Today, we began class by discussing their favorite part of yesterday’s field trip. We then discussed the first term of the presidency of George W. Bush. The students then went to the library to research their president they were given for the Hall of Fame Tournament. After returning from the library we finished going over the first term of Bush’s presidency.
After lunch, the students watched some funny presidential debates from Saturday Night Live from previous elections & the 2004 election. Students then were put into two groups where they had to research & debate how they would get George W. Bush or John Kerry elected during the 2004 campaign. The groups then had to make a 30-second ad promoting their candidate during the 2004 election. For the last part of the day students watched a mock debate between Nixon played by me & Gerald Ford played by Garrett. We modeled the format for the opening round of our Presidential Hall of Fame Tournament. We watched the opening round between George Washington (played by Sam) & Thomas Jefferson (played by Sterling). We ended class by having students split into teams of two where they picked their choice for the Presidential Hall of Shame tournament. Students researched their person for the tournament. Tonight during Study Hall, students will finish their Mount Rushmore Project & then form political parties for Friday’s futuristic debate to take place in the year 2040. Students will pick their party’s name, platform & representatives for our final debate.
Tomorrow we will examine the second term of George W. Bush & the beginning of the Obama presidency.
Dennis Jenkins