By Erin Carlson Mast
Contributed to by Mr. Rope’s Third Grade Class
On January 23, 2008, Hearst Elementary 3rd Graders, their teacher, Mr. Rope, and librarian, Elizabeth Vandivier, visited President Lincoln’s Cottage. Mr. Rope’s class was the second class to visit the site after restoration work was finished and prior to the grand opening, which meant they were one of the first groups to get the full experience at President Lincoln’s Cottage.
The students participated in “Lincoln’s Hat,” a new program about Lincoln’s writing process developed by Curator of Education Jill Sanderson. The program meets standards of learning in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. For more information on this and other programs see: http://lincolncottage.org/visit/education/.
As part of the visit, students toured President Lincoln’s Cottage. They learned about why Lincoln came to the Soldiers’ Home and about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which he began working on his first summer here in 1862.
The day after their visit, several students wrote an essay about their experience and submitted it to the Northwest Current for publication (anticipated, January 30, 2008). Their essay begins:
“We had a special opportunity last week to go to President Abraham Lincoln’s cottage at the Soldiers’ Home on Rock Creek Church Road. The cottage hasn’t opened to the public yet, and we were only the second school class to visit.
President Lincoln’s cottage is awesome. It has a brand new Visitors Center and museum. It had pictures of Abraham Lincoln and his family. It also showed Union soldiers and supporters in the Civil War when Lincoln was President. The museum had displays and videos telling about many parts of his life.”
Read their full essay here: Hearst Elementary Third Grade Trip to President Lincoln’s Cottage
We look forward to welcoming many more students to President Lincoln’s Cottage in the coming months.
Ms. Erin Mast is Curator at President Lincoln’s Cottage. Special thanks to Mr. Rope’s Third Grade Class from Hearst Elementary for allowing us to publish their essay and share photos of their visit.
Categories:Archive, Education, Teacher Resources, Testimonials
Tags:President Lincoln's Cottage, Student Groups
