Kindergarteners Go Around The World: Week 18 ~ United States (Abraham Lincoln)
This post is part of the series “Around the World in 28 Weeks: Art, Literature & Geography Lessons for Kindergarten.” For an introduction, overview of the entire course, and links to more lesson plans, please click here. Thank you for visiting Cotton Ridge Homeschool!
Introduction to Week 18
This week you will be returning with the children in your class to the continent of North America and traveling to the country of the United States. You can do the lesson plan activities in the order that you prefer.
Below is a Printable Lesson Plan Schedule for the entire 28 weeks, a blank lesson plan grid, and printable supply and book lists. Just click on the thumbnails below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.
Prep Work
- Gather books and supplies (see checklists below)
- Print out handouts and 3-hole punch them for notebooks (see checklists below)
Thanks for joining us!
Disclosure: The books and supply links below lead to products on Amazon. I am an affiliate and will receive a small commission if these links are used to make a purchase.
Week 18 Lesson Plan
Date and Destination
Date: Second Week of February**
Continent: North America
Country: United States
Pretend Passport: Please see Week 2 for suggestions on how to use the Play Passports
Reading (10 – 15 minutes)
Story: The Story of Abraham Lincoln
Discussion: Define unfamiliar words. Ask questions to determine reading comprehension; tailor these to your children’s ages and abilities. Depending on the size of your class and as time permits, try to allow each child to participate. Don’t drag this part on too long or your kids will lose interest. Here are a few to get you started:
- Did you like the story? Why or why not?
- What was your favorite part?
- Questions based on the Who?, What?, Why?, When?, and How? of a story are great for getting kids thinking.
Geography (5 – 15 minutes)
Globe or Wall Map Activity: With your class,
- find the Continent of North America
- find the country of the United States
- find the capitol of the United States: Washington, DC
- trace a path on the map with your finger from Kentucky to Indiana to Illinois to Washington, DC. These are four of the places President Lincoln lived during his lifetime.
I have been allowing the kids to take turns putting little dot stickers
Map Handout*: Pass out the Map Handout to your class and allow them to color the page as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.
Below is a free printable Map Handout in PDF format. Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, download to your computer or open in Adobe Reader before printing.
Art (30 – 40 minutes)
Open-Ended Art: Wooden Sculptures
This idea was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood log cabin homes. You may want to make a few samples to generate some ideas.
You Will Need:
- Wooden shapes
from a craft store in various sizes and shapes
- Craft sticks in different sizes
- Toothpicks
- Tacky glue
- Markers
Provide materials listed above to your class and instruct them to build and create as they please. They can make a miniature “log” cabin, a box, a frame, flowers, free form sculptures, etc. If the kids would like to color their work, markers work very well.
Alternate Activity
Lincoln Logs
Other Activities (10 – 15 minutes)
Facts and Flag Handout*: Pass out these handouts to your class and allow them to color the pages as time permits. You may want this to be the last activity of your class so they can be kept busy until the next class starts or until their parents pick them up. Have the kids place their handouts in their World Traveler Notebook (3-ring binder) before they leave.
Just click on the thumbnail below to open and view. For best results, open in Adobe Reader before printing.
*If there is not time in class, provide these as handouts for the kids to do at home. The pages can go in their World Traveler Notebooks as a record of their journeys.
**Our homeschool coop begins during the last week of August, but the Around the World course can be started at any time of year. Some re-arranging of the weekly plans may be necessary due to holidays, but with a little planning ahead of time, this should be very manageable.
Supply Lists
General Supply List
- Globe
- 3-Ring Binder
for each child for handouts, 1-1/2″ size
- 3-Hole Punch
- Date Stamp
- Markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils
- Roll of paper towels
- Computer and Printer (color printer
Week 18 Supply List
- The Story of Abraham Lincoln
- Passports and World Traveler Notebooks for each child from Week 1
- Printables from this post: Travel Tickets, Passport Stamps, Map Handout, and Facts & Flag Handout
Week 18 Art Supply List
- Wooden shapes from a craft stores in various sizes and shapes
- Craft sticks in different sizes
- Toothpicks
- Tacky glue
Copyright 2015 Kathryn Depew
Image of Abraham Lincoln Memorial from flickr.com used under the Creative Commons license. Image credits: Gage Skidmore.
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