The State of the Union Address

High schoolers contrast historical State of the Union Address to more contemporary ones. In this Government instructional activity, students compare and contrast historical Presidential speeches to the ones they hear today. High...

Students analyze George Bush's State of the Union address through the reading of related articles from the New York Times and the Hartford Courant. Students look at bias (or lack there of) in the two newspaper articles, how they were...

Students participate in a history game. In this State of the Union lesson, students follow the provided instructions and use the provided materials to play a Bingo game based in the President's annual address to Congress.

Introduce your future voters to the annual State of the Union Address. The day after the speech airs on television, use the activity from PBS to discuss the elements of a successful speech. Not only do they get to become better-informed...

Young scholars watch the State of the Union Address from last year, make a PowerPoint about their expectation for this year's Address, and then watch the current year Address and see if their expectations were met. In this State of the...

Students pretend they are journalists and have to write 10 questions to ask the President at the State of the Union Address. In this State of the Union Address lesson plan, students then watch the Address and write letters to the President.

Students consider indicators that mark a country's progress, examine how last year's State of the Union address has affected U.S. foreign policy, research issues deemed important in that speech, and create report cards assessing the...

High schoolers review the history of the State of the Union addresses and work in groups to analyze one particular speech as a reflection of its times. They compare modern State of the Union speeches to those given in the past.

While the Constitution requires a "State of the Union" address, it doesn't give many details. In fact, it wasn't until Woodrow Wilson that the periodic update to Congress was given in-person. Using primary sources, recordings and...

Students use internet research to fact check the 2007 State of the Union Address. They identify the major topics presented during the address and research information that supports or disclaims the statements. Students draw conclusions...