Table 6: Lincoln at Gettysburg: Worksheet

Student Name(s): _____________________________________

Date: _________________________________________________

LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG

Please complete the following activities and questions as a group. When all of them are finished and each of you has completed an answer or comment, please return this sheet to your teacher and prepare to move on to the next table.


1. Take turns carefully trying on the Lincoln frock coat, top hat and beard (if you would like), and compare with the other images of Lincoln at the table (such as on the penny and $5 bill). Lincoln’s image is “iconic” or recognized by everyone the world over. What specifically, do you think, has made Lincoln so recognizable?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Lincoln had several achievements in writing as President, and next you will compare and contrast two documents from 1863: the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

2. See if you can match the definition cards to the correct words in each document, without looking on the back. (Blue definitions are for the Emancipation Proclamation, and yellow definitions are for words in the Gettysburg Address.) Read several sentences aloud with the definitions in place of the original words.

3. Write out descriptive labels with each of the phrases below to attach to the most appropriate document, in your opinion. Add a descriptive phrases of your own for each.

Legal
Poetic
Inspirational
Sad
Instructional
Wordy
[Your word or phrase for the Emancipation Proclamation.]
[Your word or phrase for the Gettysburg Address.]

4. What, in your opinion, was the main point or purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation, or the most important sentence or phrase?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

5. What, in your opinion, was the main point or purpose of the Gettysburg Address, or the most important sentence or phrase?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

6. Which document – the Emancipation Proclamation or the Gettysburg Address –accomplished each of the following (mark with E.P. or G.A. or both or neither)?

______ Freed slaves in certain states
______ Explained the beginnings of our country
______ Made it possible for former slaves to join the Union Army
______ Dedicated a resting place for soldiers killed at Gettysburg
______ Referenced the United States Constitution
______ Referenced ideals from the Declaration of Independence
______ Changed the meaning of the Civil War

7. Which document do you think achieved the most, and was the most effective? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

8. Look back at your answer for question #1. Now that you know a little more about President Lincoln’s writings and accomplishments in 1863, would you change your answer to the question as to why he is an iconic, universally recognizable, figure? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

OPTIONAL ACTIVITY:

If time, for a final activity, see if you can piece together the 10 sentences of the Gettysburg Address using only the five clues below, and without looking at a copy of the full speech.

Instructions:

Mix up and spread out onto the floor or large table the 10 laminated sentences of the Gettysburg Address. Use context and the following five clues to put the sentences in the proper order, as Lincoln delivered the speech on November 19, 1863.

Check your work with the full Gettysburg Address when you are ready.

Scoring:

-All 10 sentences in the correct order, your group members are MASTER ORATORS.
-7-9 sentences correct = CREDIBLE TOASTMASTERS.
-4 to 6 sentences correct = SPOKESPERSONS-IN-TRAINING.
-0 to 3 sentences correct = NEEDS-IMPROVEMENT NARRATORS.

CLUES TO THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

CLUE #1:
The speech first refers to the PAST with the founding ideals of the country.
CLUE #2:
The speech then goes to the PRESENT DAY, and gets specific about the occasion.
CLUE #3:
Lincoln talks NEXT about the importance of the battle and the sacrifices made by the soldiers buried around him in the Cemetery.
CLUE #4:
The eighth sentence of the Address is well know because of its IRONY, that is the inconsistency between what Lincoln said and what actually came to be. (Sub-hint: People the world over know about and memorize the Gettysburg Address even today.)
CLUE #5:
The final two sentences of the speech move the audience to the FUTURE, and their role in the days, years and generations ahead.