I am Abraham Lincoln is a children's biography book intended for readers who are five to eight years old or for grades Kindergarten through 3rd. The book was written by Brad Meltzer and was illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos and was published on January 14th, 2014. It is part of a series of books that Meltzer and Eliopoulos created to give children real-life actual "heroes" that they could look up to.
Being that the book is a biography, I feel that Meltzer did a wonderful job on making sure that it is grounded in fact, has a flow to it rather then just the cut and dry facts, and that the details are both vivid, but accurate. The illustrations done by Eliopoulos help the reader visualize the scenes in which Meltzer is talking about as well as help to illuminate Abraham Lincoln (the subject of the book) so students can "see" who it is the author is talking about.
Motivational Activities
1) Have students separate into groups of 4-5. When all grouped up, assign each student a role card (i.e. bully, witness, Abraham Lincoln, etc.). When all students have an assigned role, allow them 10-15 minutes to prepare a skit. After all skits are completed, talk to all of the students together about the importance of standing up for what is right and why bullying is wrong. Lastly, have the students talk or discuss why they think Abraham Lincoln can be considered a hero.
2) Have each student remember a part of Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address. Have them recite (in order) the speech out loud in front of the class. After all parts of the address have been read, have students reflect on the importance of this speech. Have them include comments about how this famous speech helped to abolish slavery.
Discussion Questions
1) What do you feel Abraham Lincoln's greatest achievement was throughout his lifetime?
2) Think about how the author represents Lincoln as someone who stood up to bullies throughout his whole life. Do you feel that this personality and trait shined through within his political and presidential life as well? Why or why not?
3) If you were born in the 1800's like Abraham Lincoln was, do you feel you would have stood up to the bullies (i.e. slave owners) and defended the little guys (i.e. slaves)? Why or why not?
4) If you were Lincoln and you had to give the Emancipation Proclamation, what may have you done differently or included in your speech that was left out in his speech?
Respect
Though Abraham Lincoln respected all things, human or animal, many people did not respect his choice to abolish slavery. He was assassinated because of his act of kindness. Students can take to heart the lesson that though one person may be willing to do the right thing, not everybody will agree with those actions and that's okay. Students will have to realize that self-respect is far more important than gaining respect from peers for the wrong reasons. Abraham Lincoln remained true to himself throughout his life, and I feel students should take that lesson and remember it; always. The two activities I suggested for students to do can relate to the aspect of respect because in the first one where students are acting out the skits of being bullies or other key people, they can see that being a bully is disrespectful and hurtful and can cause people to be very sad or discouraged. They can talk then of how it made them feel. They could also talk about when Abraham Lincoln (another student) stepped in to help them how they felt so much joy and happiness and thankfulness for that person and ultimately had a greater respect for that student as a person over the bully. The second activity promotes respect by having students remember to keep Abraham Lincolns original speech in mind and to make sure that they do not diminish or depreciate the value that is already instilled within his speech. They should remember that every opinion is viable and that though they may not agree with it, it should still be respected.
References:
Though Abraham Lincoln respected all things, human or animal, many people did not respect his choice to abolish slavery. He was assassinated because of his act of kindness. Students can take to heart the lesson that though one person may be willing to do the right thing, not everybody will agree with those actions and that's okay. Students will have to realize that self-respect is far more important than gaining respect from peers for the wrong reasons. Abraham Lincoln remained true to himself throughout his life, and I feel students should take that lesson and remember it; always. The two activities I suggested for students to do can relate to the aspect of respect because in the first one where students are acting out the skits of being bullies or other key people, they can see that being a bully is disrespectful and hurtful and can cause people to be very sad or discouraged. They can talk then of how it made them feel. They could also talk about when Abraham Lincoln (another student) stepped in to help them how they felt so much joy and happiness and thankfulness for that person and ultimately had a greater respect for that student as a person over the bully. The second activity promotes respect by having students remember to keep Abraham Lincolns original speech in mind and to make sure that they do not diminish or depreciate the value that is already instilled within his speech. They should remember that every opinion is viable and that though they may not agree with it, it should still be respected.
References:
Galda, L., Cullinan, B., & Sipe, L. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Meltzer, Brad, and Christopher Eliopoulos. I Am Abraham Lincoln. Dial, 2014. Print.
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