned addresses like Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, JFK’s “We Choose to Go to the Moon” speech, Ronald Reagan's "Berlin Wall Speech," and other historically impactful speeches.
- Have students summarize their chosen president's speech by identifying and articulating the speech’s primary objectives, key points, and historical significance on a main idea web and then briefly share their summaries with the class.
- Have students create a comic that presents an adaptation of a key speech or policy made by a U.S. president.
How can teachers wrap up the lesson?
- Have students share their comics with the class or in small groups.
- Emphasize the importance of presidential speeches and policies as powerful tools for shaping the course of history and influencing audiences.
How can teachers differentiate this activity?
- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
- Allow students to use the closed-caption feature while watching the video.
Related Resources:
- Comic to print or display: Comic.
- Video: Highlights of Presidential Inauguration Speeches - NBC News (3:25)
- Main Idea Web
- Milestone Documents - U.S. National Archive
- GALE (Open Access through Local Library)
U.S. Executive Branch
Presidents' Day
U.S. Presidential Election
