I Am President (Insert Name Here) and This is My Story

A WebQuery for 5th Grade

Cassie Manring
manringc@cwu.edu

Introduction

The United States of America had their first President in 1789. Since then, we have had 44 Presidents that have served in the White House. In this assignment, I am President (insert name here) and this is MY story, I want you to choose a President that you find interesting and then YOU will present the President you have chosen to the class. You will convince our class why you are a significant president to our country's success and why you should be remembered as a legacy. Not only will you be persuading the class as to why you were such a significant president, but you will need to tell us about yourself and your life journey in order to become President.

Task

You will be researching a President of your choice. I will draw names and you will be able to choose the President by first come first serve. You have to find out information on the President's life journey from childhood up until the end of their term(s) in office. I will provide websites for you to begin their research. You can also go down to the library and use resources available to you down there. You will need to emphasize why your presidency was so important and why you should be remembered as a significant figure in office. You must create a poster that is about 3 ft long and 3 ft wide where you will cut out a spot for your head and arms and you will pretend you are that President while talking in front of the class. You must also create a powerpoint or pursuasive essay giving us further details on the President's life.

The Process

The questions listed below should be used as a guide when researching your President. They should also help you to create your power point, poster, and /or pursuasive essay.

You are encouraged to adapt the following list to your own purposes. You might want to make it more age-appropriate or more closely aligned with a particular task, product, or topic. This list is generic and simply deals with the "how-to" of completing an assigned research task.

When was the President born? What city and state?
Did he come from a good home or were his parents absent?
What college did he attend?
Is he married? Does he have children?
What did he do prior to being the President?
What was his candidacy like?
In office, was he well respected?
Did he create any new laws? How significant are they to the USA today?
What does he look like? (You will need this for your poster)
Why should this President be well-respected and remembered forever?
Is your poster creative? Does it include color and pictures besides just the President's body?
Is the power point colorful and well thought out? Is it organized and does it flow smoothly in between slides?
Is your pursuasive essay well written and does it actually pursuade the audience to believe that you were a significant President?
If not, what can you do to make some changes in order to make it more pursuasive like?
Do you have enough research to be able to present for 5-7 minutes?
Have you checked the rubric and task to make sure that you have completed all aspects of the task?

Remember this is YOUR project! Be as creative as you like! These questions are just a guide for you to think about if you're struggling! You don't have to answer each one! Good luck and have fun!:)

Resources

Listed below are some interesting and useful links to get you started with your research. You don't have to use them if you have found other information you would prefer to use! Please try to use more than one website so that you can get a feel for what other websites have to offer. Don't just focus on one, even if there is quite a bit of information!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ This website lists all 44 Presidents and has an abundance of information on all of them. It even shows you a picture of what the President looked like!
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/ This website gives a biography of the President as well as information about the white house as a whole and how it is ran. Here you will find information on election results, cabinet members, video clips, historical documents, etc.
http://www.presidentsusa.net/ This website includes facts, fun trivia, biographies, museums, speeches, and research information on the Presidents as well as controversial topics.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/index.html This website has a digital collection of primary source materials that contain different letters, government documents, photographs, manuscripts, biographies, etc. to inform you on the type of President you were.
http://www.historyplace.com/specials/portraits/presidents/index.html This website strictly has photos and the time period listed of when the President was in office. This will give you an idea of how to "dress" your President on your poster board!

Evaluation

Your poster board and PowerPoint or pursuasive essay will display all of the information you have researched about your President. Below is the rubric I will be grading your project on!

Here is the rubric for your Poster:

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Labels	All items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Almost all items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Several items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled.
Attractiveness	The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.	The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.	The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Use of Class Time	Used time well during each class period. Focused on getting the project done. Never distracted others.	Used time well during each class period. Usually focused on getting the project done and never distracted others.	Used some of the time well during each class period. There was some focus on getting the project done but occasionally distracted others.	Did not use class time to focus on the project OR often distracted others.
Knowledge Gained	Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.	Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the poster.

Here is your Power Point Rubric:

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Presentation	Well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.	Rehearsed with fairly smooth delivery that holds audience attention most of the time.	Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of the audience most of the time.	Delivery not smooth and audience attention often lost.
Attractiveness	Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation.	Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation.	Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content.	Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. but these often distract from the presentaion content.
Originality	Product shows a large amount of original thought. Ideas are creative and inventive.	Product shows some original thought. Work shows new ideas and insights.	Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is little evidence of original thinking.	Uses other people's ideas, but does not give them credit.
Content	Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors.	Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.
Requirements	All requirements are met and exceeded.	All requirements are met.	One requirement was not completely met.	More than one requirement was not completely met.

Here is a rubric for your Persuasive Essay:

CATEGORY	4 - Above Standards	3 - Meets Standards	2 - Approaching Standards	1 - Below Standards
Attention Grabber	The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. This could be a strong statement, a relevant quotation, statistic, or question addressed to the reader.	The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience.	The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear.	The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic.
Focus or Thesis Statement	The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed.	The thesis statement names the topic of the essay.	The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not name the topic.	The thesis statement does not name the topic AND does not preview what will be discussed.
Evidence and Examples	All of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.	Most of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the author's position.	At least one of the pieces of evidence and examples is relevant and has an explanation that shows how that piece of evidence supports the author's position.	Evidence and examples are NOT relevant AND/OR are not explained.
Sequencing	Arguments and support are provided in a logical order that makes it easy and interesting to follow the author's train of thought.	Arguments and support are provided in a fairly logical order that makes it reasonably easy to follow the author's train of thought.	A few of the support details or arguments are not in an expected or logical order, distracting the reader and making the essay seem a little confusing.	Many of the support details or arguments are not in an expected or logical order,distracting the reader and making the essay seem very confusing.
Grammar & Spelling	Author makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Author makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Audience	Demonstrates a clear understanding of the potential reader and uses appropriate vocabulary and arguments. Anticipates reader's questions and provides thorough answers appropriate for that audience.	Demonstrates a general understanding of the potential reader and uses vocabulary and arguments appropriate for that audience.	Demonstrates some understanding of the potential reader and uses arguments appropriate for that audience.	It is not clear who the author is writing for.

Conclusion

After doing this project, you should have a clear understanding of what your President's life journey was like. You should also have a little bit more knowledge on other Presidents' lives after listening to your peers presentations. I hope that you will continue to learn more about the Presidents running our countries because they influence us as citizens as well! I also hope that you enjoyed this process and will want to do another project like this one again!