A guide for using our resources

Students will discuss Abe Lincoln’s life when he was a child.

Vocabulary: president, ax, stovepipe hat

Social Studies Focus: presidents

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RI.1.1 key details; RF.1.2 consonant blends; RF.1.3 decode words; RI.1.3 problem and solution; RI.1.5 text features; RI.1.10 read and discuss first-grade texts

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Follow young Abe Lincoln on an adventure with a childhood friend.

• Make a chart with the headings “Young Abe” and “Our Class.”
• Make a column on the left of the chart and write down topics from the article: What special treats do you like to eat? What do you use to see in the dark? What is one way you help out? What games do you like to play?
• As you read about each category, fill in the chart with information about Young Abe and information students provide about their own lives.

• After reading, go back into the article to fi nd words that begin with these consonant blends. Students can practice blending and reading them aloud.

Skill: fine-motor skills, writing

Materials: construction paper, markers, scissors, tape, sticky notes, and pencils

• Students consider what is most important to them as they make their own stovepipe “hat.”
• Provide students with construction paper and markers. Students can draw their own self-portrait on the paper before working on their hat.
• Using dark construction paper, have students cut out rectangle shapes to make a “stovepipe hat.” Refer to photos of Abe Lincoln for inspiration!
• Students can glue their hat onto their self-portrait. Next, cut an additional rectangle and tape a flap on top of the hat.
• When students have fi nished their stovepipe hats, pass out sticky notes or other small pieces of paper. Remind students that Abe Lincoln kept important papers in his hat. What is something important they would keep in their hats? Students can write down what is important to them and hide their ideas in the flap of their hat!