Photograph from White House. gov

To Tell the Truth

with

Michelle Obama

by

Gail Skroback Hennessey

Gail Hennessey's Website for Teachers

See other To Tell the Truth First Lady Plays at this link:Gail Hennessey's Plays on First Ladies

*With permission from Mark Goodson Productions

Host: Today's guest is Michelle Obama. Only one of the three on the panel is the REAL First Lady, Michelle Obama. The other two are impostors. Your job is to listen carefully to the information presented and decide which of the three guests is the REAL Michelle Obama. Let's begin by meeting our guests.

Michelle Obama 1: Hello, students. Thanks for inviting me to join you today. My name is Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama 2:It's very nice to be here today. My name is Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama 3 : Greetings to you and thanks for inviting me. My name is First Lady Michelle Obama.

Host: Let's begin by reading this short summary on Michelle Obama.

I, Michelle La Vaughn Robinson Obama, was born in 1964, in Chicago, Illinois. I attended Princeton University where I majored in sociology and also minored in African American studies. After graduating from Princeton, I went to Harvard Law School where I earned my law degree.

While working at a law firm in Chicago, I met Barrack Obama, who was a fellow colleague. We married in 1992.

Barrack became senator for the state of Illinois and then, ran for President of the United States in 2008. I delivered a keynote speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention where I talked about Barrack and what a fine President he would make. Barrack won the Presidential election, becoming the 44th President of the United States and the first African American President. I became the first African American first lady, who Barack calls "My Rock". We moved into the White House with our two daughters, Malia and Sasha.Did you know that there are 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, and 6 floors in the White House?There are also 147 windows, 412 doors, 28 fireplaces, 7 staircases and 3 elevators!

When asked about what my role as First Lady would be, I responded that my first role is mom to my two daughters. One project of importance to me as First Lady was organizing a White House garden so my family and guests of the White House could have fresh, organic foods. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had such a White House Kitchen Garden when she was the first lady. Fifth graders from a local school came to help get it started. Beehives, with a population of 70,000 bees, were also installed on the South Lawn so therecould be a fresh supply of honey!

In 2011, I was the first person to appear on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine in 48 years and the very first woman to appear on the cover.

In 2012 Barrack won re-election to a second term as president. I look forward to another four years as First Lady of the United States.

Signed.

Michelle Obama

Panelist 1:

You once said that vegetables such as broccoli, peas, and carrots were always served with dinner and you had to eat all that was served without exception. You also remembered that growing up, you only got to have have a dessert on Sundays. Any other memories of your childhood?

Michelle Obama 1: Well, I remember hours of playing with my African American Barbie Dolls and that I had an Easy-Bake Oven and really liked watching the Brady Bunch on television. My parents only allowed one hour of television a night!

Michelle Obama 2:Sunday nights we usually played Monopoly and Chinese checkers. If you asked my brother, Craig, he'd tell you that I hated to lose at games! I also loved to play the piano for hours and sometimes, my parents had to make me stop playing.

Michelle Obama 3:Playing outside with friends is something that I remember. We'd spend hours riding bikes around the neighborhood and all my friends and I enjoyed jumping Double Dutch.

Panelist 2: When your family moved to a white suburb in Chicago, Illinois, the white families didn't welcome you to the neighborhood. In fact,the white families moved out! You're parents told you and your brother that "sometimes the way around prejudice is education". Can you share more about what your parents taught you?

Michelle Obama 1:Growing up,my parents told my brother Craig and me that "we were as good as anyone else and that it was ultimately about hard work and achievement."

Michelle Obama2: Dad was diagnosed with MS(multiple sclerosis). He taught me the value of perseverance and not giving up. Watching him struggle to get around no matter how badly he felt, Dad would go to work each day.Thiswas an important lesson.

Michelle Obama 3:Mom always believed in me and taught me to believe in myself,too. There was always an emphasis on education in our home. Good enough wasn't good enough in our home!

Panelist 3:When in school, your typing teacher didn't give you an A despite the words-per minute chart that said you had indeed earned the grade. You complained to the teacher who said she didn't give A's to any student. You persisted and eventually your teacher changed the grade to an A. Tell us more about what kind of a student you were, First Lady Michelle Obama?

Michelle Obama 1:Education was very important in my home. As my brother Craig once said, "We were always driven and we were always encouraged to do the best you can do, and not just what's necessary." I graduated second in my class of 100 students from high school.

Michelle Obama 2: I didn't always test well so I just worked for hours each night studying and doing homework to make sure I succeeded in school. I tried teaching myself to read at the age of 4 but didn't have much luck so my mom started to teach me. I skipped a grade in elementary school and attended gifted classes where I actually started to learn French three years sooner than the regular school curriculum. My hard work paid off. I made the honor roll and was inducted into the National Honor Society!

Michelle Obama 3: I was an average student but preferred reading fashion magazines to reading about ancient history and doing mathematics. My mom and my dad had a difficult time getting me to do my homework since I liked to spend lots of time texting my friends on my IPhone.

Panelist 4: As First Lady, you started "Let's Move!", a physical fitness campaign toencourage physical activity to help fight obesity among young people. You went on the Ellen Degeneres show in 2012 where Ellen challenged you to a push-up contest. You won by doing 25 push-ups! What are some issues that you promote as First Lady?

Michelle Obama1: Support of military families,encouraging national service,getting young people to exercise and eat healthy and stressing the importance of getting an education and volunteering are important issues for me as First Lady.

Michelle Obama 2: I strongly believe in being a fashion icon to the women of the United States. When I appeared wearing a sleeveless dress, showing my muscular arms, I caused quite a sensation. My dresses, sweater and shoe selections instantly were a hit with women eager to purchase them, too. When I wore gray nailpolish at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, everyone wanted to buy gray nail polish. It's an important issue.

Michelle Obama 3: Probably the most important issue for me as First Lady is trying to make contact with aliens in space. Each night I send a signal out on my computer asking for aliens to contact the White House. I spend hours each day on this effort but unfortunately, thus far, no aliens have contacted me. Wouldn't it be cool to have a state dinner at the White House and the guests be aliens?

Panelist 5: Your nickname from the Secret Service is Renaissance. You are the tallest first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt ,who also stood 5 ft. 11 inches. Sudoku and eating the President's home-cooked chili are two things you enjoy. Any other comments about life in the White House you'd like to share?

Michele Obama 1:Would you believe that the President helps with the family dishes at night? Yes. That is correct. And, I must admit the President isn't always the neatest person around, sometimes leaving socks lying around! He has staffers that help keep him neat.

Michelle Obama 2: Did you know that the White House has a movie theater, bowling alley and a shiny silver flying saucer, too? When the President needs to have his secret meetings with aliens, he uses the saucer to get to his space destination.

Michelle Obama 3:Living in the White House is really amazing. People wait on you all the time, no matter what time of day. One night I had a craving fora gooey, cheesy pizza at 3 AM, the chef made one for me. Of, course, I had to exercise an hour longer the next morning to shed all the calories... as I ate the entire pizza pie! It tasted so good!

Panelist 6: You said that you liked being smart and said that you thought that being smart is cooler than anything else in the world. You also said that you hope that other young people will feel the same way. Any other thoughts to share with us today?

Michelle Obama 1:I once said to young people,"You've got to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. I tried new stuff and wasn't afraid to be uncomfortable. Lots of opportunity out there...but you've got to want it."

Michelle Obama2: I once said,"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Michelle Obama 3: As I said earlier, I wanted to learn to read at the age of four. I once said, "A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."

Host: It is now time for the panelists and members of our audience to decide who is the REAL Michelle Obama. Please vote for number 1,number 2 or number 3.Alright, the votes have been cast...Will the REAL Michelle Obama, please stand up?

Additional Information:

As students read the play, consider pausing between one or more of the panelists' questions to review the information students have heard. Invite opinions about which guest may be the real Michelle Obama, encouraging students to share their reasoning along with their responses.Remind the class that only the real guest must always tell the truth.

Time for the REAL Michelle Obama To Please Stand Up!

Once all the votes have been cast, establish that__1_______

is the real Michelle Obama. Then review the play, making sure that students are aware of these facts from each section of the play:

Notes:

Panelists #1 and #2: All responses are correct. To Panelist 3, both 1 and 2 are correct responses. To Panelist 4, both 1-2 are correct. It is truth that Michelle is a fashion icon but not her issue as first lady. There is a bowling alley and movie theater but not a flying saucer. To Panelist 6,quote by Michele Obama 2 was actually said by Abraham Lincoln. The quote by Michelle Obama 3 was actually said by Mark Twain

Discussion Questions:

1. Would you have liked Michelle Obama for a friend? Explain why or why not.

2. What is something about Michelle Obama you found most interesting?

3. What would be three areas which you'd give top priorities if you were First Lady(or President) of the United States.

4. When did you first suspect ______were impostors?Why?

Activities:

1. Write a diary entry as if you were Michelle Obama and tell about a memory you had about something that happened to you.

2. Michelle Obama said that she remembers saving up her babysitting money to buy a Coach pocketbook. When her mom questioned the purchased, Michelle said that insteadofneeding ten cheaper pocketbooks, she would just need the one(although expensive). Is there something you would like to save up your money to purchase? Why is this something of importance to you?

3. Do you have a sibling? Do you get along? Is there some rivalry between the two of you?

4. Have small groups of students review the play and make 7 True/False questions for another group to answer. Regroup and review the information about the first lady.

5. Learn about the White House with this fun and informative webquest:Teacherspayteachers.com-Learn-about-the-White-House-Webquest( Free download!)

Website on Michelle Obama for young people:

Timeforkids.com

Biography.com

Whitehouse.gov

* Always check websites before having students use them.

Additional Sources:

Telegraph.co.uk

WomensDay.com