After a conversation with the CEO/president, I’ve been recruited to write lesson plans for the Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s Warning Signs project, teaching about the attitudes and reactions of various people when things that ultimately contributed to the war occurred. I mentioned that I knew about about the Dredd and Harriet Scott situation made worse by the decision of the state Supreme Court of the time. The message I received immediately following our discussion explains it better: |
Thank you very much for taking the time to discuss our Warning Signs project. We appreciate your willingness to participate and look forward to working with you to help provide inquiry-based resources.
Our goal is for lesson plans to be user-friendly for teachers. They will encourage students to use critical thinking skills to better understand what caused the Civil War, how Lincoln and others questioned the ways powerful people were interpreting the constitution, why it is important to learn from history and how these events are relevant to today. Events like the Dred Scott decision can help to teach students why it is important to look at the perspectives of others and be informed, engaged and empathetic citizens
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