GEORGE WASHINGTON
AND
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
UNIT PLAN
Written by​
: Katie porter and ellie watkins
Influential american leaders:
George washington and abraham lincoln
2nd grade social studies-sol 2.11
The student will identify George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. Katie porter and ellie watkins
Five days (one week)
The main SOL is: The student will identify George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. These influential leaders have worked hard to improve the lives of Americans in the United States. Each individual has their own contributions that the students are to take away from the SOL. It is important for students to recognize the accomplishments as well as contributions that these leaders have done. This unit is the first in a series of units about influential American leaders who improved the lives of other Americans. This particular unit focuses on Social Studies SOL 2.11, with an emphasis on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two very important historical figures. The emphasis of this unit, is for students to learn the major accomplishments of both of these leaders. This unit comes in the middle of the unit. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are taught together because they are both presidents. The students will have very little knowledge about who these men are. George Washington Purpose: This is the first lesson in a series of five lessons about influential American leaders who improved the lives of other Americans. This lesson about George Washington should be taught at the beginning of the unit because he was the first president. The purpose of this lesson is for the students to be introduced to George Washington. In this lesson, the students will learn about George Washington’s life and will be introduced to the concept of fact vs. fiction through a video about George Washington. VA SOLs: Social Studies 2.11: The student will identify George Washington​
, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. English 2.8: The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional text. English 2.9: The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of non­fictional text. Objectives: ● Given “My Book about George Washington,” the students will answer questions with 80% accuracy. ● Given a handout, students will be able to identify facts vs fiction about George Washington with 80% accuracy. Procedure: Introduction: ● Have students come to the carpet. ● Ask students if they know who George Washington is. Ask what them know about him. (auditory) ● Have students respond to the question. ● Talk about how he was the 1st president of the United States. ● Tell students we are going to read a book about George Washington and learn more about him. Tell them to listen for any important facts about George Washington that stick out to them. ● Read book ​
Who Was George Washington​
by Roberta Edwards. (auditory) ● After reading, discuss what we learned from book: (auditory) ○ What is a President? ○ What are some things that a President does? ○ Which state did George Washington live in? ○ What else did you learn about him? Development: ● Show students “My Book about George Washington” book and pass one out to each student. (visual) ● Explain directions to them: ○ Cut the book out and color the pages (kinesthetic) ○ Put in order and staple pages together ○ Pick a partner ○ Take turn reading the pages with partner ○ Answer questions at the book of the book with your partner ● Have students put writing and coloring materials away. ● Go over each question as a whole group discussion. ● Tell students we are now going to learn about some famous facts and famous myths about George Washington. ● Ask students what the difference is between fact and fiction. ● Have a couple of students respond. (auditory) ● Explain that a fact is something that is true, and fiction is something that is from your imagination, or not true. ● Pass out the fact vs. fiction chart. Tell students to be listening for facts or fictions about George Washington throughout the video. ● Watch video, “The American Presidents: George Washington” (visual) ● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm5uPqucnHk ● For advanced students: ○ Include extra questions to answer in the George Washington packet. ● For struggling students: ○ Have the students work in a small group with you to answer the questions. ○ Work with a partner. ○ Give them the fact and fiction statements written out to be sorted and glued. Summary: ● After the video, have student write down in their chart what they remember from the video. ● Have students come to the carpet. ● Have a couple students tell some of the facts or fiction they wrote down. (auditory) ● Have the other students say whether or not they think it is fact or fiction. (auditory) ● Then, discuss with the students what was actually fact and what was fiction in the video. ● Have students go back to their desks. ● Fill out the chart together so everyone has the same information. ● After discussing fact vs fiction, have the students summarize what they learned about George Washington today. (orally) Materials: ● Who Was George Washington​
by Roberta Edwards ● “My Book about George Washington” packets (see attached) https://www.teachervision.com/presidents­day/teacher­resources/6658.html ● Pencils ● Markers and colored pencils ● Fact vs. Fiction worksheet (see attached) Evaluation Part A: The students will be assessed by completing the questions in the attached packet. The students will be able to answer the questions based on what they learned in the read aloud of ​
Who Was George Washington​
, and the information provided in the packet. The students will also be assessed by completing the attached Fact vs. Fiction worksheet. The students will be able to fill in the worksheet with 4 out of 6 facts or fictions filled out correctly based on the discussion in class and the video. The students will have met the objective if they are able to answer 80%, or 4 out of 5, of the questions in the packet and in the worksheet correctly. Evaluation Part B: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? How did this lesson accommodate the needs of all students? How could you change the lesson if you were to teach it again? Did the students meet the objective? What Makes a Good Leader? Purpose: This is the second lesson in a series of five lessons about influential American leaders who improved the lives of Americans. This second lesson will focus on what makes a good president and leader. Students will also learn about the accomplishments of George Washington. The students will already have some background knowledge on George Washington, which will make this a good lesson for day two of the unit. VA SOLs: Social Studies 2.11: The student will identify George Washington​
, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. C/T K­2.6: Communicate effectively with others (e.g., peers, teachers, experts) in collaborative learning situations. A. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and presentation activities. • Use word processing to practice writing skills. • Use common graphic and presentation tools when preparing and providing presentations. B. Recognize tools useful for communication. • Identify how different technologies appeal to different senses. Objectives: ● Given a computer, the student will create a flyer promoting their own presidential candidacy. The flyer will include 3 statements as to why they would make a good president. Procedure: Introduction ● Begin this lesson by asking students what they remember about George Washington that they learned from the day before. Have several students respond. (auditory) ● Say, “Today, we are going to talk about some of the accomplishments of George Washington and why he was a great leader.” ● Engage the class in a whole group discussion about characteristics of what make a good leader. (auditory) ● Partner students together and have them brainstorm words and phrases on what makes a good leader. Have them write their ideas down in their notebooks. (visual, kinesthetic) ● After 5 minutes, have several partner pairs share their ideas about what makes a good leader. Make sure these words are included in the discussion: ○ Trustworthy ○ Problem solver ○ Confident ● Discuss with the whole class about what makes a great leader and talk about some of the accomplishments of George Washington. (auditory) ● Use the powerpoint to aid in the discussion. (see attached) (visual) Development ● Tell students that they will be making flyers about if they ran for president. ● These flyers will include 3 statements as to why they would be a good president. They also need to include their name, a space for them to draw themselves as a president, and one or two things they would do as president. (visual) ● The students will use the discussion about the accomplishments of George Washington to aid them in making their own flyers. ● Show the students an example flyer and model what they will need to do on the computer. ● Give each each student a laptop and help them to open up a word document. ● Give the students around 30 minutes to complete their flyers. ● For advanced students​
: ○ Allow them to include more than 3 statements in their flyer. ● For struggling students: ○ Allow them to only have one statement in their flyer. Summary ● Print out flyers. ● Allow students 10 minutes to draw themselves as president on their flyers. ● Have students come to the carpet. ● Each student will be given 2­3 minutes to present their flyer and state why they would make a great leader. ● The student will place their poster on the whiteboard. ● End the lesson by having a whole group discussion and reviewing the accomplishments of George Washington. Materials: ● Computers ● Powerpoint presentation: ○ https://teacher.ocps.net/donald.hilyer/media/​
washington​
spresidency.​
ppt ● Pencils ● Notebooks ● Projector ● Crayons and markers ● Whiteboard Evaluation Part A: The students will be assessed on the flyers they make in class. They will be expected to include 3 statements about what would make them a strong leader. They will also be expected to draw a picture of themselves as president. The students will have also met the objective by completing this flyer on a word processor. Evaluation Part B: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? How did this lesson accommodate the needs of all students? How could you change the lesson if you were to teach it again? Did the students meet the objective? Name ________________________ George Washington Fact vs Fiction Directions​
: During the video, listen for facts or fictions about George Washington. Write down three facts and three fictions. Fact Fiction Abraham Lincoln Purpose: This the third lesson in a series of five lessons about influential American leaders who improved the lives of other Americans. This purpose of this lesson is to introduce the students to Abraham Lincoln. This is a good lesson to teach on day three because the students will already have background knowledge on the responsibilities of a president and what makes a good leader. In this lesson the students will learn about Abraham Lincoln’s life and the importance of his presidency, as well as begin to compare and contrast George Washington and Abraham Lincoln through a whole group discussion. VA SOLs: Social Studies 2.11: The student will identify ​
George Washington, ​
Abraham Lincoln​
, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. Objective: ● Given “My Book About Abraham Lincoln,” students will answer questions with 80% accuracy. ● Students will be able to identify the differences between Abraham Lincoln and George Washington with 80% accuracy. Procedure: Introduction: ● Have students come to the carpet. ● Ask students if they who Abraham Lincoln is. Ask them what they know about him already. (auditory) ● Have students respond to the question. (auditory) ● Talk about how he was the 16th president of the United States. ● Tell students we are going to read a book about Abraham Lincoln and to listen for important facts about him. ● Read book, ​
Who was Abraham Lincoln​
by Janet Pascal. (auditory) ● After reading, discuss what we learned from the book: ○
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How did Abraham Lincoln become president? What did he do to help the slaves? What part did he play in the Civil War? What else did you learn about him? Development: ● Have students return to their desks. ● Show students “My Book about Abraham Lincoln” book and pass one out to each student. (visual, kinesthetic) ● Explain directions to them: ○ Cut the book out and color the pages. ○ Put the pages in order and staple them together. ○ Pick a partner. ○ Take turns reading the pages with partner. ○ Answer questions at the back of the book with your partner. ● Have students put writing and coloring materials away. ● Go over each question as a whole group discussion. Summary ● Have students take out their “My Book about George Washington” book that was completed on day one. ● Tell students, “Now that we have begun to learn about Abraham Lincoln, who can tell what him and George Washington have in common?” ● Give students time to look in both of their packets. ● Let several students respond. Make sure these points are included in the discussion: ○ They were both presidents. ○ They were both leaders. ● Ask students what are some differences between George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? Give students 2 minutes to look in their packets. ● Let several students respond. Make sure these points are included in the discussion: ○ George Washington was the 1st president and led the Revolutionary War ○ Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president and led the Civil War ● For advanced students: ○ Include extra questions to answer in the Abraham Lincoln packet. ● For struggling students: ○ Have the students work in a small group with you to answer the questions. ○ Work with a partner. Materials: ● Who Was Abraham Lincoln ​
by Janet Pascal ● “My Book about Abraham Lincoln” packet https://www.teachervision.com/presidents/printable/43294.html ● “My Book about George Washington” packet https://www.teachervision.com/presidents/printable/43290.html ● Pencils ● Coloring materials Evaluation Part A: The students will be assessed by completing the questions in the attached packet. The students will be able to answer the questions based on what they learned in the read aloud of ​
Who Was George Washington​
, and the information provided in the packet. The students will have met the objective if they are able to answer 80%, or 4 out of 5, of the questions in the packet. Evaluation Part B: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? How did this lesson accommodate the needs of all students? How could you change the lesson if you were to teach it again? Did the students meet the objective? Abraham Lincoln’s Accomplishments Purpose: This is the fourth lesson in a series of five lessons about influential American leaders who improved the lives of other Americans. The purpose of this lesson is to learn about the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln, with an emphasis on how he helped free African American slaves. This is a good lesson for day four because the students will already have an understanding of who Abraham Lincoln is. VA SOLs: Social Studies 2.11: The student will identify ​
George Washington, ​
Abraham Lincoln​
, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. Visual Arts 2.4: The student will create works of art inspired by a variety of concepts, themes, and literary sources. Objective: ● The students will be able to participate in a discussion about the importance of Abraham Lincoln and his important role in the freeing of African American slaves during the Civil War with 80% accuracy. ● Given art supplies, the students will create an art project of Abraham Lincoln and write 3 sentences about the importance of Abraham Lincoln and his important role in the freeing of African American slaves during the Civil War. Procedure: Introduction: ● Tell the students we will be learning more about Abraham Lincoln and why is an important leader in American history. ● Watch the video “The American Presidents: Abraham Lincoln”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFABcUUJMrI​
(visual, auditory) ● After the video, engage the class in a whole group discussion about what they learned in the video. Ask the following questions: (auditory) ○ What can you tell me about Abraham Lincoln? ○ What did you learn today that you didn’t learn about yesterday? ○ Why did Abraham Lincoln oppose slavery? ○ What did Abraham Lincoln do to free African American slaves? ● After the discussion, tell students they are going to do an art activity and write about the achievements of Abraham Lincoln. (kinesthetic, visual) Development: ● Pass out art supplies and construction paper to each student. ● Tell students they are first going to work on the art portion, and they will do the writing next. ● Show students an example by projecting it on the smartboard. Keep the example up for the duration of the activity: ● Have students create their own version of the example shown above. Give them 30­35 minutes to make their own Abraham Lincoln. (kinesthetic) ● Once students have completed the art portion, give them about 20 minutes to write a paragraph about who Abraham Lincoln was and what his achievements were. The students will use information from the Youtube video and the whole group discussion at the beginning of class to complete their paragraph. ● For advanced students: ○ Allow students to write more than one paragraph about Abraham Lincoln. ○ Pair advanced students with struggling students to help with writing the supporting paragraph. ● For struggling students: ○ Give struggling students a blank cutout of Abraham Lincoln for them to color and decorate. ○ Allow them to use their Abraham Lincoln booklet from the previous day to help them write their paragraph. ○ Type out the paragraph for them and let them cut and paste it onto their art. Summary: ● Have students put all of their writing and coloring materials away. ● Have students share their art projects with the whole class. (auditory) ● Hang up all of the projects on a classroom bulletin board. Materials: ● Youtube video: ​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFABcUUJMrI ● Coloring materials ● Construction paper ● Pencils ● Scissors ● Smartboard ● Abraham Lincoln art project example: Evaluation Part A: The students will be assessed by the art project they create of Abraham Lincoln. The students are required to attach a paragraph they write about Abraham Lincoln and his accomplishments, making sure to include a sentence about how he worked to free African American slaves during the Civil War. The students will have met the objective if they complete the art project as well as a supporting paragraph about Abraham Lincoln, using information provided by the Youtube video and the whole group discussion. Evaluation Part B: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? How did this lesson accommodate the needs of all students? How could you change the lesson if you were to teach it again? Did the students meet the objective? George Washington and Abraham Lincoln Purpose: This is the final lesson in the first series of lessons about influential American leaders who have improved the lives of Americans. The purpose of this lesson is to compare and contrast the lives and accomplishments of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as influential leaders in the United States. The students will also practice counting money with coins. This is a good way to end this unit, because students will have a good understanding of who George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are and are able to do a final reflection on both. VA SOLs: Social Studies 2.11: The student will identify George Washington,​
​
Abraham Lincoln​
, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as Americans whose contributions improved the lives of other Americans. Math 2.10: The student will a) count and compare a collection of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters whose total value is $2.00 or less b) correctly use the cent symbol (¢), dollar symbol ($), and decimal point (.). Objective: ● The students will be able to compare and contrast George Washington and Abraham Lincoln given a venn diagram and 20 facts with 80% accuracy. ● Given a worksheet, students will be able to count and compare a collection of coins with 80% accuracy. Procedure: Introduction: ● Have the students at their desks. ● Review what the students already know about money. (auditory) ● Make sure the review includes: ○ George Washington is on the quarter ○ Abraham Lincoln is on the penny ● Tell students were going to be doing a review worksheet that involves counting coins. (visual, kinesthetic) ●
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Have students pull out their pencils. Pass out worksheets. Give students 10 minutes to work on the worksheet. Go over worksheet as a whole class. (auditory) For advanced students: ○ Give the students a different worksheet with higher amounts and a wider variety of coins ● For struggling students: ○ Allow students to work with partners or small groups to complete the worksheet. Development: ● Have students come to the carpet. ● Have on the board a venn diagram labeled George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on either side. (visual, kinesthetic) ● Explain to the students that we are going to do a compare and contrast relay about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. ● Explain the directions to the class: ○ Students will be broken up into 2 groups of 10. ○ At the start of the relay there will be 9 facts for each group, for a total of 18 facts. ○ The student is to run to the board with their fact and tape it on the venn diagram where they think it should go. ○ This will be repeated 9 times for each group until everyone has a had a chance to go. ○ The team that wins gets a fun pencil. ● Break students up into two groups of 10 students. ● Show them the facts so they know where they are. (visual) ● Put each group in a straight line behind a line on the carpet. ● Start the relay! (kinesthetic) Summary: ● Once the relay is done, have the students come back to the carpet. ● Go over the venn diagram with the students. (auditory) ● Correct any facts that were in the wrong circle of the diagram. ● Have the students read the facts aloud. (auditory) Materials: ● Money worksheet (see attached) ●
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Coins Whiteboard Dry erase marker Pencils Washington and Lincoln fact cards (see attached) Evaluation Part A: The students will be assessed on the venn diagram activity about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The students will be expected to correctly place 15/18, or 80%, of the facts on the venn diagram to meet the objective. The students will also be expected to understand the value of a quarter and a penny and add them together using various amounts to equal to $2.00 or under. The students will meet the objective if they are able to 4/6 questions correctly on the counting worksheet. Evaluation Part B: What were the strengths and weaknesses of this lesson? How did this lesson accommodate the needs of all students? How could you change the lesson if you were to teach it again? Did the students meet the objective? PRESIDENT PRESENTATION Dear Families, For the past week we have been studying two famous Americans: George Washington, the 1st president of the United States, and Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president. We have spent our time learning about their lives and their accomplishments. The students should know facts about each president and what they have done to improve the lives of other Americans. With this knowledge, they will be able to complete their final project. Students will choose either George Washington or Abraham Lincoln with a sign­up sheet in class. Students will put together all of the information we have learned in class onto a posterboard. They will be able to use their notes and handouts to complete their posterboard. Using their posterboard, they will be able to “become” the president they have chosen and do a presentation as the president. (See images above as examples.) Students will be expected to meet the criteria listed in the grading rubrics. Copies are attached. One rubric is what is expected for the posterboard. The second rubric is what is expected for the oral presentation. Presentations will be held on ________________. Please help your child to remember to bring his or her posterboard on presentation day. Thank you! President Project Directions 1. Students will choose between either Abraham Lincoln or George Washington to do their project on. They will sign up on the sign up sheet in class. 2. Once the student has signed up, they will compile all the information they know about their president. 3. The student will fill out the sheet included in the packet. They are to fill in all the facts on the sheet. This will help them in completing their poster. 4. The student will then complete their poster with all the information from the info sheet they completed. 5. Make sure to be creative and include pictures. 6. Cut a hole out in the middle of the poster for the student to be able to stick their head 7. Bring the poster on the due date and be ready to present! 8. Have fun with it!! Supplies: Notes on president Posterboard Markers Scissors Glue Creativity Unit Resources Books: ● Who Was George Washington​
by Roberta Edward, illustrated by True Kelley ○ This book is a great introduction to George Washington and what his life was like. This is perfect for students to read during the beginning of the unit to have a basic understanding of George Washington. ● “My Book about George Washington” booklet https://www.teachervision.com/presidents­day/teacher­resources/6658.html ○ This booklet contains more information about George Washington and provides questions at the end for students to answer. This is a great resource for students to quiz themselves on George Washington, and it gives them to opportunity to also have fun and color the pages. This is something they can keep with them while doing the final project. ● Who Was Abraham Lincoln ​
by Janet Pascal, illustrated by John O’Brien ○ This book is also a great introduction to Abraham and what his life was like. This is perfect for students to read during the beginning of the unit to have a basic understanding of Abraham Lincoln. ● “My Book about Abraham Lincoln” booklet https://www.teachervision.com/presidents/printable/43294.html ○ This booklet also contains more information about Abraham Lincoln and provides questions at the end for students to answer. This is a great resource for students to quiz themselves on Abraham Lincoln, and it gives them to opportunity to also have fun and color the pages. This is something they can keep with them while doing the final project. Videos: ● The American Presidents: George Washington ​
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm5uPqucnHk ○ This is a short, fun video that contains more fun facts about George Washington that we haven’t necessarily covered during the first day. This video also goes over facts and fictions about him, which perfectly ties into our SOL on the second day. ● The American Presidents: Abraham Lincoln​
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFABcUUJMrI ○ This video about Abraham Lincoln is done in the same style as the George Washington one. It has fun music and animations and will keeps kids engaged, while they learn new things about Abraham Lincoln. This is also a video they could watch with their parents at home. ● The President! ​
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlADgcjI2W0 ○ This is a really fun, short video that is a song about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington that includes fun facts about each of them. You could use this video as extra credit if students sung it in front of the class, or had them sing it in groups or write another verse. Media: ● Computers ○ Computers will be used during our second lesson, for students to make a poster about themselves running for president. It’s important that our students are technology fluent, and having a lesson that incorporates technology will insure that. ● Powerpoint presentation: ○ https://teacher.ocps.net/donald.hilyer/media/​
washington​
spresidency.​
ppt ○ This powerpoint presentation covers the main points of George Washington’s life and his accomplishments. This is a great overview of the information we want children to remember about him. ● Projector/Smartboard ○ This will be used to show the videos on as well as other important features during the unit. It is a great resource to be able to show sources from the computer and websites. Art Supplies: ● Markers, colored pencils, scissors, construction paper, pencils, tape, posterboard ○ During our unit plan, we have several activities that incorporate art. It’s important to have activities that meet the learning needs of all of our students, and incorporating art will make sure everyone is learning fairly­ and having fun. Worksheets: ● Lincoln Word search ○ Students will use this word search to practice key terms that are known for for Abraham Lincoln. This could be used as a filler activity when children have some free time. ○ https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/TCR/0615_144.pdf Music: ● George Washington song ○ This can be used as a transitional song when changing subjects. It can also be played while students are working on assignments. It is educational and has a lot of good facts! ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaBt0nnV_L0 ● Abraham Lincoln and George Washington song ○ This can be used as a transitional song when changing subjects. It can also be played while students are working on assignments. It is educational and has a lot of good facts! ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XWjA1hm4U