America’s Presidents by Chuck Wills

February Theme:  historical/presidential picture books

With the celebration of President’s Day today, I thought I would take the month of February to review and share lessons pertaining to picture books related to history or presidents.

Recommended Grades: 3-6

Primary Sources

This book is an excellent resource to use to share primary resources as well as background information with students about the history of the United States.  Handwritten letters, speeches, speech notes, campaign posters, executive orders and more are provided in this book, dubbed, “A Museum in a Book.”

America’s Presidents: Facts, Photos, and Memorabilia from the Nation’s Chief Executives (Museum in a Book) is a great model to use to discuss various parts of American history.  When discussing Abraham Lincoln, provide a copy of the Gettysburg Address for students to analyze.  If discussing John Adams, provide a copy of a letter he wrote to his wife, Abigail Adams.

Lesson idea: Use a primary source from a time in history you are studying and model for students how to analyze documents.  Or, model for students how to “translate” Old English into current day English.  Discuss the implications of the historical documents.
