Ready-to-Go U.S. History Reading Passages On Presidents And First Ladies

Are you looking for classroom-ready U.S. history content that’s perfect for differentiated instruction, morning bellwork, or independent reading? This history reading passages resource offers concise, high-interest reading passages paired with comprehension tasks, focusing on U.S. presidents and the first ladies.

Move through U.S. history chronologically with these ready-to-print presidential reading passages! Your students will gain a broad understanding of U.S. history through the lens of each presidency.

Every U.S. president has a reading passage with a built-in comprehension activity. Plus you'll find short bios for every first lady to give additional context.

As a social studies specialist, I recognize that teachers are often not provided with resources or have very limited teaching materials. It can be daunting to try and research and pull resources together with limited prep-time. That's why I've designed these reading passages with the busy teacher in mind.

I have intentionally included a glossary with over 105 key terms so that you can strengthen your students' vocabulary and understanding of major concepts and events. If you are without a textbook, this could be a great standalone desk reference too.

Ways to Use this Resource:

• Bell Work: Print the entire workbook to use daily. Students can read, annotate, look up glossary terms, and complete the comprehension task. (Annotation strategy sheet included!)

• Unit Supplement: Print only the pages that align with your current unit of study.

• Small Groups or Independent Reading: Assign the passages for guided reading or independent work. Great for differentiated instruction.

• Research: Use the pages as a starting point for your students to do further research about the presidents.

• Homework: Send a weekly packet home for daily practice.

About this Resource:

Presidential Reading Passages: One-page reading passage for each president, organized chronologically, with fast facts in a sidebar and a comprehension activity. These are concise, high-interest passages that will give your students a broad understanding of each president and major events during their administration.

Comprehension Tasks: Activities vary and include short answer, true/false, matching, crosswords, word finds, and fill-in-the-blank exercises.

First Lady Bios: A short biography for each first lady is included to give additional context. You will notice that some presidents have more than one first lady listed, as there were marriages, deaths, and sometimes relatives who filled in the official role.

Glossary with 105+ Key Terms: This is a helpful reference to strengthen vocabulary and understanding of major events and concepts. You'll find over 105 key terms that your students will encounter throughout the readings. You could even print this glossary as a stand-alone desk reference.

Trivia: A fun recap after every 10th president. The trivia pages are a great recap to check for understanding.

Answer Keys: Answer keys are provided at the end of the resource for all of the comprehension tasks and trivia pages.

Standards Alignment:

This resource is aligned with the Washington State Social Studies Standards, but it could easily cross-walk to many different standards.

H1: Understands history chronologically

• Enduring Understanding: Knows that the study of chronology is necessary for understanding cultures, global connections, and historical events.

H2: Understands and analyzes causal factors that have shaped major events in history

• Enduring Understanding: Knows that history is a series of connected events shaped by multiple cause-and-effect relationships, linking past to present.

H3: Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events.

• Enduring Understanding: Understands that historical events can be interpreted differently by different individuals, families, and communities.

Save hundreds of hours of prep time with this ready-to-go resource! Find the reading passages on TPT by clicking HERE.