Education Programs
2024 - 2025
President Lincoln's Cottage
is an historic site and museum located in the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. Abraham Lincoln and his family lived here for over a quarter of his presidency. While in residence at the Cottage, Lincoln led the country through a grave national crisis, visited with wounded soldiers, spent time with self-emancipated men, women and children, and developed some of his greatest ideas, including the Emancipation Proclamation. The human cost of the Civil War surrounded him, undoubtedly impacted his thinking, and strengthened his resolve to challenge the status quo. Lincoln’s experiences at the Cottage provided him and those he influenced with new and diverse perspectives on issues of freedom, justice, and humility.
Every day we witness how the stories of President Lincoln’s Cottage have the power to bring out the leader in any person, inspiring courage, bravery, compromise, and empathy — all values foundational to President Lincoln. We’re dedicated to using our historic site to foster respectful dialogue and build a future of freedom and justice.
Throughout this guide, find descriptions of the innovative virtual and onsite education programs we offer to support you and your students as you navigate the school year, along with additional resources just for teachers.
Onsite Field Trips
Each of our onsite school programs includes a specialized tour of the Cottage, where Lincoln lived for three summers, along with a hands-on component. Our programs provide a remarkable window into Lincoln’s life, building social-emotional learning skills alongside historical thinking and civic inspiration.
Social Studies:
Tiger Days
Grades PK3-PK4
1 hour
can be modified, plan to spend 1.5 hours onsite.
36 student capacity larger groups possible with more time onsite
$7/student and $10/adult
While living at the Cottage, President Abraham Lincoln expressed his big ideas and reflected on his decisions. While here, Lincoln laughed when he heard a good joke, cried when he was sad, and went for walks when he needed a break. Join President Lincoln's Cottage in an exploration of your own emotions through storytelling, hands-on activities, and reflection. Program includes a group reading of Tiger Days: A Book of Feelings by M.H. Clark and illustrated by Ann Hurley, and the creation of a “feelings wheel” to build vocabulary and emotional awareness.
Lincoln’s Hat
Grades K - 3
1.5 hours
can be modified, plan to spend 2 hours onsite.
36 student capacity larger groups possible with more time onsite
$7/student and $10/adult
As a young man, Abraham Lincoln began forming his ideas on issues such as justice and freedom. As he grew, so too did his ideas. While living at the Cottage, President Lincoln developed his ideas on the Civil War and emancipation and turned these ideas into action. In Lincoln’s Hat, students discover the ideas that President Lincoln developed from notes he stored inside his signature stovepipe hat. Lincoln’s unique note-taking practice serves as a model to students as they develop their own creative ideas, articulate their values, and practice self-awareness and problem-solving skills. Following a reading of the book Abe Lincoln’s Hat (K–1st grade) or What Do You Do With an Idea? (2nd–3rd grade), a hands-on exercise provides students with a special place to keep their own powerful ideas.
I See the President
Grades 4 - 5
2 hours
can be modified, plan to spend 2.5 hours onsite
40 student capacity larger groups possible with more time onsite
$7/student and $10/adult
During the Civil War, President Lincoln commuted daily from the Cottage through the heart of Civil War Washington to the White House. Along the way, he encountered soldiers heading for the front lines; self-emancipated men, women, and children living in contraband camps; wounded soldiers; and Washington residents like Walt Whitman. These diverse people influenced Lincoln and his ideas on the Civil War and emancipation and taught him lessons that are still relevant to today’s students.
Lincoln’s desire to exchange ideas with those around him in order to gain new perspectives and better understand important issues serves as a model to young minds as they develop interpersonal awareness and learn to respect each other’s ideas. In I See the President, students explore the perspectives of the people President Lincoln interacted with on his daily commute from the Cottage to the White House and use them as inspiration to develop a plan for taking action in their community.
Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions
Grades 6 - 12
1.5 hours
can be modified, plan to spend 2 hours onsite
36 student capacity larger groups possible with more time onsite
$7/student and $10/adult
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency was marked by the development of big ideas and nation-changing actions. A key element of Lincoln’s collaborative process was to consult the ideas of those around him while leading the country through turmoil toward a new birth of freedom. Lincoln’s approach provides a model for students to develop their own decision-making skills as they strive to understand the value of conflicting ideas, building support to achieve positive change in modern society, and their own responsibility and power within their communities.
In Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions: Debating Emancipation—an award-winning program that exposes students to the different perspectives of President Lincoln’s adversaries, allies, and friends— students use touch-screen tablets to explore historical documents and recreate the heated discussions that President Lincoln had over emancipation.
Virtual Field Trips
Our synchronous virtual field trips, facilitated live by a member of our museum education team, explore the big ideas Lincoln was working on while in residence at the Cottage. All provide insight into Lincoln’s time here along with plenty of opportunity for students to ask questions and share their own contributions. Programs can accommodate students tuning in together from a classroom or separately from their own devices. We’re flexible, please reach out with any questions!
From Abe-to-Z:
A Q&A with President
Lincoln’s Cottage Staff
From Abe-to-Z is a great option for groups looking for an introduction to the site and Lincoln’s work here. Students will connect with staff from the education department at President Lincoln’s Cottage via videoconference to learn more about the place where Abraham Lincoln spent a quarter of his presidency and developed the Emancipation Proclamation - and have their questions answered about the nation’s 16th President, the Cottage itself, and Lincoln’s brave ideas.
Grades 3 - 12
45 mins,
30 student capacity
Cost $115
Videoconference with kit of supplies sent in advance
The Open Field Project
While living at the Cottage, Lincoln wrestled with the challenges of his Presidency– including the development of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Open Field Project provides inspiration for students to reflect on their own civic priorities and take action on issues that are important to them.
In this virtual program, students bring Lincoln’s work into their learning spaces and plant an idea garden with the seeds of their own ideas. Guided by a museum facilitator and using their fully-stocked idea garden kit – sent in advance of the program – students learn about Lincoln’s thought process and record their own bold ideas on seed paper, plant them in soil from the Cottage’s own grounds, and watch them grow.
Seventh Street Challenge
Lincoln used his daily commute through the heart of Civil War Washington as an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of his presidency and to learn from those he encountered along the way. In the Seventh Street Challenge, students trace Lincoln’s route from the White House, up the 7th Street Turnpike, and home to the Cottage – participating in scavenger-hunt-style challenges to find thematic objects within their own learning spaces as they go – and build their own capacity for meaningful daily problem-solving.
Grades 8 - 12
90 mins,
60 student capacity
Cost $65 for up to 15 students, and $5 per additional student
Videoconference
Virtual Lincoln’s Toughgest Decisions
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency was marked by the development of big ideas and nation-changing actions. A key element of Lincoln’s collaborative process was to consult the ideas of those around him while leading the country through turmoil toward a new birth of freedom. In this award-winning program that exposes students to the different perspectives of President Lincoln’s adversaries, allies, and friends, students work in small groups to explore historical documents and delve into the tough questions Lincoln faced in implementing emancipation. Lincoln’s approach provides a model for students to develop their own decision-making skills as they strive to understand the value of conflicting ideas and their own responsibility and power within their communities.
Scholarships
Program scholarships are available to Title 1 Maryland and Virginia schools on a first come, first served basis. All programs are offered free of charge to DCPS and DCPCS schools. To inquire about these scholarships, please contact the Programs Department at education@lincolncottage.org.
Scholarships are made possible by the generous support of the Pulvermann Trust, the Newburger-Schwartz Family Foundation, and the Andy and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund.
Students Opposing Slavery
Do you teach students in grades 9-12 who are interested in being change-makers in their home communities? If so, visit our website to learn more about our Presidential Medal-winning Students Opposing Slavery program, which invites dozens of high school students from around the world to the Cottage for a week each summer to learn more about modern slavery and strategize ways to raise awareness of it among their peers.
Teacher Professional Development
President Lincoln’s Cottage staff would be happy to provide virtual (or in-person) teacher professional development and can customize many of our programs to meet the specific needs and challenges of your school as they relate to Civil War content and social and emotional learning. Please contact the education department at education@lincolncottage.org.
The Civil War Washington Museum Consortium, a partnership between President Lincoln’s Cottage, Ford’s Theatre Society, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, and Tudor Place Historic House and Garden, offers week-long, summer workshops for educators. These workshops provide a place- based approach to exploring Washington during the Civil War as teachers spend time at each participating site, discover Civil War neighborhoods through walking tours, and leave with an array of resources to use in their classrooms.
Visit https://www.lincolncottage.org/education/teacher-resources-and-workshops/ for updates on next year’s workshop.
BRAVE IDEAS GAME
How can you make your school safer? What should the government be allowed to do? What do you do if you fail at something? These are just a few of the questions at the heart of the Brave Ideas game. Each round nurtures students’ bold and brave ideas for taking action on issues that are important to them.
The Brave Ideas game was developed specifically for Grades 4-8 by a Teacher-in-Residence with the teams at President Lincoln’s Cottage and Game Genius. This project was supported by a grant from the Marder-Vaughn Center for Historic Sites, Interpretation, and Education at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Resources for You
Looking to expand your own knowledge about Lincoln, emancipation, and the Civil War? Check out these resources from President Lincoln’s Cottage.
Q & Abe Podcast
Come on down the rabbit hole with us as we answer real questions from visitors to President Lincoln’s Cottage that we want to spend more time answering. Some of these questions, on their face, were innocent or simple, but on a second look they contain a level of complexity that leaves us wanting to know more. We always start with Lincoln and the Cottage, but we often end up in unexpected places...
Is it ok to call her Aunt Mary?
How could Lincoln sleep,
if slavery was happening?
Was Lincoln
a racist?
Emancipation at 150
This anthology of essays features the latest research on the Emancipation Proclamation from leading Lincoln scholars and government officials, jointly produced by President Lincoln’s Cottage and the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
Read and download at:
https://www.lincolncottage.org/emancipation-at-150/
Find lesson plans, related info, and further resources at: https://www.lincolncottage.org/learn/educator-resources/
