Presidents’ Day is right around the corner! If you’re looking for resources to bring into your classroom there are plenty of apps and websites for President’s Day. You might use the resources on this list to give students space to explore their interests around a certain president or time period or reinforce a social studies or reading skill. If you have a particular learning goal such as retelling a story in sequence, or using text evidence to support an opinion, you can use one of the resources below to connect your content to a celebration of President’s Day.
Presidents’ Day Apps and Presidents’ Day Websites
The folks at PBS have video resources on their website. This collection of 60-second videos are perfect for short introductions to different historical figures. Students can watch videos on John Tyler, Millard Fillmore and more.
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation created an app called JFK Challenge that takes kids to the Apollo 11 mission to teach them about this period in American History.
Head over to BrainPOP to see videos on different presidents including Ronald Reagan and James Madison. There are lots to choose form and you can see the full list here.
Books and Articles
A couple of years ago I featured this interactive iBook on President Lincoln, it’s still available for iPads and includes plenty of primary source documents.
Newsela is a great resource for current events. On Presidents’ Day you might want to share this article on how elections work.
Apps for Social Studies
The National Park Service has an app that will take students to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. This free app includes maps and information on the historical spot.
Have you seen Presidents vs. Aliens? This silly app is full of trivia on the presidents that can make a fun recommendation for families in your next newsletter to parents.
The Clinton Presidential Center has a free app with video, images and information to share with students. This app is available for iPhones and iPads.
The awesome folks at Nearpod have a bunch of ready-to-use lessons you could incorporate into a discussion on Presidents’ Day. Check out the list here.
No matter how you decide to use the tools mentioned above, there are lots of ways to connect these to the learning objectives you’ve set for students. This could include a connection to informational text features in an English Language Arts classroom. It could also include statistics in a math lesson. Of the resources listed above, some may be the perfect fit for sharing with families who are looking to bring in educational resources into their discussions during out of school hours. If you have a resource to add to the list, make sure to leave a comment at the bottom of this post!
#ScannableTech Tip: Connect an article or reading passage hosted online to a QR code. Students can scan the QR code and go straight to the Presidents’ Day article. Learn more
#FormativeTech Tip: Create a collaborative online space for students. They can post questions after they read an article or watch a video. Use this information to check for understanding and/or misconceptions. Learn more
