Dear Leader Comrade Generalissimo Barack Obama the great peerlessly brilliant President of all the Americas is a great unequaled inflexible political genius of a large caliber always on the offensive to stiffen the steel-strong rock-hard ranks of the American Democratic Socialist Workers Proletariat into a match-for-a-hundred invincible force of strong patriotic anti-Republican anti-imperialist revolutionary spirit with a zeal of defending the Leader with their own lives at one stroke.
Once again Dear Leader Comrade Generalissimo Barack Obama has found the perfect way to uplift the capability of the American Democratic Socialist Workers Proletariat, delivering an inspirational and historic speech of decisive strategic power value to the boy schoolchildren and girl schoolchildren of the invincible mighty relentless unstoppable American Marxist Unified People next Tuesday. Hearing the cry of the people for his unique invaluable priceless wonderful leadership, the Mighty Sun of the 21st Century will uplift their joyous hearts with this immortal feat, propagating his glory and inspiring them to struggle forward with revolutionary fervor:
Menu of Classroom Activities
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
(Pre-K6)
Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education
September 8, 2009
Before the Speech
Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama. Teachers could motivate students by asking the following questions:
Who is the President of the United States?
What do you think it takes to be president?
To whom do you think the president is going to be speaking?
Why do you think he wants to speak to you?
What do you think he will say to you?
Teachers can ask students to imagine that they are delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States.
If you were the president, what would you tell students?
What can students do to help in our schools?
Teachers can chart ideas about what students would say.
Why is it important that we listen to the president and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?
During the Speech
As the president speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note]taking graphic organizer such as a "cluster web;" or, students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children could draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following:
What is the president trying to tell me?
What is the president asking me to do?
What new ideas and actions is the president challenging me to think about?
Students could record important parts of the speech where the president is asking them to do something. Students might think about the following:
What specific job is he asking me to do?
Is he asking anything of anyone else?
Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?
Students could record questions they have while he is speaking and then discuss them after the speech. Younger children may need to dictate their questions.
After the Speech
Teachers could ask students to share the ideas they recorded, exchange sticky notes, or place notes on a butcher]paper poster in the classroom to discuss main ideas from the speech, such as citizenship, personal responsibility, and civic duty.
Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:
What do you think the president wants us to do?
Does the speech make you want to do anything?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?
What would you like to tell the president?
Extension of the Speech
Teachers could extend learning by having students:
Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants, puzzle pieces, or trails marked with the following labels: personal, academic, community, and country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in that area. It might make sense to focus first on personal and academic goals so that community and country goals can be more readily created.
Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short]term and long]term education goals. Teachers would collect and redistribute these letters at an appropriate later date to enable students to monitor their progress.
Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.
Interview one another and share goals with the class to create a supportive community.
Participate in school]wide incentive programs or contests for those students who achieve their goals.
Write about their goals in a variety of genres, such as poems, songs, and personal essays.
Create artistic projects based on the themes of their goals.
Graph individual progress toward goals.
Menu of Classroom Activities
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
(Grades 7-12)
Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education
September 8, 2009
Before the Speech
Conduct a "quick write" or "think/pair/share" activity with students. (In the latter activity, students spend a few minutes thinking and writing about the question. Next, each student is paired with another student to discuss. Finally, the students share their ideas with the class as a whole). Teachers may choose to ask the following questions:
What ideas do we associate with the words "responsibility," "persistence," and "goals?"
How would we define each term?
Teachers then may choose to create a web diagram of student ideas for each of the words.
Have students participate in a "quick write" or brainstorming activity. Teachers may ask students:
What are your strengths?
What do you think makes you successful as a student and as a person?
Teachers may engage students in short readings. Teachers may post in large print around the classroom notable quotes excerpted from President Obama’s speeches on education. Teachers might ask students to think alone, compare ideas with a partner, or share their thoughts with the class. Teachers could ask students to think about the following:
What are our interpretations of these excerpts?
Based on these excerpts, what can we infer that the president believes is important in order to be educationally successful?
Create a "concept web." Teachers may ask students to think of the following:
Why does President Obama want to speak with us today? How will he inspire us?
How will he challenge us?
What might he say?
Do you remember any other historic moments when the president spoke to the nation?
What was the impact?
After brainstorming answers to these questions, students could create a "cause]and]effect" graphic organizer.
During the Speech
Teachers might conduct a "listening with purpose" exercise based on the following ideas: personal responsibility, goals, and persistence. Teachers might ask pairs of students to create a word bank at the top of a notes page that has been divided into two columns. On the right]hand side, students could take notes (trying to capture direct quotations or main ideas) while President Obama talks about personal responsibility, goals, or persistence. At the end of the speech, students could write the corresponding terms from the word bank in the left]hand column, to increase retention and deepen their understanding of an important aspect of the speech.
Teachers might conduct a "listening with purpose" exercise based on the themes of inspiration and challenges. Using a similar double]column notes page as the one described above, teachers could focus students on quotations that either propose a specific challenge to them or that inspire them in some meaningful way. Students could do this activity individually, in pairs, or in groups.
Transition/Quick Review
Teachers could ask students to look over their notes and collaborate in pairs or small groups. Teachers might circulate and ask students questions, such as:
What more could we add to our notes?
What are the most important words in the speech?
What title would you give the speech?
What is the thesis of the speech?
After the Speech
Guided Discussion:
What resonated with you from President Obama’s speech? What lines or phrases do you remember?
Whom is President Obama addressing? How do you know? Describe his audience.
We heard President Obama mention the importance of personal responsibility. In your life, who exemplifies this kind of responsibility? How? Give examples.
How are the individuals in this classroom similar? How is each student different?
Suppose President Obama were to give another speech about being educationally successful. To whom would he speak? Why? What would the president say?
What are the three most important words in the speech? Rank them.
Is President Obama inspiring you to do anything? Is he challenging you to do anything?
What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?
How can you be a part of addressing these challenges?
The brilliance of Dear Leader knows no bounds and this stroke of invincible genius boosts the effective invincibility of the American Democratic Socialist Workers Proletariat a thousandfold, sending the criminal Republican imperialists reeling in a panic, smashing their frantic anti-Revolutionary schemes at one stroke. Hail victory! Hail the Leader!
Source: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/7-12.pdf
Source: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf
