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"House Divided" Close Read & CER

Last updated over 1 year ago
12 questions
Directions: Please read President Abraham Lincoln’s speech, “A House Divided” independently.

Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to 1) practice our close reading skills to prepare for the SAT Reading exam, and 2) focus on an important historical document that will show up again on our unit exam.

If you would like to highlight and annotate, there is a hard copy of the text in your U.S. History Q3 Reading Packet.
Drawing Connections: Remember when we took SAT Practice Passage 4? The speech you are about to read was given right before the Lincoln-Douglas Debates!
1

Quick Review: Take the time to match the Illinois Senate candidate to their claim.

Draggable itemCorresponding Item
Stephen Douglas
The United States can remain divided over the issue of slavery and be successful.
Abraham Lincoln
As a nation, we cannot reconcile the issue of slavery so long as a nation we keep gaining new land.
A fallacy is a mistaken idea. For example, it is a fallacy to believe that the Earth is flat.
1

According to the historical context above, the main purpose of this speech is to

1

Information in the map about the U.S. Slavery in 1860 most strongly supports which of the following statements?

1

As used in line 1 in the paragraph below, "tending" most nearly means

1

The author indicates which of the following about the state of the Union?


1

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

1

The analogy of "A house divided against itself" (line 5-7) is used most like to suggest that the



Next, Mr. Lincoln will refer to a famous Supreme Court case about a man named Dred Scott who was briefly mentioned in the EdPuzzle.

Here are quick notes or a video if you need a refresher:
1

As used in line 2 and 3 of this section, "machinery" most nearly refers to the

1

According to the passage, Lincoln believes that the Dred Scott decision

1

Lincoln's attitude towards the Dred Scott decision can best be described as

Do NOT move further. The rest of this activity will be completed in-class.
10

According to "A House Divided," what does President Lincoln believe will happen to the nation if the United States continues to be divided by slave states and free states?

Your response should be in at least 3 complete, college-ready sentences.

1) Your claim should repeat the question back in your own words.
  • SENTENCE STARTER: If the United States continues to be divided by slave states and free states, President Lincoln believes...
2) In a separate sentence from the claim, you should introduce at least one specific piece of evidence from the primary source reading in your own words with proper citation.
  • SENTENCE STARTER: According to his speech on A House Divided, “relevant sentence or phrase goes here” (Lincoln, 1858).
3) Your reasoning should elaborate on the evidence in your own words and reference specific key details and facts from the historical context of this topic.
  • SENTENCE STARTER: This excerpt suggests...which connects to [HISTORICAL EVENT] because…
1

I certify that I have reviewed the CER rubric and the checklist above.
I also attest that all of the writing in this CER response is mine.