Lesson Plan

Why is Roosevelt on the Dime?

Main Subject Area: Social Studies

Additional Subjects: Language Arts

Duration of Lesson:  45 minutes

Keywords:

• Dime
• Great Depression
• Polio
• Roosevelt

Brief Description:

Students will use a variety of reference resources to research the life of Franklin Roosevelt. From this research, they will determine why his image was chosen to appear on the dime.

National Standard(s):

• People, Places, and Environment

Additional Subject Area Standard(s):

• Demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process

Objectives:

Students will learn about our 32nd President, Franklin Roosevelt.

Students will conjecture why Franklin’s image is on our dime.

Students will write their own opinion about why Roosevelt’s image is on our dime.

Materials (online):

Online resources about Roosevelt:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/timeline/

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/

Materials (offline):

Roosevelt dime

Age appropriate books about the life of Franklin Roosevelt

Coins Used in Lesson:

Roosevelt dime

Grade Level(s):   3-5  

Procedures (online):

Instruct students to use the Internet resources listed under Materials (online) to research the life of Franklin Roosevelt. Guide the students towards resources that discuss Roosevelt’s connection to the March of Dimes.

Procedures (offline):

1. Ask the students to name all the U.S. circulating coins. Next, ask them who is on each coin.

2. Discuss with the students why we put images of people on our coins. Tell students they are going to focus on just one coin today, the dime. They will research the life of Franklin Roosevelt and determine why he was picked to be on the dime.

3. Divide students into groups of four to research the life of Franklin Roosevelt. They should use the online materials listed above as well as other text based resources you have made available. Students should take notes about the important events in Franklin’s life.

4. After students share and discuss their findings with their group, they can answer the following questions:

- Why do you think Franklin Roosevelt’s image in on our dime?

- What do you most admire about Franklin Roosevelt?

- What are 3 new things you learned about Franklin Roosevelt?

Assessment / Evaluation:

Students can be evaluated on their responses to the questions listed above. They can be graded on the mechanics of their writing, the accuracy of their content and how they supported their opinions.

Differentiated Learning Options:

N/a