This post is co-authored by Cheryl Lederle and Danna Bell-Russel.
President’s Day? Presidents Day? Or Presidents’ Day?
Officially, it’s none of the above. By law, February 22 is called George Washington’s Birthday, but many now use the day to honor or commemorate all U.S. presidents. One easy way to help your students explore the legacy of three great presidents is by using a primary source set from the Library of Congress, Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln: Three Great Presidents.
As most readers of this blog know, primary source sets provide access to a collection of primary source items that are easy to download and print. They also include a teacher’s guide with background information and suggestions on ways to help teachers use these resources to encourage engagement and critical thinking and content understanding. This particular primary source set includes items suitable for teaching younger students.
In addition to the “Suggestions for Teachers” included with the primary source set, you could ask students to:
- Use the analysis tool to guide a closer look at one of the portraits. What do they think was the purpose of the portrait? What point of view was the painter trying to portray?
- Compare images of presidents from the past and present to see how presidents have been depicted in history and how that has changed over time.
- Create a description of what it means to look like or to be a leader. Do the images within the collection of portraits or in the primary source set show the presidents looking like a leader? Why or why not?
Looking for other images of presidents? Library experts have assembled a collection of presidential portraits that teachers can use to supplement the images in the Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln Primary Source Set.
What activities will you and your students do to study the lives of America’s presidents?