Last updated: March 8, 2019
Lesson Plan
“There I Grew Up…” A. Lincoln - (Little Pigeon Creek Community)
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 30 Minutes
- State Standards:
- Indiana Curriculum Standards: 1.1.1, 2.1.1, 3.1.2, 4.1.6, 4.3.8
Essential Question
What significance is the name of Lincoln's Boyhood Town, the Little Pigeon Creek Community?
Objective
Students will have an understanding of the reason behind the name of the community of which the Lincolns were a part.
Background
The Passenger Pigeons "literally formed clouds, and floated through the air in a frequent succession of these as far as the eye could reach, sometimes causing a sensible gust of wind, and a considerable motion of the trees over which they flew." Audubon observed, "Multitudes are seen, sometimes, in groups, at the estimate of a hundred and sixty-three flocks in 21 minutes. The noonday light is then darkened as by an eclipse, and the air filled with the dreamy buzzing of their wings."
Where did it get its name?
When the Lincolns settled in this area, it wasn't called Lincoln City. Instead, the settlement was named the Little Pigeon Creek Community, which got its name for the many passenger pigeons that lived in the Southern Indiana woods. Those pigeons are now extinct, which means they no longer exist. Today, there are laws against killing birds or animals in most National Parks. These laws protect endangered species, which might be living within park boundaries, and hopefully, help to keep other species from becoming extinct like the passenger pigeons.
Preparation
pieces of yarn, whistle, poster board or dry erase board
Procedure
Survival Game
1. Before the students arrive scatter the pieces of yarn around the playing field.
2. Explain to the class that they will have to hunt for worms like the passenger pigeons did to survive. Divide the group into 2-4 equal teams. Describe what the worms will look like.
3. Arrange the groups at the starting line. Tell them that when you say "go"(or use a whistle for starting and stopping), they must run out onto the playing field and find a worm. When they do, they must run back and sit with their group. Each group gets a point for each worm they find. The first group to have each bird find a worm and return, wins an extra 5 points.
4. After you have played one round, record onto the poster board the score.
5. For each round after, place a hunter onto the playing field. The hunter will "tag" as many birds as he can. Each bird that gets tagged must sit down. Play until all birds are tagged.
6. Explain that the passenger pigeons were hunted until they became extinct, (which means they no longer exist).
Related Lessons or Education Materials
In the fall of 1816 a dark-haired frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, toiled along a narrow trace leading through the dense forest of southern Indiana. Sixteen miles from the Ohio River, he came upon a scattering of dwellings lying just south of Little Pigeon Creek, in a region of towering hardwoods, plentiful game, and good water. Choosing a quarter section (160 acres) of government-surveyed land for a home site, he marked the corners with brush piles and notched the largest trees. Then he set out on the long trek back to his farm in Kentucky to settle his affairs and bring his family to their new wilderness home.
For Thomas, a carpenter and backwoods farmer, Indiana offered a fresh start. Here, he could own good soil, free of title disputes and the taint of slavery. Three times he had lost land in Kentucky because of title flaws, and others had claimed the fruits of his labor. Moreover, settlers were crowding in and slavery was becoming more controversial. So, he turned his eyes across the Ohio River, to vast new lands which held the promise of a better life.