A is for Abigail- An Almanac of Amazing American Women

Written by Lynne Cheney and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Mrs. Cheney, the former 2nd wife the the United States of America.  (Former Vice President Dick Cheney's wife) Glasser was first a successful ballet artist.  Now she is a well known children's literature illustrator.  To find out more click here.

Genre: Non-Fiction/Biography
Theme: Historical Women/ Alphabet
Ages: 7-11

Summary: This is an alphabet book that for each letter highlights an important woman or concept for american history.







Link to Picture

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students to name important historical figures. You may or may not be surprised, but most names that pop up will be male.  Have a discussion about how men and women are equally important to our history and bringing us to where we are today.

Post-Reading Activity: Using this text as a center activity have individuals or small groups review the page that was read aloud in class for the day.  Have them keep a log, or fill out a worksheet keeping track of the letter for the day, important names, what they did, and at least 2 other facts from the page.

Reflection: To be honest this is a book so full of wonderful facts and historical information that I may take only one person/page at a time, maybe each day or highlight one woman a week.