Life of Abraham Lincoln Timeline Activity

Activity Overview

The highest member of the Executive Branch is the president of the United States. The U.S. has had forty-five presidents and each one of them has had a great impact on the country.

Students will research a president and create a timeline of the major events of their lives. The timeline of the president should span his life and include his path to the White House, along with any events that occurred after the presidency. The suggestions below provide a mix of events and other factual aspects of the presidents’ lives.

For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options and adjust the instructions accordingly.

Possible topics to research:

The education of the president
Laws passed while in office
Possible service in the military
Possible service in Congress
Controversies surrounding the president
Notable children
Hobbies or interests
Political viewpoints

Extended Activity

For this extended activity, students will either continue with the president from the previous activity, or select a new president. Students will create a storyboard that visualizes specific quotes from their president. Students will select the quotes that they found to be the most profound and insert the quote in the text below the storyboard. Students will then visualize the meaning of the quote in the space above it.

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Template and Class Instructions

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

Create a timeline outlining the life of one of the Presidents of the United States.

Click "Start Assignment".
Add additional cells as needed.
Identify important events and moments in that president's life and type them into the titles of each cell.
Write a summary of the event in the description box.
Create an illustration using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
Save and exit when you're done.

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Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 6-12

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual or Group

Type of Activity: Timelines

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Rubric

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)

Timeline

Create a timeline of important events and people, and explain their significance. Make sure the dates are correct, and the Photos for Class pictures are historically accurate or significant.

	Proficient 33 Points	Emerging 25 Points	Beginning 17 Points
Events and Dates	The events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. The dates provided are correct.	Most of the events chosen for the timeline are significant and important to the overall understanding of the time period. Most of the dates provided are correct.	Some of the events chosen for the timeline are significant. There may be missing events, or events that are irrelevant. Too many dates may be incorrect.
Explanations/Descriptions	The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are accurate and provide insight into the significance of the events.	The explanations or descriptions provided for each event are mostly accurate and attempt to provide insight into the significance of the events.	There are several glaring inaccuracies in the explanations or descriptions of the events. There may be little or no insight int the significance of the events, or the information provided may be too limited or missing.
English Conventions	There are 0-2 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics.	There are 3-4 mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics.	There are 5 or more mistakes in spelling, grammar, and mechanics.