Creator: PBS Learning Media | visit site
Grade Range: 5 - 11
Explore the achievements and setbacks of Barack Obama’s presidency in this lesson that includes an interactive timeline of his eight years in office. The lesson plan includes essential questions, vocabulary, and suggestions for small group or individual instruction. Activities are correlated to Common Core Standards, or sign in using a free account to link activities to your state standards.
In the Classroom
As you explore the interactive timeline together as a class or with small groups, use a simple polling tool like SurveyPlanet, reviewed here, to assess student understanding of the different events on the timeline. Use SurveyPlanet to add each event to a poll and ask students to weigh in on their opinion on if the event was an accomplishment or a setback to the Obama administration. Use an online curation tool such as Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and share additional resources with students to enhance learning. For example, create a Padlet with columns for each year of the Obama presidency and add online articles from different resources that discuss each event. Extend learning by asking students to apply their knowledge of the Obama presidency and compare it to another president’s term in office using one of the storytelling tools found at Knight Lab, reviewed here. Scroll down Knight Lab’s main page to find options that include an image comparison tool, Storyline to tell the stories behind numbers, StoryMap - maps that tell numbers, and a timeline creation tool.
At Home
Share this lesson plan, including the interactive timeline with your student to help him understand events that took place during the Obama presidency for use with social studies and current events projects at school.
Tags
black history, 20th century, presidents,
Subjects
Current Events, Government/Civics: U.S, Social Studies, Social Studies,