Instructional Materials for Inauguration Day

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on December 18, 2008 at 10:49am

I would certainly search for Inauguration 2009 and find all the great stuff others have done. I wouldn't re-invent the wheel. N

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nielsen on December 18, 2008 at 2:16pm

Absolutely will do that, but if anyone in this innovative community has some cool ideas of projects, lessons, materials etc. that they plan to use I'd love the recommendations.

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on December 18, 2008 at 9:07pm

Hi Lisa,
I'd advocate a sharing circle, where every student has the opportunity to share their experiences over the holidays, a goal for the coming year and perhaps something they think their teacher should know about them. I like to brainstorm the values of the classroom - a safe and happy place where everyone has the right to listen, learn and be heard and where each student is respected for their individual knowledge and skills. From this create a class 'charter', which each student takes home to their parents and signs, commiting to upholding the class values and vision.
I ask students to draw an outline of their hand and write one thing they are good at on each finger. This could be adapted to five things they want to achieve this year, five questions they have about their new class/school/teacher, five ways to improve their learning etc.
I also like to write a letter, introducing myself to students and parents, making clear my expectations, ways to communicate with me and a little about me as a teacher.
Good luck with your new students and best wishes for the coming year, Britt Gow

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on December 19, 2008 at 4:50am

Hi Lisa,
Over the coming week there will be lots of staff profiles, plenty of inauguration day histories, and tons articles, essays with terrific content.
Just copy and paste any of those into LessonWriter and create comprehensive literacy lessons in minutes.The content can be tracked by classes for automatic scaffolding, and there is one-click differentiation of instruction.
Please contact me if you have any questions
Stephen

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Permalink Reply by Todd Bryant on December 19, 2008 at 8:20am

Tweet Congress
Change.gov

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Permalink Reply by John Clemente on December 19, 2008 at 1:44pm

Here are a couple of good resources for teachers to use regarding the inauguration.

• This site, entitled Inaugural, is actually a portal to other sites that provide history related to the inauguration as well as information re: what happens on that day.
http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/
• Text of all addresses made by presidents (for high school students)
http://www.bartleby.com/124/

John

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on December 19, 2008 at 8:42pm

Sorry Lisa,
I thought Inauguration day must be the first day at school - not the first day of a new presidents term! Oops! Another example of how we can learn from each other and even though many countries speak English, people can still misunderstand each other.
Best regards, Britt Gow

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nielsen on December 30, 2008 at 7:04am

I've collected innovative ideas for Inauguration day and composed a post on my blog called, "Help Students Pay Attention to the 2009 Inauguration with Engaging ..." If this is of interest to any of you, please check out the post and let me know what you think.

Thank you.
Lisa Nielsen

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Permalink Reply by Gerald McMullin on January 6, 2009 at 10:05am

The District of Columbia has its own inauguration web site: http://www.inauguration.dc.gov/index.asp

The President-elect has created a web site with weekly videos, a blog, and information about the new administration: http://change.gov

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has a website of its own with photos of the preparations: http://www.pic2009.org/content/home/

There is a also a schedule of events leading up to the swearing in: http://www.pic2009.org/pages/schedule/

A slideshow of the building of the inaugural platform: http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/slideshow-platformconstruction.cfm

Education World has created a special web site with lesson plans and activities related to the inauguration: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson219.shtml

Scholastic has lesson plans and activities for elementary students: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/teach.jsp

Biographies of former presidents: http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/presidents/

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nielsen on January 6, 2009 at 10:57am

Thanks. I'll add this information to my post and share with others.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nielsen on January 12, 2009 at 10:36am

For New York City Department of Education Teachers

The NYC DOE has partnered with ABC News to provide schools with a live Internet video stream of the presidential inauguration on January 20. The ideal location for viewing the broadcast is an auditorium, cafeteria, or large library with projection capabilities (including a laptop or computer with an Internet connection).

New York City teachers and administrators interested in taking advantage of this service can e-mail their borough technology manager (see the list at www.nycboe.net/schools/principals/weekly/20080106/borough_tech_mana...). The subject of your e-mail should be “INAUGURATION.” Your borough technology manager will contact your to schedule a visit by a technician who will assess your school’s capability to access the video stream. Technicians will work with your staff to set up and test the necessary equipment. If your school has limited technology resources or no large viewing space, the technician will explore possible alternative solutions (e.g., utilizing existing cable television service).

For those interested I've written a post listing inauguration lesson ideas at http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/12/help-students-pay....

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Nielsen on January 12, 2009 at 5:50pm

For those following this discussion you may be interested in my new post, "Watching the 2009 Presidential Inauguration with Students."

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