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Lesson Plan - Can a Kid Be President?
Read the Article
Get the Answer Key
Learning Objective
Students will learn the answers to commonly asked questions about U.S. presidential elections.
Content-Area Connections
Civics, U.S. History
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10
NCSS: Civic Ideals and Practices
TEKS: Social Studies 3.7
Text Structure
Question and Answer
1. Preparing to Read
Watch a VideoWatch the video “Newsie’s Challenge: What It Takes to Be President.” Ask: What are the requirements for becoming the U.S. president?
Preview Words to KnowProject the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for ReadingAs students read, have them identify three rules about who can be the U.S. president.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. What is the purpose of the article? The purpose of the article is to explain that the 2024 race to the White House has already begun and to share important facts about how Americans choose the nation’s top leader.(RI.3.2 Main Idea)
2. What three rules for who can be president are listed in the U.S. Constitution? The U.S. Constitution says that a person must be at least 35 years old, must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years, and must have been born a U.S. citizen.(RI.3.2 Key Details)
3. Share two facts you can learn from the sidebar, “Celebrate Presidents’ Day.” Sample response: From this sidebar, you can learn that more U.S. presidents have been born in Virginia than in any other state. You can also learn that the U.S. has had 46 presidents so far.(RI.3.7 Text Features)
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Text FeaturesUse the skill builder “Election Words” to deepen understanding of key election-themed vocabulary from the article.(RI.3.4 Domain-Specific Vocabulary)
Multilingual Learners Differentiate for multilingual learners by pointing out the different ways the verb run is used in the article. Students are probably familiar with the word’s primary meaning—“to move along quickly using your legs.” But in this article, the verb is used to mean “to take part in an election” (“run for president”) and “to be in charge of something” (“run the nation’s government”).
Writing Extension Have students write a paragraph about whether they would like to run for president.
Enrichment Activity Have students list additional questions they have about the election and the role of the U.S. president. Send your class’s questions to the editors at [email protected]. We’ll use them to plan future articles!