Lincoln (2012) Movie Worksheet - Questions Divided By Day

This is a series of worksheets that go with the 2012 movie, "Lincoln," starring Daniel Day Lewis. They are unlike most other movie worksheets as they have been designed to enhance productive classroom behavior during the film and they address common problems that come with movie worksheets.

I don't know about you, but I've found that if I show a movie (even really good movies), students find ways to fall asleep to them. Having a worksheet for a grade helps incentivize them to watch it, but it comes with added difficulties.

Students complain that they can't pay attention to the movie because they're focused on the worksheet, or that the questions go too fast for them to keep up with, or they lose track of where they are on the worksheet and then whisper to their neighbor to get the answers to the ones they missed. The list goes on.

These worksheets address those problems. For starters, the questions go in order, and they have guides as to what’s happening in the movie so the students have a heads up that a question is about to be answered. For example, there are headings before a set of question that match transitions in the film (like when text appears on the screen saying "The White House") that I include on the worksheet. I also give clues before most of the questions as to what is happening in the film before the answer is shown. I also put in the instructions that it’s ok if they leave some questions blank as long as they make a good-faith effort to get most of the answers right, but you can remove that if it's not your style.

I structure it this way because my ultimate goal is to get them to watch the movie. I try to make it as easy as possible for them to do the worksheet and as low-stress as possible.

I’ve divided the film into 4 segments to be shown over 4 days. Each day has its own worksheet for the students to work on.

- Day 1 ends about 33 minutes into the film. The final scene from this segment is the scene where Secretary of State Seward hires lobbyists to convince Democrats to vote for the Amendment. The scene ends with the lobbyist smashing nuts on the table with a hammer.

- Day 2 ends after the night-time scene in which Lincoln and Seward discuss if they should offer to withdraw amendment in exchange for the south’s surrender.

- Day 3 ends after the scene when Lincoln yells that he is the President and is clothed in immense power before ordering his subordinate to procure him the votes.

- Day 4 ends with the end of the film.