4th Grade: Lesson 1
Lesson Topic/Focus: Abraham Lincoln: A Leader Who Impacted History
Lesson Essential Question(s): How did Lincoln’s ties to Kentucky shape him as a person and a leader?
Estimated duration of lesson: 3 class periods
Academic Expectations
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Program of Studies: Understandings |
Program of Studies: Skills and Concepts |
Related Core Content for Assessment |
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S-4-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) are needed to analyze and understand historical events. SS-4-HP-U-2
Students will understand that the history of
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SS-4-HP-S-1 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of history using a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources):
a)
investigate and chronologically describe (e.g., timelines, charts)
significant events in
b)
interpret and describe events in SS-4-HP-S-1 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of history using a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources):
examine cause and effect relationships that influenced |
SS-04-5.1.1 Students will use a variety of primary and secondary sources
(e.g., artifacts, diaries, timelines) to describe significant
events in the history of DOK 2 |
Targeted Lesson Essential Question(s): How did Lincoln’s ties to Kentucky shape him as a person and a leader?
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Students Will Know…… |
Students will be able to….. |
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Lesson Summary
Brief overview of the lesson
Within this lesson, students will engage in a variety of learning experiences about the people in Abraham Lincoln’s life and how they may have had an impact upon the man he became. Students will be provided choices in the ways they obtain the information, and they will be given options in the way they present their understanding for assessment. The entire study will focus on the culminating performance where students will bring their knowledge to “Lincoln’s Tea Party.” The purpose of the tea party is to examine different characters and their influence upon the man that would become one of our nation’s most renowned presidents. Students will participate as characters that were living during Lincoln’s time. They will research their character and be prepared to interact appropriately and in character at the tea party.
As they move through the lessons, students will have done research and recorded information about different people who were close to Abraham Lincoln. They will create party place cards for each of those people for the purpose of recording factual information that shows a connection between the person and the president.
Previous Instruction
Students should have prior knowledge of the geography of Kentucky. Students should have knowledge of Kentucky’s 5 geographical regions, and different landforms found across the state. Students should know the geographical features of Kentucky during the 1800s specifically in the Pennyroyal region. With this background knowledge, students will be able to establish a connection between limitations Lincoln faced because of geographical features of where he lived.
Students should also have an understanding that Lincoln was the 16th president during a critical time period in our nation’s history. Students should have reviewed prior knowledge of President Lincoln and the fact that he was a Kentucky-born President as well as a leader that had many ties and influences with Kentucky.
Day 1/3
Instructional Set/Bell Ringer
The teacher will then have the students do a think, pair, and share
activity to answer the following questions:
How might Abraham Lincoln’s childhood have been different than your own?
(e.g., chores, education, housing, etc.)
How might his childhood have been similar to yours? (e.g., family, chores, friends, etc)
Transition
Students will need to build upon prior knowledge and background
information to relate the limitations that land and resources had on
pioneers. Students will need to understand that even with these
limitations, Lincoln grew to become a great leader. His personal
experiences and contacts made an impact on him as a person. To begin to
make the connection of where he was raised and the people that shaped
him as a person and a leader, students will need to relate to his
childhood.
The teacher will begin the lesson by displaying a visual image of Lincoln’s three boyhood homes in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois (Resource A, B, and C.) The teacher will guide discussions around the images to make the relation to Lincoln’s childhood in comparison to their life today.
- Knob Creek, KY (Resource A)
- Little Pigeon Creek, IN (Resource B)
- Springfield, IL (Resource C)
- What physical features do you see in the images?
- What resources do you see in the images?
- In what ways do you think Lincoln used these resources?
- What chores or jobs might Abraham Lincoln have done throughout his boyhood?
- What limitations did Lincoln face by living here?
- How do you think Abraham Lincoln became educated?
Even though the time period was different and Lincoln had some challenges to face, he had family and friends that influenced his character, just as you do today.
Background Information for the Teacher
Lesson Assessment
The students will be completing a graphic organizer to provide evidence to support the characteristics of Abraham Lincoln. The teacher may use this task as a formative assessment to determine if students gained knowledge from the reading.
Learning Experience
Abraham Lincoln had many characteristics that endeared him to people of both the past and the present.
Ask students to give one word descriptors of Abraham Lincoln. Record those where they can be seen (whiteboard, smart notebook, document camera, chalkboard). Explain to students that characteristics are used to describe people’s behaviors and decisions. Create a list of traits that are associated with Abraham Lincoln. Some examples of these traits may be: compassionate, self-taught, honest, determined, or loyal
The teacher will give students each a copy of handout entitled, Character Traits (Resource D). Tell them they will use the following information to find proof for qualities people believe Lincoln possessed. Students will use this handout to record information about the President as they learn in today’s presentations. The teacher will then share chapter 1 from the book The Boy’s Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicklay.
Students will then discuss how the information within this passage might have influenced the characteristics chosen for Lincoln. (Example: Lincoln’s first experience with school and his first teacher-Lincoln had to walk two miles from his home to his school. He also walked many miles just to borrow a book. From this information, students might deduce that Lincoln was very determined.)
Wrap-Up
The teacher will review the handout on character traits with the students. The teacher can then show a relationship between this characteristic and some of the people around him who showed some of the same traits. Explain to students that they will now begin their own studies of Mr. Lincoln’s traits and the people who might have influenced those traits.
Day 2/3
Instructional Set/Bell Ringer
You will ask the students to talk about some people they know. It can be their friends, parent, grandparents, coaches, or teachers. What have they learned from these people?
Allow students time to brainstorm. The teacher will record answers as the students share aloud.
Transition
Next, the teacher will use storytelling to introduce students to three of the people who were instrumental in Mr. Lincoln’s life, his parents and step-mother. Refer to attached resource entitled, “Storytelling” (Resource E). The stories shared will only be brief excerpts from Lincoln’s life, and will focus on these people. The teacher will tell the students to keep in mind four main questions during the stories:
- What connection does this person have to Lincoln?
- What could he have learned from the person?
- How did the person have a lasting influence on Lincoln?
- What might he have learned about slavery from this person?
Also, let the students know in the beginning the names of the people in the teacher’s storytelling, and have them record any information they learn from the story that would help them answer these questions on note cards.
The teacher will transition from the storytelling into the study by explaining that Lincoln was one of the most reverenced presidents in American history. He was directly and deeply connected to Kentucky. He has formed relationships into adulthood with people having Kentucky ties and had life experiences that would influence the person and leader he would later become.
The teacher will explain that this study will help students to understand what role each of those people played in Lincoln’s life, and perhaps develop a connection between these relationships and some of the decisions he made later as president.
The teacher will explain to the students that they will be collecting information in a variety of ways over the next few days. This information search should enable the student to understand how and why each friend, family member or event in Kentucky could have impacted Abraham Lincoln’s behaviors and decisions.
The teacher should model what the note card should look like, by creating an enlarged version on board or chart.
Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln:
- I was the step-mother of Abraham Lincoln.
- I encouraged him to learn to read. I made him understand the importance of learning. He later practiced law and defended cases. He later wrote the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves.
Example:
Lesson Assessment
Products chosen from the Share Board (Resource G) can be used as assessment. These products may be done in different formats as noted on additional pages; however, a rubric should be given to direct both student learning and assessment at the end of the lesson.
Learning experience
Divide the students into teams of 5. Give each team a list of characters for focus. The list should include: Mary Todd, Joshua Speed, Henry Clay, William Herndon, and John Todd Stuart. Each student will be responsible for one person to research for the group.
The teacher will create index cards for each group. Each student will be given five cards in which they will record notes later after research.
Teacher Note
Explain to students that each of them will be expected to learn about the people listed on these place cards. As they complete various activities to learn about these people, they can use the Party Place Cards to record important tidbits of information they find. These cards will be brought to Mr. Lincoln’s Tea Party for sharing as well.
As the students learn about their character, they will share information with their group. Explain to students that while they will be learning about the people directly involved with Abraham Lincoln, they must also build an understanding of his life and the time period in which he lived.
Give each group a study board that will direct the day’s study. Students may choose the way they collect the information on their character. (Refer to Resource F.) The teacher will need to have resources available for students. This would depend on availability of resources. The study board may need to be modified to meet the needs of each classroom. (Websites, video references, and bibliographies are listed in resource section.)
Also, ask students to focus this day’s research on the following questions:
- Who is this character?
- What do you know about him/her?
- What was his/her relationship with Lincoln?
- Are there stories connected to the person that you might want to remember or share?
- Does this person impact Lincoln in a way that might influence the ways he makes decisions? How?
**The teacher should post these for students as a reference.
Allow students time to learn through research. Allow 20 minutes for research. Then, direct students to complete the product for their Share activity.
From the Study Board (Resource F), students will choose the way they will access information on their person of study. Next, from the Share Board (Resource G), they will choose how they will be expected to share the information with the team after the study is done. (Ex. Billy who is studying Joshua Speed chooses to watch a video clip from the Study Board, and chooses to do a friendly letter from the Share Board to communicate what he learns with his group. Review rubric (Resource H) with students for the Share Board.
Teacher Note
By using choice boards, students at all achievement levels are able to do research. Additionally, the teacher may want to direct students toward materials to meet their individual needs. (For example, gifted students might watch video clips from United Streaming while low level achievers may need passages read orally by a peer.)
Wrap-Up
Students will share out information gained about various people with a Kentucky tie to Lincoln. Students will do a jigsaw activity in which they get back into groups and share out what they found about their character. Students will be able to make connections between the president and the people who were a part of his life. As students listen, they are to make notes on their note cards.
Day 3/3
Instructional Set/Bell Ringer
On the cards, the students are to write facts about the characters that they learned about in their groups. Students are to make the connections to the character and Abraham Lincoln by making sure the guiding questions (posted on board or chart paper) yesterday are answered.
Transition
The teacher will review each of the five associated people with the class using the guided questions and class participation. The students will be able to revise with students any misinterpreted facts or gaps in information. Some information that should be highlighted:
- Family of wealth and political influence (raised Lincoln’s social status, improved his economic situation, and promoted his political position)
- Family had slaves
- Division of family with Union and Confederate sympathizers
- Life-long friend
- Contrast to Lincoln—raised on plantation and had a private education Disagreed with Lincoln on the issue of slavery
- While staying with Speed at Farmington, Lincoln witnessed slave auction
- Lincoln’s political idol
- Clay’s deal of gradual emancipation and colonization
- Law partner of Lincoln
- A Whig and an opponent of slavery
- Political Advisor to Lincoln
- Encouraged Lincoln to study law-his first law partner
- Fought with Lincoln in the Black Hawk War
- Democrat who disagreed with Lincoln about wartime policies
- Cousin to Mary Todd
Lesson Assessment
The biopoems can be assessed either as summative or formative to show gains in understanding of Lincoln’s youth. This assessment can be differentiated for all levels of learners.
Learning experience
The classroom should be arranged with several large tables or seats can be arranged to achieve this effect. A student can be chosen to be Abraham Lincoln or the teacher may act as the president for the party.
The teacher will explain what the tea party is and how each person will contribute. The students within their groups are to draw to find out which character’s role they will assume.
Students will assume the identity of the person named on his/her Party Place Card and present the importance of that person to Lincoln by telling stories and telling facts about their lives together.
Allow at least 20 minutes for Mr. Lincoln’s Tea Party. Assess presentations given. The teacher will roam within the groups as if she/he is Abraham Lincoln asking students questions to allow discussion.
Lesson Wrap Up
In discussion after the party, make any corrections to information given or add to information as needed. Review and discuss.
As an extension to the lesson, a bio-poem of Lincoln can be completed. The teacher will explain directions for a bio-poem and model an example (Resource I) for the students on the board, the overhead projector or computer. Then, the students will work in pairs to create a bio-poem about Abraham Lincoln using a bio-poem template (Resource J). Share and display these within the classroom or hallway. (Optional: Attach bio-poems to silhouettes of Lincoln for display.)