{"id":398,"date":"2008-11-18T16:46:17","date_gmt":"2008-11-18T21:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/398"},"modified":"2008-11-18T16:46:17","modified_gmt":"2008-11-18T21:46:17","slug":"teaching-civics-with-childrens-literature-if-i-were-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/11\/18\/teaching-civics-with-childrens-literature-if-i-were-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Civics with Children’s Literature: If I Were President"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

The book If I Were President<\/a>, <\/em>written by Catherine Stier and illustrated by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan, explains the daily activities and responsibilities of our country’s leader and is told from the point-of-view of six young children who are imagining that they have been elected President.<\/p>\n

Each page starts off “If I were president…” and then\u00a0provides readers with lots of information about the president, including\u00a0where the president lives, who helps him (or possibly her) make decisions, how he travels, who protects him, and some of the powers and responsibilities given to the president. In addition to describing government-related activities, such as signing bills to make laws, being in charge of the armed forces, and meeting with leaders of other nations, the story also includes several fun, less-known tasks done by the president:<\/p>\n

\n

If I were president, in the spring I’d toss the first pitch of the baseball season, and in winter I’d light the nation’s holiday tree. If I were president, my words and picture would appear in newspapers and magazines all over the world. Even my dog would make the headlines!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Towards the\u00a0end of the story, Stier\u00a0explains that each president can\u00a0only be elected twice, for a total of eight years and then mentions several ways that past presidents\u00a0are honored and remembered. She provides a description of the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore, as well as a picture of\u00a0our country’s money, showing Abraham Lincoln on the penny, Thomas Jefferson on the nickel, and George Washington on the dollar bill.<\/p>\n

The final page shows a young boy\u00a0who has fallen asleep in\u00a0his room with an American flag above his bed and a sketch of the capitol building laying on his floor. He is dreaming that someday he just might be president of the United States. This ending, along with the following sentence from the introductory page, encourage readers to dream big, telling them that they too could become president:<\/p>\n

\n

Perhaps someday you <\/em>may choose – and be chosen – to take on this very\u00a0important job.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nIf I Were President <\/em>would be an excellent book to use as part of a\u00a0civics lesson\u00a0related to the role of the president or the US government in general. This book provides lots of information about our nation’s leader in a way that is easy for children to understand and relate to.\u00a0It is simple enough to be read to Kindergartners but could also be used as a fun way to begin or end a 2nd or 3rd grade lesson about the president. After reading the story, students could write about they would do\u00a0if they were\u00a0President and create a class book about what each person would do as president.<\/p>\n

In Virginia, this book relates to\u00a0social studies\u00a0SOLs K.9, 2.11, and 3.11\u00a0which state that students will know that the President is the leader of the United States, identify George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans, and recognize the importance of government in the United States. It would also be a great book to read while learning about Presidents’ Day (SOL K.1b and 1.3).<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n