The White House
Project
HOW IT WORKS
The White House Project exposes children to
different facts about the history of the White
House and the electoral process in the United States.
The students research the White House using various
books (gathered from the class and school libraries)
and the Internet. The teacher locates relevant web
sites, such as www.EnchantedLearning.com/dictionary.html,
which explains how a president is elected in the
United States. Another, www.whitehouse.gov/kids/,
is an early-childhood interactive site that
takes the student on a tour of the White House.
The teacher begins by reading Woodrow, the White
House Mouse by Peter W. Barnes to the class. Then
students hold a mock presidential election and have
a discussion on how a president is elected.
The class brainstorms ideas about democracy, which
are used to create a poem about that subject matter.
The students then split up into groups. Each group
researches a different room in the White House.
They write up their facts and paste them into the
windows of a cutout of the White House. The students
also write letters to President George W.
Bush.
THE STUDENTS
The students were second graders, with 25
students in the class. The students worked in
pairs and small groups. Eight students worked
on the computers every day, four at a time. Their
writing began in their writing journals and was
then transferred to the computer. This project
can easily be adapted for other grades.
THE STAFF
Dyana O’Brien currently teaches second grade
at P.S. 314m Luis Munoz Marin School. She has taught there for three years and
has worked with colleagues to develop an active environment rich with
different learning styles and opportunities. Allison Demas
assisted on this program. She has been an early childhood teacher for the past 16
years.
WHAT YOU NEED
Necessary materials include a computer with
Internet access, chart paper, writing materials,
the book Woodrow, the White House Mouse, and timely periodicals.
OVERALL VALUE
Through this program, the students are exposed
to the history of the White House as a physical
structure, not just a political symbol. They
also explore the background of the White House—its
creation, residents, and events. The intent is to
have the students realize that it is not just a
symbol, but a home, and the residents are not
just photographs in books, but human beings
with experiences common to all people. They
also become familiar with the rules governing
the presidential election in the United States
and learn and discuss the concept of democracy.
The students gain the abilities necessary to
research a topic and sort information, and they
learn how to work cooperatively with partners
and in small groups.
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