Activities to Enhance Your Social Studies Unit

• Activity 1: Students learn about Reagan and Lincoln through an online Scavenger Hunt

• Activity 2: Students read actual sheet music from the Civil War and Lincoln's funeral

• Activity 3: Students pretend to be Lincoln or Reagan. Links offered for online researching.

• Activity 4: Read a manuscript from the perspective of a former slave who experienced the Civil War and who thinks she met Lincoln.

• Links to Pictures of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan with a sample slide show

• Bibliography

The activities and picture links listed on the left side are meant to enrich your current Social Studies curriculum. Two activities use primary sources that help us learn about the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Two other activities do not use primary sources, but provide your students with age-appropriate research opportunities so they can form a knowledge base with which associate both Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. 

Finally, I have included links to many incredible pictures (mostly concerning Abraham Lincoln). You could produce a slide show or simply direct your students to the appropriate links to enhance their ability to visualize various historical moments and nostalgia.

Although, I am using these activities to enhance my unit on Illinois history, teachers from other states could definitely apply these activities to their lessons on Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, the Civil War, slavery, or any other way that fits your curriculum. Enjoy!

Grade Level:4-5
Time Frame: Each activity's time frame is listed by the title of the activity
Subject Matter: presidents
Category: American History

Technology Required: Access to the internet, PowerPoint (optional), CD player (optional), video camera (optional)

Assessment tools can be found within the activities.

Illinois State Standards:

• 14.D.2 Explain ways that individuals and groups influence and shape public policy

• 16.A.2a Read historical stories and determine events which influenced their writing

• 16.a.2b Compare different stories about an historical figure or event and analyze differences in the portrayals and perspectives the present.

• 16.A.2c Ask questions and seek answers by collecting and analyzing data from historic documents, images, and other literary and non-literary sources.

Rebecca Ihlendorf
St. Sylvester School
DePaul University
ihlendorf203@yahoo.com