Suzanne Packard
Are we a nation in chains…
or a nation going through a chain of events?
Part 3: Cultures in Contact or Conflict?
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Background Information:
The student should have prior knowledge about the beginnings of slavery from part
one -“A Need for Labor” and part two-“Servitude to Slavery” lessons.
Essential Question:
Are we a nation in chains… or a nation going through a chain of events?
ƒ Are the European and African cultures in contact or conflict?
Time Required: Three class periods (approx. 45 minutes each)
Day 1: The Door of No Return
Day 2: The Middle Passage
Day 3: Arrival in America
Objectives:
As a result of the lesson, students will be able to…
1. sequence and describe the three stages of slave trade.
2. identify the dilemmas that enslaved Africans had to endure during each
of the three stages of slave trade.
3. understand and explain how both the Europeans and Africans had a part in
the slave trade for economic reasons.
Materials:
1. Sticky notes
3. Lesson worksheet and presentations
4. Computers for student use
5. SMART Board or projector screen
Setting the Stage:
The teacher will divide the students into six cooperative groups. Each group will
receive a picture of the Elmina slave castle in Ghana. Students will carefully study the
photograph for two minutes. This will allow them to form a general impression and
look for specific details to gain insight to what this photo represents. Students will
record their thinking on the photo analysis worksheet.
Suzanne Packard
Strategy:
Day 1: After the students had at least two minutes to form a generalization and
record their impressions bring the class together to view the photograph on a SMART
Board (or projector) to share their inferences. Next, show the Ghana Slave Castle
PowerPoint and have a whole class discussion about the experience of being
imprisoned in the slave castle. Guide the students through the historical significance of
the slave castles as part of the European slave trade in West Africa.
Day 2: Display the Slave Ship PowerPoint on a projector or Smart Board. Ask the
students to carefully study the photograph for two minutes. Allow time for students
to form a general impression and look at specific details in the photograph. After the
students had at least two minutes to form a generalization of the photograph, read
pages 24-29 from The Kidnapped Prince by Olaudah Equiano. Each student writes a
brief reflection or thought on a post-it to contribute to a class web on a poster or
SMART board. Reflections can include what they noticed, possibilities of why the
slaves organized in this way, how might the slaves feel, etc. After a whole class
discussion of the web teacher guides students to make connections between their
reflections and consider the dilemmas faced by the enslaved Africans. Make a three
column chart (or use PowerPoint) and discuss the three dilemmas that slaves faced;
(act obediently and try to survive, revolt against the white men, refuse to eat, jump
off the ship, hope to die). Share the reasons of each dilemma. Allow the students to
stop and jot in their journal or on loose leaf paper a reflection to the essential
question, are the European and African cultures in contact or conflict?
Day 3: Teacher begins the lesson by giving the students the Slave Owner vs Slave Tchart worksheeet. Next, the teacher divides class into small groups of 3-4 students to
explore the website, “Witness a Slave Auction” online
(http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/slavery/witness.html).
The students experience the process of a slave auction by seeing the situation through
the eyes of each character present; auctioneer, buyer, seller, slave, etc. As students
experience the slave auction they can add to their t-chart about the different
perspectives. When the class finishes the activity students share their perspectives and
insight from the T-charts as a whole class while the teacher records thoughts on the
SMART board or chart paper. Teacher should encourage students to be genuine in
their reflections.
Alternative Plan:
ƒ Students write a brief reflection in story format. The story can be written from the
perspective of an enslaved African who has been imprisoned in the slave castle.
ƒ Students act out the roles of Europeans and Africans in the slave castle by role
playing people’s feelings, thoughts, and actions.
ƒ Students debate how they would react to the three dilemmas faced by the slaves
during the Middle Passage.
Suzanne Packard
ƒ
Students debate how they would deal with being enslaved and owned by a
master. Students discuss how they would handle the dilemmas they face after
arriving in America.
Evaluation/Assessment:
To conclude the lessons, students should summarize their learning of the three stages
and reflect on the essential question by completing the Are the Europeans and Africans
in Contact or Conflict chart. This activity will help the students synthesize their
learning and organize their thoughts before the journal response.
As the culminating assessment for the lessons students should write a journal entry to
reflect on the essential question, are the European and African cultures in contact or
conflict? Student responses should discuss examples from each of the three stages of
the slave trade.
Primary Sources, Handouts, Worksheets, Etc.
1. PowerPoint of Ghana Slave Castle photographs
ƒ Picture of slave castles in Ghana, Africa
o http://www.scenicworld.de/gallery_ghana_CapeCoastCastle.html
2. Photo Analysis Worksheet
3. PowerPoint of Slave Ship photographs
ƒ Pictures of slave ship
o http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu/middle_passage.htm
ƒ Pictures of triangular trade route
o http://humanities.ucsd.edu/courses/kuchtahum4/maps/diaspora.jpg
4. The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano Adapted by Ann Cameron
ƒ The Slave Ship pg. 24 -29
5. Slave Owner versus Slave T-Chart
6. Witness a Slave Auction
ƒ http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/slavery/witness.html
7. Are the Europeans and Africans in Conflict or Contact Chart and Journal Response
8. Journal Rubric
http://www.scenicworld.de/gallery_ghana_
CapeCoastCastle.html
http://213.161.84.220/images/tourpics/gng
hl03.jpg
Slave Ship
Obedient
Revolt
Refuse
http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.e
du/middle_passage.htm
http://humanities.ucsd.edu/courses/kuchtah
um4/maps/diaspora.jpg
Ch. 8 Facing Slavery
Name ________________ #______
Date ____________________
Learning Target:
Target Use the t-chart to list information and examples that support the
essential question above for each of the three stages.
***************************************************************************
Are the Europeans and Africans in contact or conflict?
CONTACT
CONFLICT
European
Slave Trade
in West
Africa
The Middle
Passage
Arrival in
America
Ch. 8 Facing Slavery
Name ________________ #______
Date ____________________
Are the Europeans and Africans in contact or conflict? Write a complete response to this
question in which you state whether you believe the people were in contact or conflict.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Name ___________________ # ________
Date _________________________
Directions: Study the photograph carefully for 2 minutes. Form a general
impression, and then look at specific individual items. You might find it helpful to
divide the photograph into quadrants (4 equal sections) to see what details you
might have missed.
1. Complete the chart below with people, places, objects, and events noted in the
photograph:
PEOPLE
PLACES
OBJECTS
ACTIONS
Name ___________________ # ________
Date _________________________
2. Based on the details you have observed, make inferences to tell a brief ‘story’ about what
is happening in the picture. Include in your story details you imagine on the basis of what
you saw. For example, if people are speaking, what might they be saying?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
3. Why do you think the photographer/illustrator took this picture? What ‘message’
might he/she want to communicate through this picture?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
4. What questions does this photograph raise in your mind?
?
?
?
Name ________________ #______
Date ____________________
Learning Target:
Target Use the t-chart to record your thoughts about the perspective and opinions
of a slave owner and a slave. Give specific details and word choices to clearly show the different
point of view.
*****************************************************************************
Slave Owner’s View
Slave’s View
Name ________________ #______
Date ____________________
Journal Scoring Rubric
Name _________________ #____
Date ___________________
Are the European and African cultures in contact or conflict?
4
Advanced
3
Proficient
2
Basic
1
Below
Basic
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clear message with supporting information
Ideas are fully developed, on topic, and organized in a logical order
Complete sentences with a variety of sentences
Specific and accurate word choice
Effective personal voice showing writer’s opinions and beliefs
Few or no capitalization, punctuation, or grammar errors not distracting
to the reader
•
•
•
•
•
•
Satisfactory development of message with some supporting details
Ideas are developed and organized in a logical order
Mostly complete sentences with some sentence variety
Specific and accurate word choice
Some personal voice showing writer’s opinions and beliefs
Few or no capitalization, punctuation, or grammar errors not distracting
to the reader
•
•
•
Tries to develop the message, but lacks supporting information
Shows weakness in organization of ideas
Understands how to write sentences but lacks variety in sentence
structure
Few specific or accurate word choices
Personal voice is weak without strong opinion or beliefs
Contains many errors in capitalization, punctuation, or grammar that is
distracting to the reader
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tries to write a message about he topic but no support information
Lacks organization of ideas and includes ideas that do not fit the topic
Poorly written sentences
Weak word choice that is not specific or accurate
Little or no personal voice
Makes many errors in capitalization, punctuation, or grammar that is
distracting to the reader
Score ______________
Comments:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
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The first Africans, twenty in number, landed at
the port Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. They
were brought to the colony as indentured
servants. To meet the growing demand for
labor, Virginia instituted slavery in 1671. From Slaves at auction
that time 'til slavery's abolition in 1865,
millions of African slaves were shipped to
North America. White fortunes were made,
banks and businesses founded, towns and cities
built, and independence gained in the two
hundred fifty years slavery existed. This was no coincidence. The unpaid labor of
slaves wove through every aspect of American life.
Not only were slaves unpaid, they were treated like material objects to be bought and
sold at market.
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Witness a Slave Auction
Understanding Slavery: DiscoverySchool.com
file:///G|/SS%20Resource%20Teacher%20Materials/TAH...d%202007/Witness%20A%20Slave%20Auction%205-08.html (2 of 2)5/19/2008 9:41:20 AM