Lesson 2: Slavery in the United States
Content Objectives
Students will
• Identify key facts related to the slavery in the US leading up to the Underground Railroad.
• Examine and evaluate the validity of primary source materials.
NETS
Students
• Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
• Process data and report results.
Motivational Activity: The Legacy of Slavery Video
Motivational Activity: The Journey
The journey known as the Middle Passage, the route of slave-trading ships from the west coast of Africa, where Africans were kidnapped away from their families, across the Atlantic to the Americas and the Caribbean. In this new land they were sold as slaves or, in some cases, traded for goods such as molasses, which was used in the making of rum. The Middle Passage was the longest, hardest, most dangerous, and most horrible part of the journey of the slave ships, a miserable voyage lasting two to four months. Incredibly profitable for both slave traders and their investing partners, the Middle Passage was a journey into injustice, cruelty, and unimaginable human suffering.
Give students the following directions:
• Mark out the following measurements typically allotted to Africans on slave ships as males—6ft. x 1ft. 4in. & females—5ft.10in. x 1ft. 4in.
• Lie in the area you marked. Describe what it would feel like if you had to remain in that space for two months, while traveling across the ocean.
• Spend as much time as you can in this space and report your thoughts, feelings, and reactions.
From Amazing Grace: A Study Guide (www.amazinggracemovie.com/_pdf/AGEdGuide.pdf)
Informational Activity: Exploring Slavery in the United States.
Students review the information about Slavery found in the following links. Ask them to note specific topics and facts that are of special interest to them A class wiki is created where students post this information.
-http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_trade.htm -http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_overview.htm
-http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/scripts/sia/gallery.cgi?collection=politicsdefense
-http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/scripts/sia/gallery.cgi?collection=gilbert
-http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/narrative.html
Application Activity: A WIki About the History of Slavery in the US
• Ask students to post the information, facts, images identified from the links on the Wiki created at http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/Underground+Railroad
Integration of the Internet to Support Learning
The informational retrieval aspect of the Internet offers exciting application possibilities within all classrooms. (Newby et al., 2006, p. 200).
Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman, J. D., & Russell, J. D. (2006). Educational technology for teaching and learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc
Application-Evaluation Activity: Examining Primary Sources from the US Slavery Era
1. Students choose one image from: http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/scripts/sia/gallery.cgi?collection=slavetrade and complete a Cartoon Analysis using a form found at (students can re-create the form with a word document): http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon.html
2. Students choose one narrative from: http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/narratives/overview.htm and do a Sound Recording Analysis using a form found at (you can re-create the form with a word document): http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/sound.html
Lesson Assessments
Informational Assessment
Students take the online quiz at http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/slavery_quiz/index_01.htm
Project Assessments
• Students’ Wiki is assesed using the Wiki Rubric – File can be downloaded from the link below
• For the Primary Source Analyses, students’ will receive full credit for completion of the worksheets.
wikirubric.pdf | |
File Size: | 29 kb |
File Type: |
Student Evaluation of the Lesson
To evaluate instruction, students complete the survey about the slavery lesson found at http://www.polldaddy.com/s/2A6C32C429AE32DB/