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Activities and Resources

Activities

The State of the Union

In his 2008 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush spoke a lot about trusting the people to make the right decisions for the country. Have students read Bush’s 2008 speech and circle each mention of the government's trusting the people. Then discuss in class or have students write essays analyzing what Bush means. Some context for them to consider: the current state of the U.S. economy, the tightening of national security since 9/11, threats against the country, and changes in privacy laws since Bush became president. A transcript of the speech, plus video and audio, can be found at the White House Web site.

Looking for Smart Stuff? Click here to download (PDF).

Answers to this week's SmartStuff are listed on Page 2 of the Issue 17 Teacher's Guide that accompanies Current Events magazine.

Resources

To download the Teacher's Guide click here (PDF).

The State of the Union

Read a list of memorable moments from all of President George W. Bush’s State of the Union speeches and see how they reflect the direction of the country at that time.
Watch or read past State of the Union addresses dating back to Harry S Truman. You also can find a transcript of George Washington’s State of the Union address.
Play State of the Union Bingo, created by the National Constitution Center.
Explore the U.S. Constitution and play Save the Bill of Rights.

Math Class Gamble

Have students think about the math skills that could be used in the simple card game War. Then have them play Multiplication War or Addition War as described here. The site offers other ideas for card game-based math lessons as well.
Watch videos and learn more about addiction from these HBO short films.
Find statistics about poker hands.

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