Today's Classroom Activities :
Honoring George Washington
As a Student
Social Studies Celebrate George Washington's birthday, February 22. Display a picture of him, and distribute copies of a page of facts about Washington. Have your students read the facts silently. Ask volunteers to tell what they learned about Washington. Then read the facts aloud. Have your students consider what kind of student Washington must have been to become a famous leader. Have them write their responses on the back on their fact page. On a bulletin board, display their responses along with a fact page and a picture of Washington.
February 22
by Leland B. Jacobs
He was a planter,
a surveyor.
A general brave in war.
And the he was
Our President
(There'd not been one before.)
He was a farming
Gentleman
Down old Virginia way,
A hero both
In war and peace.
(His birthday comes today.)
Famous in Verse
Language Arts Read poems to your students about famous people like the poem to the right called "February 22". Challenge your students to write their own poems about someone famous. Have them keep the identity of their selected person a secret. Then have students dress up like their famous person and have them take turns reading their poems for the class to guess.
Who Was George Washington?
The student will be able to recognize George Washington as a leader and first president of the United States and learn about some of the ways in which we remember and honor him.
George Washington
This site provides biographical information about George Washington.
George Washington Lives—On the Internet
George Washington: Farmer, Soldier, and First President of the United States of America. Students can learn all about him on the Internet—by George! Included: Activities to use across the grades!
Looking at a National Treasure: George Washington by Gilbert Stuart
Students will be able to explain the definition of a portrait, study the reproduction portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, then identify the visual clues that the artist included in the portrait, they will also compare this reproduction portrait to other images of Washington, and finally they will discuss the importance of portraits as visual records and historical documents.
