Download Presidents' Day Resources

Primary Source Activities

These rich Primary Sources come with questions to guide students through analysis and can be used to facilitate classroom discussions.

Conflicts Within Washington’s Cabinet

Two of George Washington’s closest advisers held opposing viewpoints about government. Read these primary sources and do research of your own to make and support a claim about how disagreements within Washington’s cabinet affected American politics.

Download lesson

Washington’s Farewell Address

Read George Washington’s farewell address, then identify key passages that support Washington’s arguments.

Download lesson

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” Speech, 1941

Read an excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, then reflect on the meaning of his words and how they impacted Americans at the time.

Download lesson

American Flag

The Presidency in Contemporary America

Read excerpts from the speeches of 7 presidents, identify similarities and differences among them, and then conduct research to find a speech from today’s president and compare it to these examples.

Download lesson

Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Duties of American Citizenship” Speech (1883)

Read an excerpt from The Duties of American Citizenship speech and analyze it, including writing a paragraph agreeing with and a paragraph disagreeing with a section of the speech.

Download lesson

Biographies

Learn about six presidents. Consider assigning a group to read each and share what they’ve learned.

George Washington
Download biography
Abraham Lincoln
Download biography
Theodore Roosevelt
Download biography
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Download biography
Ronald Reagan
Download biography
Barack Obama
Download biography
Contact Sales