The Lincoln Bicentennial Teacher Network

8th Grade: Lesson 4

Target Unit Essential Question(s): (taken from unit framework)
EU 2-EQ2: How did Lincoln use his leadership skills to unify a divided nation?

Lesson Essential Question: How did Lincoln use his leadership skills to unify a divided nation?

Estimated duration of lesson: Two Days

Academic Expectations:

2.16 Students observe, analyze, and interpret human behaviors, social groupings, and institutions to better understand people and the relationships among individuals and among groups.

2.17 Students interact effectively and work cooperatively with the many diverse ethnic and cultural groups of our nation and world.

2.19 Students recognize and understand the relationship between people and geography and apply their knowledge in real-life situations.

2.20 Students understand, analyze, and interpret historical events, conditions, trends, and issues to develop historical perspective.

Program of Studies: Understandings

Program of Studies: Skills and Concepts

Related Core Content for Assessment

SS-8-CS-U-3

Students will understand that interactions among individuals and groups assume various forms (e.g., compromise, cooperation, conflict, competition) and are influenced by culture.

SS-8-CS-S-3

Students will explain how communications between groups were influenced by cultural differences; explain how interactions influenced conflict and competition (e.g., political, economic, religious, ethnic) among individuals and groups in the United States prior to Reconstruction

SS-8-CS-S-4

Students will describe conflicts between individuals or groups and explain how compromise and cooperation were possible choices to resolve conflict among individuals and groups in the United States prior to Reconstruction

SS-08-2.3.1

Students will explain how conflict and competition (e.g., political, economic, religious, ethnic) occurred among individuals and groups in the United States prior to Reconstruction.

DOK 2

SS-08-2.3.2

Students will explain how compromise and cooperation were possible choices to resolve conflict among individuals and groups in the United States prior to Reconstruction.

DOK 2

SS-8-HP-U-1

Students will understand that history is an account of human activities that is interpretive in nature, and a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources, data, artifacts) are needed to analyze and understand historical events.

SS-8-HP-U-3

Students will understand that U.S. History (prior to Reconstruction) has been impacted by significant individuals and groups.

SS-8-HP-S-1

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the interpretative nature of history using a variety of tools and resources (e.g., primary and secondary sources, Internet, timelines, maps):

a investigate, describe and analyze significant historical events and conditions in the U.S prior to Reconstruction, drawing inferences about perspectives of different individuals and groups (e.g., gender, race, region, ethnic group, age, economic status, religion, political group)

SS-08-5.1.1

Students will use a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources) to describe and explain historical events and conditions and to analyze the perspectives of different individuals and groups (e.g., gender, race, region, ethnic group, age, economic status, religion, political group) in U.S. history prior to Reconstruction.

DOK 3

 

Targeted Lesson Essential Question(s): id Lincoln use his leadership skills to unify a divided nation?

Students Will Know……

Students will be able to…..

  • Lincoln’s Personal Values and Leadership style
  • Lincoln’s goal during his presidency: Preserving the Union

  • Analyze Lincoln’s leadership skills/ characteristics
  • Analyze primary sources that reflect Lincoln’s leadership styles
    • Letters
    • Decisions
    • Speeches
  • Compare and Contrast President Lincoln’s strong leadership abilities to another leader in our country’s history or in present day

Lesson Summary

Students will reflect on characteristic of leaders. The class will create a graphic organizer listing leaders and their characteristics. They will watch a brief documentary of Abraham Lincoln’s early life and use prior knowledge to cite examples from Lincoln’s life that display his leadership characteristics. Students will then analyze Lincoln’s leadership characteristics through primary sources.

Day 1/2

Instructional Set/Bell Ringer

Have students write L-I-N-C-O-L-N on paper. They should use the letters to begin words/phrases that describe Abraham Lincoln, a man and leader. This can be a formative assessment of knowledge acquired of Lincoln to this point.

Allow students to share answers.

Transition

Guide students in a discussion about leadership qualities.

Ask: What characteristics make a leader? Make a two column list, as a class, of the characteristics that make a good leader and provide examples of people who lead.

Explain to students that events before and during the Civil War were influenced by many outstanding political figures. Pose the rhetorical question, “Was Lincoln the best leader to be President during that time?” The focus of this lesson is on how Abraham Lincoln used his leadership skills to unify a divided nation.

Lesson Assessment

Formative Assessment: Within the lesson students will complete two Graphic Organizers: 1) Write at words/phrases that you have learned about Abraham Lincoln in an acrostic poem with the word L-I-N-C-O-L-N.
2) Give examples in Lincoln’s life that exemplify his leadership characteristics.

Learning Experience

In large block letters, write these characteristics (Honest, Perseverance, Responsible, Fair, Respectful, Open-minded) on a piece of poster board. Tape these prominently around the classroom. As a classroom discussion ask the following question for each value and record their responses on the poster board. “What is Respect ( fill in the value ) and can you give an example.” (10 minutes)

Teacher Note: If you feel that students do not have enough background information on Abraham Lincoln, watch Abraham Lincoln: The Early Years (download from United Streaming).

Abraham Lincoln: The Early Years. United streaming. 2007.

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

Divide students into cooperative groups. Assign a recorder and a reporter for the group. Have the groups rotate around the posters citing examples from Lincoln’s earlier life that exemplify the characteristic on the poster. Have groups continue to each poster adding information or different examples to each of the posters. Give students two minutes at each poster. At the last rotation, have the reporter for each group discuss the poster and all examples found on that poster.

Teacher Note: Use colored construction paper that can be easily glued by students to coordinating poster board.

Wrap Up

Guide a class discussion of this question, How did Lincoln’s early years affect his character? Assign an exit slip: Write about one of the characteristics that you share with Lincoln. How could you use the life values discussed in our recent lesson to resolve a current problem?

Day 2/2

Instructional Set/Bell Ringer

Write this quote by Lincoln on the board. Have students write down which leadership characteristic it displays. Students will then compare their answer to a peer.

“I expect to maintain this contest until successful, or till I die, or am conquered, or my term expires, or Congress or the country forsakes me...” -June 28, 1862 Letter to William Seward

Allow students to share their responses.

Transition

Ask: “What is Abraham Lincoln referring to as the ”contest”? What was his ultimate goal? (Preserving the Union) What did he say it would take to give up the contest? What does Lincoln’s statement say about him as a leader?” (He has perseverance, determination, integrity…)

Instruct students: “Today, we are going to be analyzing primary sources written by Abraham Lincoln. In each of the primary sources, Lincoln’s leadership skills are displayed.”

Lesson Assessment

Formative: Students will analyze a quote and other primary sources written by Abraham Lincoln to evaluate his leadership skills. Students will complete questions to guide their analysis. Students will present analysis of the primary source to the class.

Summative/Formative: Exit Slip comparing Lincoln to another leader in our country’s history or present day.

Learning Experience

Assign students into cooperative groups as numbered below. Each group will be given a primary source that reflects a specific leadership characteristic that was discussed in the previous lesson. Each group will review and discuss their different primary source using the five questions attached to the source (Refer to Resources A.1-A.6). Each student should record notes, and the group will share the group findings with the class.
Review the rubric (Resource B) for the class presentation with the class prior to group work.

Groups

Wrap Up

Allow students to present their primary source to the class, stating its purpose and leadership skill that Lincoln displayed through the source.

Lead students into a discussion to answer the following question: “Did Abraham Lincoln accomplish his goal of unifying the nation?”

Have students complete an exit slip: Compare Lincoln to another leader in our country’s history or present day that used their leadership skills to accomplish a goal. Cite evidence to demonstrate both leaders’ leadership skills.

Resources