Abraham Lincoln Lesson Plans

President Abraham Lincoln is best known for keeping the United States together, his leadership during the Civil War, and ending slavery. His importance to our culture is immeasurable. What we can learn from his life alone could easily fill textbooks. Giving students the opportunity to move beyond basic Lincoln facts to a deeper understanding of his contributions allows teachers to develop their students researching, writing, and problem solving skills as well an awareness of positive ethical behavior.

Because Lincoln is so dynamic, I believe lessons should focus on more than his basic history.  Students should be encouraged to grasp the complexities of the time that he lived in, the moral dilemmas that he faced, and how his world and behavior relates to ours today. 

There are many ways you can teach students about Lincoln, but here are suggested activities. You could have students pick their favorite Lincoln fact. Each student should artistically depict the information, and then explain their work to the class. Allow the class to display their pieces. You can choose to do this at the beginning or end of your Lincoln unit. If it’s the opening lesson, you can close the unit by allowing students to either create a new piece of art with a new favorite fact, or write a poem explaining why their original is still their top pick.

Make both Lincoln’s facts and recent history relative. Have students write comparisons between Lincoln's and George W. Bush's unpopular war decisions.  Ask if history will be kinder to Bush, or if the comparison diminishes Lincoln's accomplishment. 

You can have students pick a volunteer activity that they believe would appeal to Lincoln.  Classes could brainstorm activities then vote for the best selection. As a class, spend a Saturday giving your time towards that activity. Afterward, have students write letters from Lincoln to themselves explaining why their efforts were valuable.

Abraham Lincoln Lesson Plans:   

Learning With Lincoln offers seven different lessons about President Lincoln relating to his values, including his commitment to excellence, integrity, responsibility, fairness, respect and diversity. The first lesson introduces the class to Lincoln's core values. Each student researches Lincoln's life to find examples for each value to be shared with the class. The lessons can be utilized individually or as a unit, depending on your focus. Each allows the class to learn about the history in context to the man who defined the era. 

Abraham Lincoln on Slavery and Race highlights Lincoln's speeches in three activities. The first two activities can stand on their own; the final one depends on the research done in the first two.  In Activity One, students examine notable letters Lincoln wrote throughout his career and discuss their significance, most notably, as each relates to slavery. In Activity Two, students create a panel to discuss the significance of Lincoln's speeches and what they illustrate regarding his evolving opinions on emancipation. Activity Three has students plan campaigns for Lincoln, one for his Senate bid and one for his first presidential run. This allows the students to recognize how issues change and stances change depending on the time of the campaign and the position the person is running for. There is also an extended activity in which students debate the changes in Lincoln's philosophy over time. 

Lincoln and Reconstruction ties into Ken Burn's film "The Civil War",  which is an outstanding series documenting the period. This selection is an excellent supplement to any Lincoln/Civil War study. A related lesson, Conflicting Newspaper Accounts, illustrates the different points of view people had during this period. This is a good way to demonstrate how difficult it was for Lincoln to make the choices he made, and how unpopular both he, and many of those choices, were. Such insight is valuable as we all watch our leaders deal with today's conflicts.