The month of February brings many authentic opportunities to study history and government. While 'surfing' on Twitter during the State of the Union address this week, I came across the Wordle below:
This Wordle represents the most frequent words spoken during the address. What do these words say about the priorities for the country? What do you think was the central idea of the speech based on the choice and frequency of words? So many Common Core standards could be addressed while helping students to think more deeply about political issues.
This site (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) went on to show Wordles of past State of the Union addresses--those of President Obama's as well as other presidents. How does this year's message compare to previous messages? What social and historical contexts influenced these speeches?
Maybe some math connections?
Word
|
Washington
|
Lincoln
|
Roosevelt
|
Johnson
|
Kennedy
|
Reagan
|
GW Bush
|
Obama
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 11 | 63 | 24 | 57 | 39 | 37 | 34 | 76 |
| Will | 14 | 27 | 9 | 61 | 34 | 65 | 49 | 61 |
| More | 0 | 22 | 3 | 14 | 24 | 24 | 11 | 43 |
| People | 3 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 33 |
| Government | 4 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 14 |
| New | 1 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 20 |
| World | 0 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 25 | 9 | 19 | 7 |
| Must | 0 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 26 | 12 | 18 | 6 |
| Congress | 0 | 29 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 10 |
| America | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 20 | 33 | 24 |
Below are some additional instructional ideas for the State of the Union Address from the NY Times Learning Network:
Assessing the Address: State of the Union Lesson Ideas
By ANNISSA HAMBOUZ and MICHAEL GONCHAR
Updated: Feb. 13, 2013
“President Obama, seeking to put the prosperity and promise of the middle class at the heart of his second-term agenda, called on Congress on Tuesday night to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, saying that would lift millions out of poverty and energize the economy,” begins thefront-page article on the president’s Feb. 12 State of the Union address.
Find the full speech, with video and analysis, here. Below, lesson ideas for teaching and learning with this address or State of the Union addresses of the past.
Things You Can Do to Learn About the Address at Any Time
1. Share Your Opinion. Use our Student Opinion question to share your comments about the State of the Union address. Before the president begins his speech, predict what you think he will say. Then during and after the speech, share your reactions to the president’s address along with Senator Marco Rubio’s Republican response.
What did you think? How would you rate their speeches? What wasn’t addressed that you would have liked to hear? Did you have any favorite lines from the president’s speech or Mr. Rubio’s rebuttal?
2. Predict, Take Notes and React. Use our “State of the Union: Before, During and After” (PDF) chart to predict, take notes and react to the president’s speech.
3. Learn About the History of the State of the Union Address. Why do presidents deliver an annual State of the Union address? How has the tradition changed since George Washington delivered the first address in 1790? Students can research these questions, and dig into history to chooseany president from any year and read what he had to say about the state of the union.
Or read this Times article, with examples from George Washington to George Bush, that looks at how presidents face critical moments during their time in office when they deliver their annual State of the Union address. When was the last time the state of the union was not declared “strong”? Is the state of the union today strong? Is Mr. Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address coming at a critical moment in his presidency? Why?
4. Rethink the Address. Room for Debate asks speechwriters and commentators to think about alternative ways a president can meet Constitutional obligations while improving the tradition. Read the various responses, and then write your own opinion piece.
Then, visit the White House’s official State of the Union Web page to watch an “online-only enhanced version of the address with graphics, data, and useful stats that will help you go deeper.” The White House invites viewers to participate in a Twitter conversation by using the hashtag #SOTU and to ask a live panel questions after the speech.
Do you think that the White House’s new interactive approach to the State of the Union is an improvement? Or do you think we should completely rethink the State of the Union, and even consider abolishing the public address? What other ideas would you suggest?
President's Day
Father Knows Best
by Myra Cohn Livingston
They did it George.
What?
They moved your birthday.
When?
To a Monday.
Why?
So people could play.
Oh, I understand.
They knew you would, George.
Fathers always do.
See teaching ideas below for President's Day from Edutopia:
- Make Presidents Day lessons ring true for students
Teachers of all grade levels can address Presidents Day in the classroom by asking students what they would do if they were president, Rutgers University psychology professor Maurice Elias writes in this blog post. Elias also suggests a lesson in which students study presidents who overcame hard times. Embedded in these lessons, he notes, are social and emotional lessons that students can carry with them today, such as the importance of sticking with school work and of persevering through setbacks. Edutopia.org/Maurice Elias' blog
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