February 28, 2007 - Imagining the Horrors of Slavery

Today's agenda:
1. 6/8 Quiz - "North and South"
2. The Southern Class System (pg 31)
3. Imagining the Horrors of Slavery (pg 32)
HW: Slavery Sensory Figure (pg 33)

Today in history, we began by taking a quiz on the North and South. We continued by learning about the Southern Class System by filling in a pyramid-style graphic organizer. We learned that only 16% of the Southern population owned slaves, that 50% of the population consisted of poor whites, and that 1 out of 3 Americans in the South was owned by another American.

The next half of class was devoted to the simulation called "Imagining the Horrors of Slavery." With the lights of the classroom dimmed, students listened to excerpts from Alex Haley's novel, Roots, the story of Kunta Kinte and his forced journey from Africa to North America. Students listened quietly as they heard about capture in Africa, awaiting departure on the West African coast, the horrible conditions of a slave ship, and the ultimate selling of Kunta and other slaves upon landing in America.

The homework for tonight is a Slavery Sensory Figure, where students are asked to put themselves in the position of a slave being brought across the Middle Passage. What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear? Reflections are due at our next class.

RVI