The Lesson
Show students the transparency with the flag of the United States.

• Who are some people in the United States that we think of as leaders?

Explain to students that they are going to discuss George Washington and Barack Obama. Place the pictures of Washington and Obama on the transparency.


Discuss the characteristics of Washington from various perspectives by using the perspective cards.

• From the perspective of experience, what parts does Washington have?
• What about from the perspectives of what they say/beliefs/important issues/think about?

Have students write down their answers on blue post-it notes and place them next to the picture of Washington.

Discuss the characteristics of Obama from various perspectives.

• From the perspective of experience, what parts does Obama have?
• What about from the perspective of what they say/beliefs/important issues/think about?

Have students write down their answers on blue post-it notes and place them next to the picture of Obama.


Remove the pictures of Washington and Obama. Compare their characteristics.

• What characteristics do Washington and Obama have in common?
• What characteristics do Washington and Obama not share?

Remove the characteristics that Washington and Obama don’t share from the transparency.


Show students the transparency with the flag of the People’s Republic of China. Repeat the process about two Chinese learners: Confucius (leader ‘then’) and Hu Jintao (leader ‘now’).

• From the perspective of experience, what parts does Confucius have?
• What about from the perspective of what they say/beliefs/important issues/think about?

• From the perspective of experience, what parts does Hu have?
• What about from the perspective of what they say/beliefs/important issues/think about?

• What characteristics do Confucius and Hu have in common?
• What characteristics do Confucius and Hu not share?

Put the left half of the Chinese flag on top of the right half of the American flag.

• What are common characteristics of leadership in China and America?

As students answer, move the post-its with matching characteristics into the overlapping area.


Extend the Learning
Beginning with the characteristics of leadership they generated earlier in the lesson, use the perspective cards to discuss the characteristics of leadership in several contexts. Place the FAMILY card next to their characteristics of leadership.

• When you think of leadership in your family, are there any other characteristics you expect from a leader?

Place the SCHOOL, COMMUNITY and MILITARY cards next to their characteristics of leadership.

• When you think of leadership in school/community/military, are there any other characteristics you expect from a leader?

See also:

• Overview: Using the Patterns of Thinking to teach a student-led research project
• Lesson: Comparing art from different cultures