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Help Wanted: President of the United States

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Subjects Arts & Humanities Language Arts, Visual Arts Educational Technology Social Studies Civics

Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

Objectives

• use online and print resources to study the job of president.
• identify the powers and responsibilities of the president.
• write help wanted ads for the job of president.
• design artwork for the advertisements.
• create samples of the ads.

Keywords

Materials Needed

• classified sections from newspapers
• Help Wanted work sheet
• Internet or other sources of information about the presidency

Lesson Plan

Talk about the job of the president. What characteristics should a good candidate for president possess? What schooling and work experience are required? What are the demands of the job? Ask the students to think about these questions as you distribute the Help Wanted work sheet.

Point students to the brief page from Scholastic The President's Job. Tell them to read the information about the president's job and use it to create help wanted ads. Every ad should include

• a summary of the role of president
• a description of the responsibilities and duties required
• reference to the characteristics, education, skills, and experience candidates need.

Students can locate additional information on the Web site
Ben's Guide to the U. S. Government for Kids
The President of the United States Grades 3-5), and
The President of the United States (Grades 6-8).

If Internet access is not available, print those sources or offer a collection of other sources of information about the guidelines for attaining the presidency and the role of the president.

When students finish writing, they may embellish their ads with appropriate artwork.

Older students may not need the benefit of the work sheet to get started with this assignment. Refer them to The President of the United States, another page from Ben's Guide that is designed for grades 9-12. There is additional information on the White House Web site, and these students might refer to Monster.com for authentic examples of job descriptions. Another site, Write a Great Help Wanted Ad, provides tips for making attractive and effective help wanted ads.

Extension activity:
Have students exchange their job descriptions and respond in writing with letters written as able candidates for the presidency. They might even select lawmakers and other "real" Americans who have run for the office or they believe deserve it.

Assessment

A satisfactory essay will contain a summary of the role of president, a description of the responsibilities and duties required, and references to the characteristics, education, skills, and experience candidates need.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Cara Bafile

National Standards

FINE ARTS: Visual Arts

• GRADES K - 4
  NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
  NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

• GRADES 5 - 8
  NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
  NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NA-VA.9-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
  NA-VA.9-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines