The Great American Award Challenge is a program that brings to light the birth of our nation and the struggles of our history, instilling pride as students honor and respect the foundation of our country. The Great American Award Program was established by Clare Tobler in Boulder City, Nevada in 1989 and has grown into a great success in the public schools across the state. 

This challenge is difficult and every fifth grade student is expected to complete at least one part of this challenge. It will take perseverance and tenacity to complete all of it. The challenges are intended to be hard and push you to not give up. Special recognition will be given to those students who successfully complete the challenge in its entirety. 

There are six total requirements for receiving the Great American Award:

1. Recite the Gettysburg Address from memory (3 helps)

2. Recite the full names of all 46 presidents in order from memory (3 helps)

3. Locate AND spell correctly the 50 states and capitals on a map (2 helps)

4. Recite or sing our National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner," by heart (1 help)

5. Recite the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States from memory (zero helps)

6. Write the Pledge of Allegiance with correct spelling, capitals, and punctuation (zero helps)

Students will have until the end of April to complete these requirements to earn the Great American Award. Students may attempt the requirements in ANY order, and there is no limit to the number of tries to complete each item (however each student may only test on each task once per week). Students need to make an appointment with their teacher to complete these tasks. On some of the tasks, students are allowed a "help" or a "hint." In this case they can ask the person testing them to help them continue their task.

Any student who successfully completes all six challenges will be honored at the end of the school year. 

Click on the links below to get more information on each task (including documents you can use to help you study),
as well as some extension activities to enhance your understanding of each element of the Great American Award Challenge!