Helping kids learn about Lincoln

A Hardin County Schools employee joined 16 other teachers to make sure Kentucky students know their facts about the 16th president.

Elizabeth Lancaster, an exceptional child consultant for HCS, was part of a state-wide teacher network created by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Underground Railroad Research Institute at Georgetown College to create curriculum dealing with Abraham Lincoln.

The project was designed to honor the Lincoln Bicentennial and is available online at www.lincoln.georgetowncollege.edu/.

Lancaster said the network started meeting last fall, and met on several occasions at Georgetown to develop the curriculum. They were trained in Lincoln history, as well as on teaching strategies and developing lesson plans. Lincoln’s Kentucky heritage also was a factor.

“We just have a little tie to Lincoln here in Kentucky,” she said.

Lancaster said she was attracted to the opportunity because she enjoys developing curriculum and is interested in history. She mostly worked on the fourth- and fifth-grade lessons, which focus on Lincoln’s ties to the commonwealth and his leadership skills. The curriculum includes lessons for kindergarteners though 12th graders.

The teachers finished in the spring and, after the curriculum was reviewed, it was made available online