TeachersFirst's Resources for U.S. Presidential Inaugurations
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections
Every four years, the U.S. celebrates the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next. 2009 is an especially historic year in U.S. history, with the juxtaposition of Lincoln's 200th birthday and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
No matter what grade level you teach or candidate you support, Inauguration Day is an important event worthy of notice in your classroom.
This list of reviewed resources from the TeachersFirst database will help you find ways to include the inauguration and its historical significance in the context of your curriculum.
Since news sources often generate specialized but temporary web resources just in time for Inauguration Day (January 20), you will also want to use a Google News search for the most timely information, such as news articles and images. Combine these with the historical background and ideas below to help students gain perspective and a deeper understanding.
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JFK 50 - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Grades
7 to 12
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This web site honors the legacy of President John F. Kennedy in recognition of the fifty years that have passed since his inauguration on January 20, 1961, when he first ...more
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This web site honors the legacy of President John F. Kennedy in recognition of the fifty years that have passed since his inauguration on January 20, 1961, when he first captured the hearts of Americans and memorialized a moment in history with his words, "Ask not what this country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." JFK50 is filled with cutting-edge multimedia that inspires and invites students to explore the themes of public service, civil rights, leadership, and more to discover how relevant they remain to social and political issues today.
tag(s): kennedy (5), presidents (76)
In the Classroom
Use this website as your online destination for teaching, researching, and starting a conversation about the primary people, changes, speeches, and events of the John F. Kennedy era. Do not miss the links at the upper left corner of the home page for the Legacy Gallery, Downloads and Resources, and "History Now" which provides an interactive timeline that links today's date to details of what transpired during JFK's presidency. Highlight the ideals articulated fifty years ago to serve as a springboard for today's students to become actively involved in public service by projecting the authentic broadcast reports, videos, newspaper accounts, and other media on your classroom whiteboard or projector. Team up with colleagues in other departments to engage in interdisciplinary learning projects. You may want to have students collaborate to put a new spin on a research report. Challenge them to create a newspaper article about the domestic affairs, foreign policies and diplomacy, the arts, or any of the other extensive topics found on JFK50 by using the Newspaper Clipping Generator. Polish it off by having students create magazine covers that reflect the content of their articles, essays, or reports by using Magazine Cover Maker reviewed here.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Tagul - tagul.com
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for ...more
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This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for any blog entry or web page (including newspapers online) to create a word cloud of the text. This resource is currently free while in beta and intends to keep it free for NON PROFIT only. Enhance basic word clouds by using this site to create clouds in various shapes, use mouse rollover options, use font effects, and more. Elevate your word clouds into an art form. Once registered, change your password by clicking on the profile tab and entering your changes. Before creating a word cloud, agree to their terms that includes only using appropriate content. Copy and paste series of words or use the url of a page where the words can be found. Choose a shape such as a heart, cloud, or geometric patterns. Choose a font as well as other options, and then click "Build the Cloud." Preview your cloud before saving.
tag(s): images (101)
In the Classroom
Users must be able to copy and paste text or provide a url to a page of text as well as determine parameters of more advanced word clouds. Alternately, these word clouds can be kept very simple. After creating the word cloud, be sure to save the image (or use a screen capture) to share with others. Another idea, use the url of the cloud or embed into a place to share such as blog, wiki, or site.This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Help students develop creative fluency by creating their own taguls of words and ideas from scratch. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create taguls of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. Collect thoughts about the class subject at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year to determine changes in thoughts about the subject matter.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Tagxedo - Hardy Leung
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
1 Comments
Want a word Cloud with Style? Create one here! A word cloud is an image of words that show the most frequent word in a larger font than the others. ...more
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Want a word Cloud with Style? Create one here! A word cloud is an image of words that show the most frequent word in a larger font than the others. Create a visual representation of a passage to pull out and identify important words or show the text in an interactive, visually appealing way. The resulting cloud pops out the words as you roll over them, so viewers can "see" each word separately. See a sample, created by the TF Edge review team. Explore the gallery for many inspiring examples, including some that use the customizable image shapes uploaded from your own computer (premium feature). Some features may change slightly after the beta phase, but developer Hardy Leung assures TeachersFirst users, "Even after beta you'll be able to save the animated version of the Tagxedo for free to your computer or to the web without the paid version. I may require a membership, though unlikely, but even then I'll make sure there is a free version for teachers and students."
Tagxedo requires Silverlight. The site will appear as a blank page with the "Install Silverlight Plugin" button if your computer does not have it installed. See your tech folks to allow download and installation of this plug-in if school computers do not have it and/or are "locked down."
Tagxedo requires Silverlight. The site will appear as a blank page with the "Install Silverlight Plugin" button if your computer does not have it installed. See your tech folks to allow download and installation of this plug-in if school computers do not have it and/or are "locked down."
tag(s): literacy (99)
In the Classroom
NO membership required to create a cloud, though saving may require a (free) membership in the future, according to developer Hardy Leung. Click "Create" and then "Words." Paste URL to "cloud" words from a web page or copy/paste (or type) a passage of words into the given field. (Repeat words to make them larger). Experiment with various settings and "themes" to create the different colors and shapes of the word cloud. Change the theme, shape, direction, layout, and other parameters easily. Click SAVE to easily download a static image of various sizes or take a screenshot using shortcut keys. Saved images do not have the cool "pop-out" feature (rats!), though the developer tells TeachersFirst that users will be able to download animated versions in the future. You can also save and obtain the direct URL to your animated cloud. Be sure to bookmark it or copy/paste the URL for safe keeping in a document, wiki, etc. During beta, the tool allows you to save and copy embed code, but this feature will cost money later.In the classroom: This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. In primary grades. Enter a group of related words into the text box, such as sight words, words with the same spelling cluster, or vocabulary terms. Then have students roll over the words to read them aloud as they pop out (only works in the ONLINE version of the clouds). Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create word clouds of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize terms and important vocabulary, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. Use themes and shapes that coordinate with the word cloud (for example, use a bird shape when creating a cloud about flight or a heart when interpreting a love poem. Consider using a word cloud as a first week of school activity where students discuss summer vacation or what they did over the summer. As a first day activity, students could also make a cloud with words about themselves, then have classmates guess which cloud matches which person.
For a free gift for special occasions, make word clouds about mom for Mother's Day or Thanksgiving "I am thankful" visual poems. Share them by emailing the URL or in printed form.
Comments
Very versatile, creates word clouds in specific shapes. Adds another dimension.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Elections - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 12
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Although this site appears "plain vanilla" there are lots of "sprinkles" that make this site terrific. There are several interactive word puzzles about elections and inaugurations,...more
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Although this site appears "plain vanilla" there are lots of "sprinkles" that make this site terrific. There are several interactive word puzzles about elections and inaugurations, a wordlist of about 60 words (perfect for teaching some new vocabulary words), an alphalary of even more Election vocabulary words, clichés, quotes, and more. Most of the puzzles are printable. This site does include some small advertisements.
tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share the site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Use the word lists to compile a vocabulary list to enhance a unit on elections or inaugurations. Have students try the interactive puzzles and then attempt to create their own word puzzles. Share the word puzzles on a class wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inauguration Scrapbook - Inauguration Scrapbook.com
Grades
3 to 12
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This site offers a very eclectic sampling of publicly-submitted photographs (slideshow) from the 2009 inauguration of President Obama. Photographs include captions, personal stories,...more
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This site offers a very eclectic sampling of publicly-submitted photographs (slideshow) from the 2009 inauguration of President Obama. Photographs include captions, personal stories, items created to celebrate the event (for example, a skateboard), ice sculptures, and MANY others. If you plan to print any pictures, be sure to check on the permission to re-use. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): inauguration (10), presidents (76)
In the Classroom
Share this slideshow on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose a picture to use as a writing prompt. Share this site around President's Day. Have students find (or create) their own picture or photo of President Obama. Challenge students to narrate the photo using an online tool such as VoiceThread (reviewed here).
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Speak Out- PBS Kids Go! - PBS and National Black Programming Consortium's
Grades
1 to 6
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PBS Go's Speak Out encourages your students to have a voice about civic issues. Students submit ideas they would like to discuss with President Obama. Putting democracy to work,...more
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PBS Go's Speak Out encourages your students to have a voice about civic issues. Students submit ideas they would like to discuss with President Obama. Putting democracy to work, students vote on which ideas they like best. The winning issues are featured at this site in the form of video or written message to the President. The digital messages will change over time, depending on the youth's changing concerns and recommended solutions. At the time of this review the issues included: Our Earth, Our School, and Staying Healthy. Your students vote on which of the three is the most pertinent issue in their lives. They also may leave comments that may be published online at this site. Check your school's Acceptable Use Policy regarding posting students' work, photos, or videos. And be sure to obtain parental permission. This site requires Flash. You can get it at the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): democracy (8), inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Make a "Speak Out" bulletin board, and videotape your students as they speak out on issues that relate to your school, community, and nation. Issues may be submitted for voting by going to Big Dialog (explained here). Click on the 'About' link at this site for submission voting information.
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The Presidents - George Welling
Grades
4 to 12
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This Dutch site is an index of information on the presidents of the United States. Included are speeches, writings, and biographical information. Excellent resource for creating research...more
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This Dutch site is an index of information on the presidents of the United States. Included are speeches, writings, and biographical information. Excellent resource for creating research reports.
tag(s): presidents (76), speech (78), speeches (12)
In the Classroom
Share the inauguration speeches with your students on President's Day.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Presidential 09 Inauguration
Grades
2 to 12
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Here is an excellent site for students to explore to discover what life will be like in Washington, D.C. during Inauguration Day (and probably the entire week). Don't miss the ...more
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Here is an excellent site for students to explore to discover what life will be like in Washington, D.C. during Inauguration Day (and probably the entire week). Don't miss the link to the Fun Facts! There are also links to information about Obama, Biden, an events calendar, various maps (mostly by Google Maps), emergency information, photo gallery, and more!
tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share this site (and the impact on life in DC during inauguration day). Challenge students to write a mock ad to rent out their apartment for the inauguration or to plan a mock trip to the inauguration (including plans for what they will do while DC). Or have students describe the events of the day (after the fact) in a letter to their future grandchildren.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lincoln's 200th birthday coincides with Obama inauguration - The Earth Times
Grades
6 to 12
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This website is essentially a news article highlighting the inauguration of Barack Obama (the first African-American president in U.S. history) and the celebration of the 200th birthday...more
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This website is essentially a news article highlighting the inauguration of Barack Obama (the first African-American president in U.S. history) and the celebration of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. This article compares the two American heroes. The theme of Obama's inauguration is Lincoln and how the two men are similar. Both took office during critical times in U.S. history, both faced huge challenges, both are from the state of Illinois, and both are known for their inspirational speeches.
tag(s): inauguration (10), lincoln (58)
In the Classroom
Share this article with your students. Have your class compare Lincoln and Obama. If they both had cellular phones, what do you think they might text to each other? Have students research the two men and then create a fictitious wiki that the men might have written back and forth to one another. Have students write their own articles comparing the two men.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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I Do Solemnly Swear...Presidential Inaugurations - The Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12
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The Library of Congress has created this excellent resource that features over 400 images and 2,000 digital files related to the inaugurations of George Washington through George W....more
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The Library of Congress has created this excellent resource that features over 400 images and 2,000 digital files related to the inaugurations of George Washington through George W. Bush (in 2001). There are video clips, references, diary entries, letters, and more. This site requires Real Player and/or QuickTime. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): inauguration (10), washington (19)
In the Classroom
Why not feature an "inauguration a day" during the week prior to the current inauguration? Use the many images to create a Simplybox (explained here) of inauguration information for students to dig though. With older students, have cooperative learning groups create their own Simplybox. All of the Library of Congress resources are in the public domain, so students can USE these images to create new products, such as a photomontage of an inauguration topic: bands, dress, buzzwords, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online NewsHour: Inaugural Fashion - PBS
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Are you looking for a new way to get your students attention in history class? This site is perfect for those students who view fashion as the only thing worth ...more
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Are you looking for a new way to get your students attention in history class? This site is perfect for those students who view fashion as the only thing worth their attention! The site focuses on the gowns that the first ladies wore to the inaugural ceremony (from a variety of time periods). The significance of the gowns is discussed. Several photos are included. The video clips date back to 2001 and no longer work. For commentary and speculation on what Mrs. Obama and the Obama children will wear, see this article from Womens Wear Daily
tag(s): fashion (8), inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share the pictures of the gowns on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students research an inaugural ceremony and write a blog entry (from the first lady of their choice) discussing the inaugural ceremony (and what they wore). Or have your budding journalists write a mock-commentary on the political "message" sent by a chosen first lady via her fashion choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A New Birth of Freedom - Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Grades
K to 12
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Are you gearing up for Inauguration Day with your students? Check out this site, dedicated to the "New Birth of Freedom." Visit the History link, learn about the events for ...more
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Are you gearing up for Inauguration Day with your students? Check out this site, dedicated to the "New Birth of Freedom." Visit the History link, learn about the events for the 2009 Inauguration, see photos, view video clips, and more. The videos require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): inauguration (10), lincoln (58)
In the Classroom
Assign a student "pre-inaugural reporter" from the class each day during the month of January to share the latest news and plans about the Inauguration. Have cooperative learning groups compare historical information on inaugurations. Then have the students write a paper or blog entry explaining what their own inauguration would be like if they were ever elected president.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Presidents of the United States
Grades
3 to 8
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Although TeachersFirst doesn't typically review hotlists, this one provides a great deal of information on the presidents, Inauguration Day, the White House, and other "presidential"...more
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Although TeachersFirst doesn't typically review hotlists, this one provides a great deal of information on the presidents, Inauguration Day, the White House, and other "presidential" topics. There are printables, lesson plans (many with standards), photos, video clips, and more. The link Presidential Inaugurations lists countless resources to use in your classroom. Some of the links require Adobe Acrobat or Flash. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Have students use this site to investigate one aspect of the presidency as an Inauguration Day or Presidents Day project. Cooperative learning groups could choose a topic of interest and then create a wiki page or Bookemon book reviewed here on their topic.
This resource requires Adobe Flash and PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Inauguration Day Events - Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Grades
3 to 10
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This site shares Inauguration Day events: Morning Worship Service, Procession to the Capitol, Vice President's Swearing In Ceremony, President's Swearing In Ceremony, Inaugural Address,...more
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This site shares Inauguration Day events: Morning Worship Service, Procession to the Capitol, Vice President's Swearing In Ceremony, President's Swearing In Ceremony, Inaugural Address, Departure of the Outgoing President, Inaugural Luncheon, Inaugural Parade, and the Inaugural Ball. Each topic has a Learn More link and provides authentic photos and historical information.
tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector on Inauguration Day. Divide your class into nine groups and have each group learn about one of the "events" of the day. Have the groups share their "event" with the class on a PowerPoint.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wordle - Jonathan Feinberg
Grades
2 to 12
7 Favorites
1 Comments
This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for ...more
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This site takes any quotation or poem and creates a "word cloud" (graphical display) of the words in a passage of text. Paste in any passage or the URL for any blog entry or web page (including newspapers online) to create a wordle of the text. If you make a Wordle, you can choose your own colors, type of display, and font. The most frequent words appear larger and darker. Students can view creations others have made or make their own with or without saving them to the database of clouds. You can also print creations, open them in a window without borders, or link to them from a home page (html code is provided for the link). This site requires Java. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): speech (78), vocabulary (231)
In the Classroom
You need to know how to copy/paste. No email registration needed to create.Click Create to get started. Copy/paste text,type into a text box, or paste in the URL of the page you wish to "cloud." Play with options under Layout, Color, and Font menus to change the look. When done, choose to Print, take a screen shot of it in New Window view (PrntScrn on Windows, Command+shift+4 on Mac) or save to public gallery. Once it opens in the gallery view, be sure to copy the URL and keep a record of the exact URL of wordles you save to the Gallery. You will never be able to find them again without it!The public can enter text and create their own Wordles, some of which appear on the home page for "recent" Wordles. Teachers should preview the Gallery and home page immediately before sharing this site with a class. TeachersFirst's review team has not witnessed any objectionable examples. In today's world, a brief lesson or honest discussion on ignoring, clicking out of, or avoiding the inappropriate on the web might be worthwhile, depending on the age and maturity of your students.
This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create wordles of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language.
Another idea: use this site during the first week of school. Have students create "Wordles" about themselves and create a "Wordle" bulletin board introducing your students (and yourself). Or use Worlde for a whole-class positive statement as shown in this example. Remember that the most frequently appearing words will appear larger so plan accordingly.
Here is a Google Docs slideshow of MORE ideas for Wordle, created by Tom Barrett, a teacher in the UK:
Comments
So versatile and easy to use. Needs supervision because of what some people post in the galleries. Kids find it very easy to use. Nice for quick analysis of text (love to use with Shakespeare).Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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