Questions on the Gettysburg Address at Four Levels of Rigor

A short video from the New York City Department of Education’s Common Core Library (see link below) suggests questions on President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address at four “Depth of Knowledge” levels. (Depth of Knowledge, by Webb et al., integrates and simplifies the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix.) The questions are appropriate to ninth and tenth grade and draw on Common Core standards 1, 2, and 6.

• Level 1: Recall and Reproduction – What date is Lincoln referring to as “Fourscore and seven years ago”?

• Level 2: Skills, Concepts, and Basic Reasoning – What is the connection between “Fourscore and seven years” and the argument Lincoln is trying to make?

• Level 3: Strategic Thinking and Complex Reasoning – Lincoln’s address lays out a thesis and argument in support of equality. Analyze his line of reasoning and the evidence he uses to advance his point of view.

• Level 4: Extended Thinking – Draw on additional related sources to write a research paper that discusses the role war plays in nation building.

New York City Department of Education Common Core Library, Depth of Knowledge Video on Gettysburg Address:

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/ProfessionalLear... 

Here is a link to the Webb Depth of Knowledge matrix:

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/522E69CC-02E3-4871-BC48-BB575AA... 

From the Marshall Memo #492