Abe Lincoln's Dream

Smith, Lane. (2012). Abe Lincoln's Dream. New York, New York: Roaring Book Press

The ghost of Abe Lincoln keeps coming back every year because he can't rest until he knows the fate of the nation. A nice young lady on a tour of the White House helps to show him what has happened since he passed. She takes him across DC and even to the moon to show him how far the U.S. has come, but also how far we can go.

Connecting to the Standard
Grade 3 RI (1): Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answer

Grade 3 RI (2): Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Grade 3 RI (3): Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Grade 3 W (2): Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details. c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information. d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

• Though this text is not necessarily non-fiction, it does have informative parts to it, mostly about US history. 

Learning Objectives

Students will learn how to understand an historical fiction book that is informative and how to engage in research on the topics introduced in the story. Students will be able to research using a variety of resources including internet, library, etc. Students will also learn to use word-processing applications to create their informative writing.

Adapted to the Classroom

This lesson will also incorporate some Social Studies/History standards.

After doing a teacher-guided classroom read, students will engage in a research process on the changes that have occurred in the social and political landscape of the country since the time of Abraham Lincoln's passing. Why might Lincoln be happy with changes that have been made based off of the progress he started making during his presidency? Students should choose one topic to write on and be able to explain and support their reasons behind why the progress they chose would make President Lincoln happy. Students will present their findings in an essay which will be written using a word-processing application on the computer. 

Bloom's Taxonomy

What is the main idea of the story? (Comprehension)

Why are the things shown by the little girl significant? (Application)

Choose a topic of progress and support your reasoning why President Lincoln would be happy with it. (Evaluation)

Differentiation

Giving students who struggle with research and writing extra support is important during this assignment. It may be helpful to have individual meetings with students to check their progress over the course of the research process and writing process.