3 Powerful Presidential Lessons That Promote Literacy

Key Takeaways:

• With free Scholastic classroom resources made just for middle school, teaching fascinating lessons on the executive branch of government has never been easier.
• These free lessons will also help your students build essential reading and writing skills with compelling nonfiction stories, close-reading questions, writing prompts, assessments, and more.
• Try Junior Scholastic magazine for free in your classroom—it’s a complete teaching package for social studies and ELA instruction in grades 6–8.

Wondering how to effectively integrate history and language arts in your middle-school classroom? With Junior Scholastic magazine and these free, on-level resources about U.S. presidents, we’ll help you teach your students about the executive branch of government as well as promote literacy. Featuring nonfiction stories, videos, activities, and much more, “The Roles of the Presidency” will not only ensure your students build essential social studies knowledge, but will help them learn key ELA skills, too!

Try Junior Scholastic for free in your class for 30 days to begin teaching your students about the executive branch of government and much more!

Three Branches

Can your students name the number of cabinet members? (There are 15.) Do they know which legislative chamber proposes bills regarding the federal budget? (It’s the House, of course.) Are they sure who is in charge of the executive branch? Kick things off with our introductory article and eye-catching infographic, “The Three Branches of Government,” which covers all the basics.

Follow our step-by-step lesson plan, including close-reading questions and differentiation tips. Then, extend the lesson with our “Checks and Balances” worksheet and “Make Your Voice Heard,” an argument-writing activity that also promotes active citizenship.

Abe’s Team

Most teens know our 16th president, but they’re sure to be surprised that, “Many of the President’s closest advisers did not like or respect him—at first.” That’s the theme of our read-aloud play, “Abraham Lincoln’s Team of Rivals.” Students will enjoy playing the high-powered, real-life characters from American history as they gain first-hand experience with the drama genre.

And when it comes to language arts, that’s just the beginning. Our accompanying lesson plan provides opportunities for your class to make inferences, compare and contrast, summarize, and more. Two worksheets are also included: “What’s the Story?” focuses on determining key ideas and details, while “Casting Call” helps students build vocabulary.

Tough Job

Students may be familiar with some presidents’ names and faces, yet many may wonder, “What does the executive branch do?” Now you can show them with our student-friendly lesson, “The Toughest Job in America?”

It’s filled with fun facts, photos, and even cartoons. Which president kept a pet raccoon in the White House after it was given to him for Thanksgiving dinner? (That was Coolidge.) The feature story also explains the president’s many duties, from commander-in-chief to legislative leader. The accompanying lesson plan connects this important topic to ELA skill-building activities.

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Trusted by teachers for more than 80 years, Junior Scholastic is the go-to source for current events that connect curricular topics to middle-school students’ lives. Much more than a magazine, each issue is packed with print and digital support materials to help meet your teaching objectives. And when you try Junior Scholastic free for 30 days, you’ll receive magazines for every student in your class, timesaving Teacher’s Guides, and complete access to Junior Scholastic Digital. It also features online articles for every device, multiple reading levels, videos, bonus worksheets, and more—all with Google Classroom integration.