Second graders at Northwood Elementary School had a visit from none other than Abraham Lincoln as part of their study of the Civil War.
Students first learned about characters who reflect people that existed during that time in history, such as soldiers, nurses, abolitionists, freed slaves, a family that owns a general store in town, along with “stars” like Harriet Tubman, Ulysses S. Grant, John Clem and Clara Barton.
The students were given the chance to learn a bit about each “character” and chose three that they would like to portray. Their teacher assigned one of the three and over the course of about five weeks they got into character and learned about the trials and tribulations of living in 1864 Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
The students then wrote an autobiography about the person and several journal entries from their character’s perspective.
“There are many amazing books, articles and stories that are shared about these heroes and local heroes, such as Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony,” said Sheri Carter, teacher. “This is an amazing unit for the children to get immersed in history and to learn about what was happening to our country, but more importantly to our ancestors during this terrible time.”
The culminating event is a town meeting with Abraham Lincoln (played by actor Fritz Klein), who shared what life was like during Lincoln’s time and spoke to the students while they remained in character. He shared Lincoln’s words of wisdom, such as “Do for others as you would want done for yourself” and “Equal pay for equal work.”
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