Students learn about the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States and the challenges he faced in this new job. They watch a video that explains these challenges and the steps that Washington took to solve the problems of the new republic. Finally, they explain the steps in further detail and consider how Washington might have felt about the awesome responsibility he was handed.
Students are introduced to George Washington’s reluctance to become the first president and to the idea that he needed to establish policies and precedents for the new republic. After viewing an image of Washington’s inauguration and reading about how he organized his cabinet and began setting policies, students contribute to a shared table by listing actions they think would be necessary to establish a new government.
Teacher MovesReview the lesson overview, vocabulary, and objective. As students post ideas about setting up a new government, prompt them to consider the many tasks a new government must handle—such as courts, banking, politics, and foreign and domestic policy—and ask probing questions about the challenges the new country might face.
Students watch the video Washington and the Presidency to learn about the major challenges Washington faced and the many “firsts” of his presidency. They then post to a class wall describing important challenges he faced when he first took office and answer multiple-choice questions about why Washington said he “walked on untrodden ground,” the focus of his first term, and the issues that arose during his second term.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the video and, if needed, direct students to the key portion to view. After students respond on the wall and to the questions, highlight that Washington had no example to follow, summarize his efforts to make the new government run efficiently in his first term, and clarify how his second term focused on neutrality and managing political disagreements within his administration.
Students read about Washington’s priority to build a strong, energetic, balanced, and fair government that upheld the Constitution. Using information from the video, they complete a graphic organizer by listing three steps Washington took after becoming president and explaining why each step was important to the creation of the new republic.
Teacher MovesUse the sample actions—such as establishing a cabinet, organizing the judicial branch, raising taxes to address war debt, creating a national bank, and setting expectations for presidential behavior—to support students as they complete the organizer and to reinforce how these steps helped stabilize the new government.
Students read An Imperfect Election to explore Washington’s reluctance to accept the presidency and his reasons for ultimately serving. Drawing on the article and prior learning, they write and post an original inaugural speech that Washington might have delivered in 1789, describing the challenges he faced and how he planned to overcome them and lead the nation forward.
Teacher MovesEnsure students complete this scene so they are prepared for the quiz. After students post their speeches, select and share interesting or exemplary responses with the class, guiding discussion toward the challenges Washington confronted and the steps he took to build a strong, balanced government.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
©2026 Exploros. All rights reserved.