Obama: The Historical Journey

Abramson, Jill, Vincent Alabiso, and Toshiya
Masuda. Obama: the historic journey. New York:
New York Times, 2009.

Text by Jill Abramson

Copyright:  2009

Publisher:  The New York Times

Reading Level:

• Lexile:  900L

• Grade level:  4-6

Genre:  Nonfiction

Description:  Politics, Government, Biography, Timeline

Suggested Delivery:  Read-aloud

Summary:  This book brings readers along on the journey of Barack Obama's life, from his childhood to becoming the 44th President of the United States of America.  With its fascinating images and use of time-lining throughout, this book is perfect for young readers to develop a better sense of their national leader and the steps he took to becoming president.  While the challenges he faced and political standpoints are clearly expressed, the book also gives readers an opportunity to relate to this powerful figure by including pages about his hobbies, favorite books, favorite sports, and so on.

Electronic Resources:

• The American Presidency website:  gives students the ability to explore each presidents' life based on a sequential timeline and links explaining The Campaign Trail; gives teachers materials for teaching about presidency and resources for presidential activities to do in the classroom.

• The White House website:  for further reading on President Obama - this site gives an in-depth look at Obama's administration, such as the Vice President, the Cabinet, Executive Office, and important White House Staff that are all crucial to his role in presidency.

Key Vocabulary:  divisive, primaries, indulged, saga, stereotypes, tinged, legislature, Democratic, Republican, derogatory

Teaching suggestions:

• Book could be read during a unit on government and the distinctions between the Republican and Democratic parties.
• Use this book to specifically explore President Obama's life and his journey as the leader of the United States.

Comprehension Strategies:

• Before Reading:  Have a discussion with the class about what qualities a President should possess, while making a list on the board.  Then discuss the different presidential parties:  Republican & Democratic.  Give students information about these parties and provide them with a graphic organizer to fill out the differences among the two.

• During Reading:  Many pages in the book have a small area for vocabulary, where a specific word pertaining to government is explicitly defined.  Give the students a graphic organizer prior to reading that lists these different words and instruct them to define them as they hear them being explained in book.  Explain to them that these words (ex. primary, caucus, delegate, etc.) are very important for them to know in order to be informed citizens when discussing aspects of the government.

• After Reading:  Have the students create campaign posters as if they themselves were running for President.  They will include background about their lives, plans they have for creating a better world to live in, and other key information to persuade voters to vote for them!

Writing Activity:

It is important that the students understand that they can still have a voice, even if they are too young to vote.  Have the students write a letter to the President, expressing their own views or asking him any questions they may have.  Explain that although the President receives thousands of letters everyday, there are many students who have actually heard back from the President.  Read them an example of a letter written by an 11-year-old student their age to the current president, Abraham Lincoln, and the response that she received back from him (refer to The American Presidency site listed above).

Remind the students to be respectful and use proper language in their writing while they develop clear, well-structured pieces.