These rich Primary Sources come with questions to guide students through analysis and can be used to facilitate classroom discussions.
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.
Read George Washington’s farewell address, then identify key passages that support Washington’s arguments.
Read an excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, then reflect on the meaning of his words and how they impacted Americans at the time.
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.
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.
Learn about six presidents. Consider assigning a group to read each and share what they’ve learned.
 George WashingtonDownload biography |
 Abraham LincolnDownload biography |
 Theodore RooseveltDownload biography |
 Franklin D. RooseveltDownload biography |
 Ronald ReaganDownload biography |
 Barack ObamaDownload biography |
See these collections for additional Presidents’ Day ideas.