Instructional Plan-African American Culture Unit
Jerri Payne
Grade Level: This unit is geared toward 2nd grade students, but could be modified for any elementary grade level.
Procedures: This unit will take approximately three weeks.
Week 1:
Day 1: KWL chart as to what the children know, what they want to know, and what they learned about African American history and culture; Africa map activity – students will locate and label Africa on a map; Folktales – Read Beautiful Blackbird and make journals
Day 3: Underground Railroad – Harriet Tubman; Read Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman; look at slave narratives; journal entry: Imagine you are a slave, and write your own slave narrative.
Day 4: Underground Railroad continued – Read Follow the Drinking Gourd; watch video (Reading Rainbow); journal entry; Write a song with lyrics to tell someone how to get to your house. Draw a picture of the constellation map to get there.
Week 2
Day 1: Civil War “Frederick Douglas” book; Read Pink and Say; Discuss abolitionist, Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation; 13th, 14th, 15th amendments; journal entry: Abolitionist poster
Day 2: People – Civil Rights Movement; Read White Socks Only; discuss people who lead the movement – Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, etc.; Classroom activities on segregation; Journal entry: How did you feel when you were isolated/left out in the segregation activities?
Day 3: Culture – sports: Jackie Robinson – Negro leagues; Read Teammates; Journal entry: Why is Jackie Robinson a hero? Who are some other African American heroes?; computer game in the lab – match African American heroes with the events that made them famous; http://pbskids.org/aaworld/face.html
Day 4: Movie – Perfect Harmony or The Color of Friendship: Journal entry: Reaction to the movie – two interesting facts you learned from the movie.
Day 5: Students will watch the “I Have A Dream” speech on youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk - and examine their own hopes and dream for a better world; students will create a mobile to express their hopes for a better world.
Day 1: People – Music; Focus on differences between African American and American music – Jazz – Focus on important African American musicians by listening to music selections – Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, etc.); Journal entry: What made these musicians so special? Why do we remember them today? Read Henry’s Freedom Box
Day 2: Field trip to Underground Railroad Museum; guided tour to see slave cabin, box similar to Henry’s Freedom Box; quilt, artifacts, video, etc.; journal entry: What did you learn at the Freedom Center that surprised you?
Day 3: Culminating Activity – Quilt; Assign different aspects of African American culture/history to students to design a quilt square – they can use words, pictures, etc.; read The Secret to Freedom; Journal entry: Tell about your square. Why did you choose the design you made (the words/pictures)?
Day 4: Assessment (Quiz and Open Response)
Use of Technology: Smartboard will be used during discussions to record information and also to view Reading Rainbow video and Youtube video. Computers will be used to research famous African Americans in the computer lab and play African American Heros game.
Measuring Success: Besides formative assessments, I would measure success through student comments in their journals and through discussions with the students. Sharing a great deal of information about the topic with each other is another way to determine success of the unit. Also, can the students transfer information they learned to other situations today.
Resources:
Bryan, Ashley. (2002). Beautiful Blackbird. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Lester, Julius. (1999) From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. Penguin Group (USA).
Schroeder, Alan & Pinkney, Jerry. (2000) Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman. Penguin Group (USA).
Winter, Jeanette. (2008). Follow the Drinking Gourd. Random House Children’s Books.
Coleman, Evelyn. (1996). White Socks Only. Whitman, Albert & Company.
Golenbock, Peter & Bacon, Paul. (2010). Teammates. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Vaughan, Marcia & Johnson, Larry. (2001). The Secret to Freedom. Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Levine, Ellen & Nelson, Kadir. (2007). Henry’s Freedom Box. Scholastic, Inc.
Website retrieved: July 6, 2011: http://pbskids.org/aaworld/face.html
Website retrieved: July 3, 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
In The Highly Engaged Classroom, Marzano and Pickering (2011) organize their research around the questions "How do I feel? Am I interested? Is this important? [and] Can I do this?" Your instructional plan answers yes to all of these questions. How would the students feel -- excited and motivated due to your variety of activities that cover the multiple intelligences and student participation in journal activities to describe how they feel. Would they be interested -- yes due to the game on the computer, presentation of unusual information, ability to research, and variety of response methods. Is this important -- you are helping them to make connections to the real world with the MLK speech, segregation activities, and by learning about real people from history. Can I do this -- you have set up tasks that students can achieve. Perhaps students could work together on some more difficult tasks or have a choice of certain tasks. To increase student empowerment, perhaps you could focus on children making a difference in the movement one day – maybe when you read Henry's Freedom Box (great book!). Also, when we completed the classroom wiki someone posted this website where you could grab some inspiring movie clips that deal with abolition or freedom http://www.wingclips.com/. Marzano and Pickering (2011) also state the importance of movement to student engagement. Perhaps you could incorporate movement/drama into the day you listen to the music, or the students could act out a day traveling on the Underground Railroad. Now that I have suggested some more activities, the only question is will you have enough time to complete it all? :) Your kids are going to really enjoy this unit and learn so much!
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