The Gettysburg Address

About This Lesson Plan Unit

In the four lessons in this unit, students will learn how to read and understand President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, given at the dedication of the soldier’s cemetery at the battlefield. The students will create summaries of the text in their own words and write an essay that demonstrates their understanding of what Lincoln was trying to say on that august occasion.

Lesson Plan Author: Tim Bailey
Historical Background Essay by: Ronald C. White

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Additional Information About This Unit

Common Core State Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.5: Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Essential Questions

How did President Abraham Lincoln describe the nation’s origins?

According to Lincoln, why was the founders’ vision in jeopardy in 1863?

What was Lincoln’s explanation for why the Civil War should matter to non-Americans?

What words and phrases in the Gettysburg Address are about slavery?

What did Lincoln claim was the best way to honor members of the military who had been killed in battle?

How did Lincoln compare the contributions of the “honored dead” to those of other citizens?

Documents

Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863