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The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.
Here are the teacher pack items for Representation in Government:
Overview In this experience, students make observations about a collage of portraits of the first 44 presidents of the United States. Then they study three timelines showing Black Americans, women, and Hispanic Americans in Congress and create a chart highlighting important milestones in representation. Next, they learn about the significance of Barack Obama’s election and read a short biography of him in order to describe his contributions as president. Finally, they consider why it may be important for people from different communities and backgrounds to have opportunities to serve in government. If you have access to leveled readers that describe any minority member of Congress or other key government positions—current or past—assign them to students in parallel to this experience. Estimated duration: 35-45 minutes Vocabulary words: Objectives
For much of U.S. history, most presidents and many other national political leaders came from similar backgrounds. Over time, people from a wider range of backgrounds have been elected or appointed to government positions.
In this lesson, you will examine how representation in U.S. government has changed over time and consider how elected and appointed officials can reflect the people and communities they serve.
Objectives
First through Forty-fourth Presidents of the United States
The above collage shows the official portraits of the first forty-four Presidents of the United States. Since then, two more Presidents have been elected: Donald Trump and Joseph Biden.
What do you notice about the Presidents?
Students may notice that all 44 presidents shown are men and that Barack Obama is the only Black president in the collage. Use these observations to introduce the idea that, for much of U.S. history, presidents came from similar racial and gender backgrounds. Explain that the lesson will examine how representation in government has changed over time.
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