The Slave Experience: A Look at a Slave's Life in the Nineteenth Century

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

English Language Arts

Social Studies

Grade(s)

Overview

Students will explore two NCSS Notable Trade Books and a newspaper advertisement to develop an understanding of what life was like for slaves in the nineteenth century. Students will use their understanding to write a narrative story about being a slave in the nineteenth century. Students will use the website MyStorybook to create and publish their stories.

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 4

SS10.4.6
Describe cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.

Vocabulary

plantation
Yeoman
townspeople
inequity
agriculture
fertile

Knowledge

Students know:

During this time, most families in Alabama did not own slaves; most slaves were owned by Plantation Owners.
Most of Alabama's families made a living through agriculture.
The Black Belt and fertile river valleys were major areas of agricultural production.

Skills

Students are able to:

Compare and contrast cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.
Describe major areas of agricultural production in Alabama, including the Black Belt and fertile river valleys.

Understanding

Students understand that:

There were cultural, political, and economic inequities in Alabama in the early 19^th Century between slaves, Yeoman farmers, and Plantation owners.

DLCS18.4.R6

DLCS18.4.12

ELA21.4.R3

Primary Learning Objectives

Students will describe the life of early nineteenth-century slaves.

Additional Learning Objective(s)

Students will write a story using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Procedures/Activities

Exploration: The teacher will engage the students by projecting the picture of the slave auction on the screen and asking if anyone knows what the picture is showing. The teacher will clarify the picture depicts a slave auction taking place in Montgomery, Alabama in the early nineteenth century. The teacher will refer to the social studies objective on the board and tell the students they will be investigating what life was like for a slave during that time.

The teacher will pass out the Anticipatory Set handout to all of the students and explain what they need to do. The teacher will explain this assessment will tell what they think they already know about the day's objective, describing the life of early nineteenth-century slaves. The teacher will direct them to read each statement, decide if the statement is true or false, and put a check in the appropriate Before column. (The teacher can do this electronically instead by making a Kahoot: https://kahoot.it/#/). The teacher will tell the students to put their papers aside and that they will revisit these same statements at the end of the lesson to see what they have learned.

Lesson Development: The teacher will place the students in partner groups and pass out the Slave Experiences handout to each group. The teacher will explain the handout will tell what they uncover about the day's objective, describing the life of early nineteenth-century slaves. The teacher will begin the lesson by reading and discussing Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, by Laban Carrick Hill and Henry's Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine. (Both of these books are based on actual people who had two different experiences as slaves. Teachers can determine whether to use one or both books for this lesson.)

The teacher and students will complete the Slave Experiences handout section discussing these two slaves. The teacher will then have the students pull up the runaway slave newspaper article on their computers. The teacher should project the photograph of the slave collar and explain what it was used for and how it might be used on the runaway slave in the newspaper article. The students, working with a partner, will discuss what the runaway slave's life was like based on textual evidence in the article. The students will complete the appropriate section of the Slave Experiences handout. The teacher will discuss their findings and how the slaves had different experiences. (The teacher should stress that even if the slaves had good experiences it is still wrong to take away the rights of someone and slavery is not acceptable.)

Closure: The teacher and students will revisit the Anticipatory Set questions to see what they have learned. The teacher will briefly review the lives of early nineteenth-century slaves.

Expansion: The teacher will explain to the students they will be creating a story using an online platform known as https://www.mystorybook.com/. The teacher will go over the objectives of the day. The teacher will pass out the story checklist to the students and explain what is expected and how their stories will demonstrate they can describe the life of early nineteenth-century slaves. The teacher will remind the students they can refer back to their Slave Experiences handout to remind themselves of the lives of slaves. The students will have time to create the text for their stories. Once the text is completed, the students can then add items, drawings, and background scenes. The students can share their stories with their peers. (Teachers may use https://storybird.com/ if they prefer. Paper and pencil stories can be created if computers are not available.)

Assessment Strategies

All assessments listed below are directly tied to the primary learning objective: describing the life of early century slaves, as specifically outlined in the procedures and attached checklists.

Exploration: Anticipatory Set (Pre-lesson)

Lesson Development: Anticipatory Set (Post-lesson), Slave Experiences handout

Expansion: Student-created story

Acceleration

Students can explore other slave narratives at American Slave Narrative: An Online Anthology http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/WPA/wpahome.html and do an oral narrative on one of the interviewed slaves to present to the class.

Students can read the following books by Deborah Hopkinson and create their own freedom quilt design.

Additional Readings:

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson

Intervention

Students will be placed with an appropriate peer helper throughout the lesson and assisted by the teacher as needed. An adapted checklist for the story is provided.

Total Duration

61 to 90 Minutes

Background/Preparation

Students should have a basic knowledge of the time period and have basic collaboration, reading, writing, and technology skills. Students should be able to develop an imagined experience using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support the story.

The teacher should download the photograph of the nineteenth-century slave auction, the nineteenth-century slave collar, and the runaway slave newspaper article onto a computer to project during the exploration's engagement and the lesson's development.

The teacher should bookmark the MyStorybook site: https://www.mystorybook.com/ on student computers to use for the expansion phase. The teacher will need to print copies of the Anticipatory Set handout for each student and the Story Checklist for student use (either projected on a screen or distributed to the students through a hard copy or electronically).

Background information for teachers:

The teacher should read over the attachments and become familiar with the content. Information concerning slavery in Alabama during the early nineteenth century can be found in the Encyclopedia of Alabama: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2369. The teacher can view the texts from the Bibliography for additional information.

Materials and Resources

Paper
Pencils
Computers
Internet
Whiteboard
Screen
Projector

NCSS Notable Trade Books:

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, by Laban Carrick Hill
Henry's Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine

Additional materials:

Slavery Anticipatory Handout for each student
Picture of the slave auction
Slave Experiences handout
Runaway slave ad
Picture of slave collar
Story Checklist for each student
Writing Checklist for each student

Technology Resources Needed

Computers
Internet
Screen
Projector

Approved Date

2017-05-18