Abraham Lincoln

A Photobiography By Russell Freedman

Reading
Goals

Class Outline
•Author and Genre Spotlight
•Etymology
•Slavery in America
•An Introduction to the Civil War
•Vocabulary
•Comprehension & Discussion Questions
•Language Study - That then, this now
•Homework
Reading

Author Spotlight
Russell Freedman was born in 1929 and wrote nearly 50 books, many of
which were biographies or other non-fiction books. In 1988 he won one
of the most prestigious literary prizes, the Newberry Medal, for the
book ”Abraham Lincoln: A Photobiography.

Biographies are books that tell the stories of people’s lives. It involves
more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and
death; it describes a person's experience of these life events.

1) Why would an author like Russell Freedman write mostly

biographies?
2) Have you read any other biographies?
Reading

Genre Spotlight
Lincoln: A Photobiography is a non-fiction biography, that
re-tells the ”true” story of Lincoln’s life.
The author writes in a chronological format. This means
that he starts with a brief chapter that introduces Lincoln,
and then the next chapters follow Lincoln’s life in time
order, or from beginning to end. The author also decided
to include dozens of pictures.
1) What do you think the pictures add to the story,
or the reader’s understanding of the book?
2) If you search through the book now, what pictures
stand out to you? Why?
3) What do the pictures tell you about Lincoln’s life?
4) Do fiction books have this many pictures? Why or
why not?
Reading

Etymology
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way
in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

Take a look at the root words below. Notice where the word
originated and their meanings.
• Photo: Greek – phos or photos, meaning “light“
• Bio: Greek – meaning “life”
• Graph: Greek – meaning ”to write”

From the root words, we learn that a “Photobiography” is a written

story of someone’s life, with pictures, or images made with light!
Reading

Slavery in America
Slavery, or the owning of people as property, began with slaves stolen from the
West Indies in 1619 to help cultivate tobacco.
During the Continental Convention of 1787, the official formation of the
United States, many people wanted to abolish slavery, while others wanted to
keep it. A compromise was made and slavery became a part of the USA, mostly
in the southern states.
By 1860 there were almost 4 million slaves in America, who were vital to the
economy of the Southern states. However, many people in the North and South
wanted the practice to end.
At the time he took office in 1860, Lincoln was not against slavery, he just did
not want it to expand to any more states.
Reading

The American Civil War - An Introduction

November December January February April 12,
6, 1860 20, 1860 1861 1861 1861
Abraham Lincoln
South The southern
elected President Six Southern
Carolina states form a
of the United more forces
secedes, or government and
States. He is the states open fire on
leaves, choose
first president seced Fort Sumter
the United Jefferson Davis
against the e and the Civil
States to become their
spreading of War begins
of America. president.
slavery in the
United States
• The two sides were 28 states that made up the Union, or
Northern Army, and 11 states that made up the Southern
or Confederate Army.???
Reading

Pre-Reading Discussion
Abraham Lincoln had to do a very difficult thing for this time period but
he still decided to stand up against slavery in order to make America a
better place.
1) What does the underlined phrase mean in the above statement?
2) What do you think he sacrificed for this viewpoint?
3) What do you think would be most difficult about knowing you were
leading your country into war because of your beliefs?
4) Would you have made the same decision?
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Chapter 1
Witty The Mysterious Mr. Lincoln
Definition: Someone that is funny or clever.
Sentence: My friend is witty; he’s always making funny jokes.
Ambitious
Definition: A person that strongly desires to achieve something: wealth,
power, fame.
Sentence: Everyone knows he’s ambitious; he wants to be a doctor someday.
Homely
Definition: Looking plain or unattractive.
Sentence: Tim is not a handsome man; he is homely.
1) In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a great leader?
2) Is it important that they are ambitious or that they are witty?
3) Based on the first chapter, do you think Lincoln had these characteristics?
How do you know?
Vocabulary

Vocabulary Chapter
Reticent
Definition: Quiet, inclined not to speak.
The Mysterious Mr. Lincoln
Question: Do you know anyone who is reticent?
Logical
Definition: A person who thinks rationally and with reason.
Question: How do you know a person is logical?
Humble
Definition: Meek, modest, not arrogant.
Sentence: Even though she had many successes, she was still a humble person.
Eloquent
Definition: Well-spoken, good with words.
Activity: Use “eloquent” in a sentence

1) Which of the above words would you say describe you?

2) Are there any that you hope someone would use to describe you someday?
 Comprehension

Comprehension Check Chapter 1

The first chapter presents many positive and negative characteristics of Abraham
Lincoln. Write as many positives – and negatives – as you can find in Chapter 1 below.
Are there any characteristics that fit in both categories?
Positives Negatives
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Language Study - That then, this now

Abraham Lincoln did not have much formal education and the author of this book
introduces much of Lincoln’s authentic speech and language from Lincoln’s time.
• The author also includes Lincoln’s • Can you tell the meaning of the
unusual pronunciation. Here are a few underlined words from the sentence?
examples below. Can you find more? • He said “howdy” to visitors and
• Larned - Learned invited them to “stay a spell.”
• Git - Get • (Lincoln’s school) was called a “blab
• Eddication - Education school.”
• Thar - There Pupils…bawled their lessons aloud.
• Kin – Can • He was certainly a humorous man.
Famous for his rollicking stories…He
Why do you think the author included relied on his “yarns,” to whistle down
these unusual words and pronunciations?
Questions

Discussion Questions - Chapter 1

“No black leader was more critical of Lincoln than the fiery
abolitionist* writer and editor Frederick Douglass.” (pg. 12)

1) Why was Frederick Douglass critical of Lincoln?

2) Douglass’ view later changed, why? What did Lincoln do that made
Douglass see him in a new light?
3) Lincoln eventually changed his mind about slavery, what do you think
caused this change?

*An abolitionist is someone who wants to abolish, or end, slavery

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Vocabulary Chapter 2
A Backwoods Boy
Draw a line to match the word on the left to the definition on the right.
Backwoods • Clear Speaking
Frontier • Hard Work
Pioneer • Resistant
Crude • Carve in Wood
Whittled • Unexplored Area
Physical Labor • Natural or Raw
Elocution • Remote Forest
Defiant • First
1) Would you describe Lincoln more as a city person or a country person?
2) What about yourself? Are you “A backwoods boy or girl?” Or are you
a ”City Slicker?”
Reading

Comprehension Check - Chapter 2

Choose one of the questions below. Give evidence from the text
to support your answer.

1) Where did Abraham Lincoln get his education? What does it tell you about his
family situation?
2) What was the ”milk sickness”? How did it affect Lincoln?
3) How was Lincoln like his father?
4) What skills or characteristics helped Lincoln fit in wherever he went?
5) What were some of Lincoln’s successes as a young man? What were some of
his failures?

In question #4, what does the phrase “fit in” mean?

Questions

Discussion Questions Chapter 2

“Abraham Lincoln never liked to talk much about his early life. A poor backwards
farm boy, he grew up swinging an ax on frontier homesteads in Kentucky, Indiana,
and Illinois.”
Lincoln suffered many hardships as a child.
1) What do you think was the most difficult thing to happen to Lincoln as a boy?
2) Does the author give any hints, or foreshadow, as to how Lincoln will escape his
situation?
(Hint: Think about what the author mentions Lincoln is good at.)

3) Do you face any hardships? Explain.

Questions

Discussion Questions
Chapter 2 - A Backwoods Boy

Lincoln lived from the years 1809 to 1865.

1) How was his life different from yours?
2) Are there any ways in which your life is similar to his?

Starting on Page 26, the author tells the story of Lincoln’s life as a young man.
If you had to choose one word to describe Lincoln during this time, what would
it be?
What in the text makes you feel that way?
Homework

Homework
In Chapters 1 and 2, the author focuses on who Lincoln was as a
person.
Imagine someone is writing a biography about you. What
characteristics would you want them to highlight? What events
in your life would make good stories?
Write a short biography of yourself focusing on your
characteristics and one or two important events.