Remembering People Without Inventing Stories

Supplied materials

• Paper and pencil; drawing or spoken answers are welcome.
• Topic notes: George Washington: the first president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln: U.S. president during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman: a freedom seeker who helped others escape slavery. Rosa Parks: a civil-rights activist associated with the Montgomery bus boycott.
• Original exercise cards: A card identifies the nation’s first president. / A card identifies the president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation. / A card describes an Underground Railroad conductor who had escaped slavery. / A card describes a woman whose 1955 bus arrest helped spark a boycott. / A card describes the president serving during the 1861–1865 war. / A card describes a woman who guided other enslaved people toward freedom. / A card names the activist who challenged segregated bus seating in Montgomery. / A card describes a president who took office in 1789.

Learn the idea

Historical people lived in the past, but a story about them must fit evidence. George Washington became the first U.S. president. Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman helped enslaved people reach freedom. Rosa Parks challenged racial segregation. None of these descriptions tells a whole life.

George Washington: the first president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln: U.S. president during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman: a freedom seeker who helped others escape slavery. Rosa Parks: a civil-rights activist associated with the Montgomery bus boycott.

Use the person’s job or action in the card. Match it with the person named in the notes. Ask an adult to read the notes and cards aloud. Point, draw or say your answer.

1. Ask an adult to read the four notes. Find the words George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks.
2. Use the person’s job or action in the card. Match it with the person named in the notes.
3. Read the worked answer. Then try the other cards and explain which words helped you choose.
4. Point to, draw or say two different examples: one for George Washington and one for Abraham Lincoln. Explain how their clues differ.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

New card: “A card describes a president who took office in 1789.” Match it with a note, then point to or say the words that helped. Check: The card says: “A card describes a president who took office in 1789.” That matches George Washington. George Washington is the first president of the United States.

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