2. recognize some of the many ways we remember and honor Abraham Lincoln.

1. Show the children a picture of Abraham Lincoln from a book or poster. Ask the children if they recognize this person. Explain that Abraham Lincoln was a very famous and important president of the United States. Remind the children that George Washington was our very first president and Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president. Stress to the children that these men did not live at the same time and that George Washington died ten years before Abraham Lincoln was even born. Show pictures of clothing and modes of transportation from Washington and Lincoln's time.

2. Ask the children what they already know about Abraham Lincoln. List the children's responses on chart paper.

Read the book Young Abraham Lincoln: Log-Cabin President , by Andrew Woods. Discuss what new information the children learned from listening to the book. Add the new information from the story to the chart. Ask the children why Lincoln was such a special person and what were some of the important things that he did. Introduce the topic of slavery and the different feelings people had about it, including Lincoln's opinion.

3. With the children's help make a chronological list of the major events in Lincoln's life from birth until his death (birth, childhood chores in Kentucky, going to school, reading and learning on his own, moving to Indiana at seven, working and reading as a young adult, his early job, shop keeper, becoming a lawyer, becoming president, and the Civil War). Have the children work in pairs to draw or paint a picture depicting one of the stages of Lincoln's life. Have the children describe their pictures and write it down to make a caption under each picture. Hang the finished pictures in chronological order in the hall or on a bulletin board to create a time line of Lincoln's life.

4. Read and discuss the poems about Lincoln in My First Presidents' Day Book , by Aileen Fisher. Some of the poems could be written in enlarged form on chart paper. These poems can be used for shared reading experiences and then displayed in appropriate places on the picture time line created by the children.

Activity 2

1. Have children work in small groups, possibly during a center time to examine pennies. Discuss what a penny is made of and what is found on the front and back of it. Children could do rubbings of Lincoln's picture on the head of a penny, using colored pencils.

2. Have children make "Penny Pendant" from Teaching Kindergarten: A Theme Centered Curriculum , by B. Walmsley, A. Camp, and S. Walmsley. Give each child a piece of string about 16" in length along the inside of the fold. Glue the folded 2" square paper closed. Next have the children glue a shinny penny, (face up with Lincoln's face showing) onto the square. Let children decorate their penny pendent using markers and crayons.

2. Sing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again," a traditional folk song from Abraham Lincoln's time. Have children march playing follow-the-leader as they march.