Activity Overview
The highest member of the Executive Branch is the president of the United States. The U.S. has had forty-five presidents and each one of them has had a great impact on the country.
Students will research a president and create a timeline of the major events of their lives. The timeline of the president should span his life and include his path to the White House, along with any events that occurred after the presidency. The suggestions below provide a mix of events and other factual aspects of the presidents’ lives.
For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options and adjust the instructions accordingly.
Possible topics to research:
- The education of the president
- Laws passed while in office
- Possible service in the military
- Possible service in Congress
- Controversies surrounding the president
- Notable children
- Hobbies or interests
- Political viewpoints
Extended Activity
For this extended activity, students will either continue with the president from the previous activity, or select a new president. Students will create a storyboard that visualizes specific quotes from their president. Students will select the quotes that they found to be the most profound and insert the quote in the text below the storyboard. Students will then visualize the meaning of the quote in the space above it.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a timeline outlining the life of one of the Presidents of the United States.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Add additional cells as needed.
- Identify important events and moments in that president's life and type them into the titles of each cell.
- Write a summary of the event in the description box.
- Create an illustration using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
---|---|---|---|
Events and Dates | The events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. The dates provided are correct. | Most of the events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. Most of the dates provided are correct. | Some of the events chosen for the timeline are significant. There may be missing events, or events that are irrelevant. Too many dates may be incorrect. |
Explanations/Descriptions | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are accurate and provide insight into the significance of the events. | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are mostly accurate and attempt to provide insight into the significance of the events. | There are several glaring inaccuracies in the explanations or descriptions of the events. There may be little or no insight int the significance of the events, or the information provided may be too limited or missing. |
English Conventions | There are 0-2 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 3-4 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 5 or more mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. |
Activity Overview
The highest member of the Executive Branch is the president of the United States. The U.S. has had forty-five presidents and each one of them has had a great impact on the country.
Students will research a president and create a timeline of the major events of their lives. The timeline of the president should span his life and include his path to the White House, along with any events that occurred after the presidency. The suggestions below provide a mix of events and other factual aspects of the presidents’ lives.
For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options and adjust the instructions accordingly.
Possible topics to research:
- The education of the president
- Laws passed while in office
- Possible service in the military
- Possible service in Congress
- Controversies surrounding the president
- Notable children
- Hobbies or interests
- Political viewpoints
Extended Activity
For this extended activity, students will either continue with the president from the previous activity, or select a new president. Students will create a storyboard that visualizes specific quotes from their president. Students will select the quotes that they found to be the most profound and insert the quote in the text below the storyboard. Students will then visualize the meaning of the quote in the space above it.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a timeline outlining the life of one of the Presidents of the United States.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Add additional cells as needed.
- Identify important events and moments in that president's life and type them into the titles of each cell.
- Write a summary of the event in the description box.
- Create an illustration using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
---|---|---|---|
Events and Dates | The events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. The dates provided are correct. | Most of the events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. Most of the dates provided are correct. | Some of the events chosen for the timeline are significant. There may be missing events, or events that are irrelevant. Too many dates may be incorrect. |
Explanations/Descriptions | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are accurate and provide insight into the significance of the events. | The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are mostly accurate and attempt to provide insight into the significance of the events. | There are several glaring inaccuracies in the explanations or descriptions of the events. There may be little or no insight int the significance of the events, or the information provided may be too limited or missing. |
English Conventions | There are 0-2 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 3-4 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | There are 5 or more mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. |
More Storyboard That Activities
Executive Branch
- Lincoln Memorial (Washington DC) • ~MVI~ (warped) • License Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Pricing for Schools & Districts
© 2024 - Clever Prototypes, LLC - All rights reserved.
StoryboardThat is a trademark of Clever Prototypes, LLC, and Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office