On the Trail of Lincoln’s Life

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One of the easiest — and quickest — ways to grab the attention of students is to show them other things that happened on today's date in history. I have a national and international happening posted, and scattered throughout the month, I also have a "weird event" from history.

A "today's date" approach is also excellent to begin a study of any major historical figure, such as Abraham Lincoln. Find out "what was happening in. . ." by visiting This Week in Lincoln History. After your class sees what was happening this week in Lincoln's life, your next stop can be Hodgenville, Kentucky, to look at the Lincoln birthplace.

Are your students clamoring for more after discovering Hodgenville? Take them to Historic Places Connected with Abraham Lincoln. You can start at his birthplace, then weave your way from law offices to statehouses to your final stop, the Lincoln Memorial. There are good photo tours that start here.

No exploration of Abraham Lincoln's life and accomplishments is complete without looking at his speeches and writings. Choose from the Selected Speeches of Abraham Lincoln or the Writings of Abraham Lincoln, or both, as you need them for your particular classes.

Lastly the Bartlett's Quotations Abraham Lincoln 1809–1865 site provides five famous quotes from Lincoln. Ending the unit with quotes such as these ones has always proven to be a powerful way to put closure to this era — yet keep it open for future reference. Former students continue to return for visits, telling me how the quotes they learned in class still hold powerful truths for them — years later!

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