Monday, February 15, 2021

The History Behind Presidents Day

 PRESIDENTS DAY  

Presidents Day became a U.S. holiday in 1870. Originally, it was set on George Washington's birthday which is February 22nd. This day was created to honor the first United States president.



In 1885, it became a federal holiday. This is when the holiday became known as Presidents Day. It became a day to celebrate two significant presidents and to recognize their achievements. 
The day was reset to the third Monday of February. Now, it's used to recognize all presidents. Most states celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The current date falls between Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays.
On this federal holiday, the federal government offices are closed and federal workers get the day off.
What does all of this have to do with teaching? Our students need to be taught about the presidents and our U.S. history. I did some research to find some online resources that can be used in the classroom. There are lots of YouTube videos, but, they seem to focus on how the holiday came to be instead of talking about the history of presidents. This one actually gives some Fun Facts About Presidents. The History website has some great information on Presidents' Day. Ducksters has biographies on both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Teach on!
I wanted to tell you about my most recent resource. I made this one with 2nd and 3rd graders in mind.

Product Highlight

  Valentine Sight Word Find is a Valentine-themed way to review sight words using Google Slides. 

Your students will fill in several missing sight words in a paragraph on each frame. Fry's 1-34 sight words are used in this activity. As they correctly complete each frame, a mystery picture is slowly revealed until they get to the complete picture in the last frame.
Catch me on Facebook! I've started a Facebook page. I hope it goes well. 

I also hope that the school year is going well for you. Teach on!
#presidentsday #historypresidentsday #ushistory



2 comments:

  1. Great reminder that not only should we know the history behind the day, we should focus on each of the presidents!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, history is important! We need to teach it to our kids.

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