SOCIAL SCIENCE

7th Grade Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 4 Launch Lesson

THEME: Culture, Dignity, and Identity CONCEPT: Africa, US, and the World African Americans in early America; contributions and challenges in the development of the Atlantic world. CONTENT TOPIC: Investigating and researching the contributions and challenges faced by Africans and African Americans in the development of the Atlantic world through fiction and nonfiction texts. UNIT TITLE: The Promises of Reconstruction

Students will be able to --- with African and African American Studies Connections Sample Student Outcome Statements*
Argue and/or explain o The hopes and challenges of African Americans with respect to the cultural, political and socioeconomic aspects of the early reconstruction Research, analyze to write o An informative essay making an argument supporting or refuting a stance within a relevant issue Make connections and understand o both the relationship and relevance between issues created by the period of reconstruction with respect to its influence on the culture, politics and socioeconomic aspects of the development of the African American identity today Investigate and Research o How Africans gained dignity and identity during a period of increasing racism and violence. How Internal and external forces shape identity How the greatness of a culture can be measured in various ways

Students will be able to --- from Social Science Planning Guides

Social Studies Literacy Reading Skills o Legends, Biographies, Maps and other primary and secondary sources o Document Based Analysis CCSS Literacy Writing Skills o Explanatory essay, focusing on Argument CCSS Speaking and Listening Skills o Focusing on presentation and/or debates utilizing speaking skills and technology to support an argument or explanation based on information gathered through inquiry

o o

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7th Grade Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 4 Launch Lesson

Launch Lesson: Perspectives from Reconstruction Time Frame: 1 week Unit Description: Freedom comes to enslaved African Americans after the Civil War and along with it are many hopes and promises of a better life. African Americans, former slaves and those already free anticipated changes in their family lives, education, religious freedom, and most importantly changes in their working conditions. Reconstruction of the South would also empower African Americans to enter both State and Federal positions, primarily as legislators. This launch lesson will allow learners to explore these promises. Students will analyze primary source documents to determine the political, economic, and social effects of Reconstruction. Enduring 1. History: Knowledge of the past helps us understand the world and make better Understandings decisions about the future. 2. Identity: Individual interactions, including conflict, negotiation, and compromise, create and structure communities in various ways. 3. Civics: People have differing views about the meaning and significance of citizenship. Essential Guiding Essential Questions: Questions I) How do culture and identity influence who we are? II) How do time, culture and history influence works of arts and/or the advancement of science and technology? III) What can I do to positively impact my community? Common Core Standards Primary Reading RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a texts description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). Writing WHST.6-8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. WHST.6-8.2b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. WHST.6-8.2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently Speaking and Listening SL.7.1b Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. SL.7.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

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Cognitive Skills

7th Grade Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 4 Launch Lesson
Thinking skills Reasoning about concrete items versus abstract ideas Analyzing/evaluating arguments Developing a logical argument Inductive reasoning: using specific examples/observations and forming a more general principal Deductive reasoning: use stated general premise to reason about specific examples Appreciation: recognition of the value of something Responding to novelty: ability to react appropriately in a novel situation Self-reflection: ability to think about oneself in relation to the material Assessments Excerpts from reading explorer logs Book Club questions and conversations check Plantations in Ruins: Primary Sources All Have Suffered by Kate Stone http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/plantation/ps_stone.html Were You Ever a Colored Boy? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/schools/ps_lichen.html Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet Digital History http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/reconstruction/index.html Discussion Starter Questions & Explore logs and PBL http://schools.nyc.gov/documents/teachandlearn/project_basedfinal.pdf

Formative Text/ Resources

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Learning Activities Day 1 -3

7th Grade Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 4 Launch Lesson
Learning Activity 1: Lesson Motivation: Establishing Point of view from two close readings. Review the causes and outcomes of the Civil War. Remind students that the war destroyed homes, land, and that it disrupted the way of life for many Southern families. Provide the students with the opportunity to read excerpts from Kate Stones diary and complete the chart based on Kates diary. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/plantation/ps_stone.html. Next, exposed them to the point of the newly freed African Americans. Provide the students with the opportunity to read excerpts from Were You Ever A Colored Boy? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/schools/ps_lichen.html and complete the chart based the reading.

Hold class discussion based on these two perspectives. Allow students to create a bulletin board in the classroom that will add to over the five weeks of the course. The Theme of the Bulletin board should be the unit Essential Question: What does it Mean to Be Free? Introduce the novel Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet, and start an in class book club. The social aspect and autonomy of book clubs appeal to middle school students and provide motivation as well as opportunities to expand knowledge. Divide students into groups of no more than five students. The book club will meet five times to discuss the book. Each student is responsible for leading the discussion of a portion of the book. As discussion leader the student will develop questions based on his/her understanding of the topic. Provide students with a list of question starters and preview the question list prior to each session. Students may share their questions with the other discussion leaders before the meeting to ensure that they have covered the key points in the novel. Allowing students the autonomy to lead the discussion with the teacher as monitor. The book club can meet twice a week. Mondays are great because they give students the weekend to read. Then on Thursdays as they whet the appetite for more. For background information on Reconstruction, use the reading excerpts from Digital History. Students will keep notes in their Explorer Log. Using the article on the Freedmens Bureau, direct students to note key events in their Explorer Logs. Use the following topics to guide their exploration of the text: 1. Creation of the Freedmens Bureau 2. Opposition to the Freedmens Bureau 3. The Freedmens Bureau Successes and Failures 4. The Freedmens Bureaus Demise Day 4-5 Allow students to create and add excerpts from their Explorer Logs to the Bulletin Board. Allow students to change their ideas based
Differentiated Strategies for Varied

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7th Grade Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 4 Launch Lesson
on their reading. Book Club: Ask student leader to select the discussion starter questions that they want to use for Monday and Thursday. Review the questions with students to ensure that they cover the chapter as they read. Have students add quotes to their character chart. Remind students that they will select a favorite and least favorite character by the end of the week. Possible Questions: What were the hopes that Gideon, Pascal, Nelly and Mr. Freedman had on the way to Georgia? Why was the Bibbs family open to sharing with Pascal and Nelly? How were Mr. Freedmens skills and knowledge helpful to establishing Green Gloryland?
Learning Profiles (Example)
Informational texts will be available in a variety of formats including audio, visual and tactilely. Tasks will have components that allow for students to use visual, oral and tactile as well as kinesthetic skills to express knowledge gained. Students will be able to take ownership of tasks through the use of Choice Boards and Learning Centers

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