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Common Core Reading: Analyze the
Gettysburg Address
The following questions address the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts,
specifically the Reading Standards for Informational Text, for grade 6 students. Following each
question are the numbers of the standards the question covers.
On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech at a memorial service
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, several months after the Battle of Gettysburg took place. Visit the
Library of Congress exhibitions page to view an image of the Gettysburg Address:
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/GettysburgAddress/exhibitionitems/ExhibitObjects/NicolayCopy.aspx.
Click on “View Transcription” to see a text version of the speech. Use the text of the Gettysburg
Address itself, along with Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg, to answer
the following questions.
• What was President Lincoln’s main message in this speech? List three specific examples from
the text that support this message. (1, 2)
• In paragraph 1, what does it mean that the nation was “conceived in liberty”? How do you
know? (1, 4)
• In paragraph 3, what does Lincoln mean by “a new birth of freedom”? Why do you think so?
Cite text from the speech to support your interpretation. (1, 4)
• How does the first paragraph of the speech fit into the overall structure of the text? Why is it
first? How does it contribute to Lincoln’s main message? (1, 4)
• What do you think Lincoln was trying to accomplish when he gave this speech? What parts
of the speech make you think so? (1, 6)
• Both the Gettysburg Address and Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg
discuss the Battle of Gettysburg. Compare and contrast the ways that these two documents
present the events of the battle. List at least two ways they are similar. List at least two ways
they are different. Use specific details from both texts in your answer. (1, 3, 6)
™
Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg
by Tanya Anderson
LB ISBN: 978-1-4677-0692-6
Copyright © 2013 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™ are trademarks
of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.lernerbooks.com