By National Constitution Center Staff

State of the Union Bingo is designed to engage students in the president’s annual address to Congress. The lesson begins prior to the address with the teacher providing background information about the State of the Union Address and examining the Constitutional requirement of the annual address. Then, students are each given a State of the Union Bingo card to use while watching the speech. Later, the cards are used as a discussion starter as well as a tool to analyze the president’s agenda for the coming year. This year, students can also create their own Bingo cards based on what they predict the president might say.

Objectives

Students will:
-Understand the Constitutional requirement for the State of the Union address
-Examine the choices the President makes in the State of the Union Speech
-Describe the events and topics addressed in the State of the Union speech
-Analyze the President’s legislative plan

Optional supplement to lesson – BBC article: What is the State of the Union speech? ^[1]

Go to: State of the Union Bingo ^[2]