Writing Activities
- Using chart paper, list facts children know about Harry Truman.
- Make sentences from the facts list that tell about Harry's life as a little boy and man.
- Truman's earliest memory was watching a frog jump across the grass. Have the students share or write about their first memory.
- Truman had several accidents as a child. (Fell off a chair while combing his hair and broke his collarbone, choked on a peach pit, was very sick with diphtheria when he was nine, sliced off the end of his big toe in the cellar door) Have students draw a picture and/or write about something that has happened to them.
- Truman enjoyed learning in school. He remembered his teachers and things that he did in school. Have students write about a favorite teacher or an activity that they remember doing in another grade.
- Truman had many jobs during his lifetime. (student, farmer, banker, usher, judge, senator, president) Have students finish sentence: When I grow up, I would like to be...
- Have students write and illustrate their own books or stories about Truman.
- Truman wrote many letters during his lifetime. Click here for a sample of Truman's handwriting. (See if you can find the phone number.) Have students write a letter to someone.
- Family was very important to Harry. Discuss how Harry's parents, grandparents, brother, sister, wife, and daughter played a valuable role in his life. Have students write about an important person in their lives.
- Finish the story starter: If I was president...
- Truman always tried to do his best. Have students write about a time when they did (or did not) try their best.