Later Elementary Social Studies Colonial Life
Early American History
SCoPE Site Lesson Plan
Title: Lesson 8 – Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage (SS050408)
Abstract
In this lesson students continue their exploration of slavery in the colonies by learning about the horrors of the Middle Passage and the slave trade in general. They begin by analyzing several primary sources relating to a specific slave ship. Next, they investigate literature sources including historical fiction and an autobiography. Finally, they explore historical perspective and point of view through an analysis of the tragic events on the slave ship Zong.
Grade Level and Course Title: Fifth Grade/Early American History
Unit of Study: Colonial Life
Benchmarks
· Interpret conflicting accounts of events in early U.S. history and analyze the viewpoints of the authors (I.3.LE.2). GLCE.
· Interpret primary sources relating to the issue of slavery (I.3.LE.1).
· Describe the costs and benefits of trade among Africa, Europe, and the American colonies (IV.5.LE.2). GLCE.
Key Concepts
primary sources
slavery
trade
Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Manila folders
Overhead projector
Student Resource
Any class set of textbooks for fifth grade Social Studies, such as:
Berson, Michael J. Horizons: United States History: Beginnings. Orlando: Harcourt School Publishers, 2005. 145, 155, 163, 202-203, 236, 241-245.
Lester, Julius. From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. New York: Dial, 1998.
Living under Enslavement. The Henry Ford. 31 July 2006 <http://www.hfmgv.org/education/smartfun/hermitage/open.html>.
Photo diary of Pricilla’s Homecoming. The Africana Heritage Project. 31 July 2006 <http://www.africanaheritage.com/priscilla/photogallery.asp?id=4>.
Pricilla’s Homecoming. Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. Yale University. 31 July 2006 <http://www.yale.edu/glc/priscilla/index.htm>.
A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, Inc. 31 July 2006 <http://www.melfisher.org/henriettamarie/overview.htm>.
The Slave Ship Zong. The Transatlantic Slave Trade. 31 July 2006 <http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/main/Activities/04_SlaveShipZong.pdf>.
Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune Free Man. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1950.
Teacher Resource
Account of the Middle Passage from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Virtual Jamestown. 31 July 2006 <http://www.virtualjamestown.org/mpassage.html>.
Africans in America. Public Broadcasting Service. 31 July 2006 <www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia>.
Description of a Slave Ship. Africans in America. PBS. 31 July 2006 <http://africanhistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=africanhistory&zu=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h295b.html>.
Inside a Slave Fort. 31 July 2006 <http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/main/PickandMix/Inside%20a%20Slave%20Fort.doc>.
A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie. Teacher’s Guide with Classroom Activities. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, Inc. 31 July 2006 <http://www.melfisher.org/henriettamarie/teacherguide.htm>.
The Triangular Trade. U.S. News and World Report. 31 July 2006 <http://www.usnewsclassroom.com/resources/activities/act030210_wksht_a.pdf>.
Vernon’s Letter. The Voyage of the Hare. Choices. Brown University. 31 July 2006 <http://www.choices.edu/documents/SlaveVoyage.pdf>.
Other
Egbo, Carol. Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Teacher-made material. Waterford, MI: Oakland Schools, 2005.
Sequence of Activities
1. Begin the lesson by asking students to jot down one or two things in their journals that they have already learned about slavery in the colonies from this or the previous unit. Have them share their ideas with a partner.
2. Review the term “primary sources” by reminding students that primary sources are actual records of an event prepared by a participant in or observer to the event. Letters, photographs, diaries, articles of clothing, newspapers, and maps are primary sources. Explain that primary sources are useful in interpreting the past because they provide a first-hand account of what occurred.
3. Divide students into groups of four and give each group a folder containing a copy of the “Primary Sources #1 - #4,” the “Transcriptions Sheet,” and the “Analyzing Primary Sources Group Recording Sheet,” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Explain that groups should work together to analyze the primary sources and complete the group-recording sheet. Emphasize that groups should look for connections between the four primary sources.
4. Give students time to work together and complete the activity. Then, have them share their ideas with the entire class. Note that a sheet showing Sample Answers for the group recording sheet has been included in the in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Use the following questions to guide your discussion:
· In what way were the four primary sources connected?
· What helped you connect the sources together?
· What was difficult about analyzing the primary sources?
· How do these primary sources help us understand slavery and the slave trade?
5. Remind students that secondary sources also help us learn about history. Review how secondary sources are an interpretation of the past by someone who was not a witness to the event. For example, an observer may verbally relate an historical event to another person who then writes their impression of the event. The person doing the writing is making a secondary interpretation of the event from the person who was there, or the primary source. A person may also study primary sources and then write about an event. Historical fiction is this type of secondary source.
6. Read aloud the first two chapters of Amos Fortune Free Man by Elizabeth Yates or a similar book. Discuss students’ feelings and reactions to the content in the reading. Ask students what they learned from the author’s words. Note that another good book to use at this point in the lesson is From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester.
7. Using “Triangular Trade, Overhead #1,” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc), review what students learned in the previous lesson. Guide students in understanding that, as shown in the primary sources from the slave ship Hare, sometimes ships moved directly between Africa and New England.
8. Explain that the route of enslaved Africans between Africa and the Americas came to be known as the Middle Passage. This was because it was often the middle leg of a three-part triangular trade route. Share and discuss the following information regarding the Middle Passage:
· After a long and difficult journey from the interior of Africa to the coast, enslaved Africans were forced to wait in dungeons or other prison-type areas. Waiting lasted weeks, months and sometimes as long as a year.
· Enslaved people were commonly branded with the imprint of the French, English or Dutch company that had purchased them.
· When slave ships arrived, the enslaved people were forced onboard into cramped living quarters beneath the decks where there was little ventilation and no sanitary facilities. There was no space for standing. People were chained together on their backs.
· The journey across the Atlantic usually took from sixty to ninety days but could sometimes last up to four months.
· Death rates were high. Historians estimate that between ten and twenty percent of those transported died on during the Middle Passage.
9. Give each student a copy “From the Autobiography of Olaudah Equiano,” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc) and make an overhead transparency of the sheet. Explain that this piece of text was written by someone who had been enslaved as a young man. Remind students that they read another section of the autobiography in Lesson 9 of unit 3. Have students read the text and then summarize the main idea of the passage and three details in their social studies journals. Then, have students share their ideas in the large group.
10. Explain that the Equiano passage, which describes enslaved people casting themselves into the sea in order to resist being enslaved, is just one example of resistance on the part of enslaved Africans. Explain that sometimes they tried to rebel against their captors. Several incidences of revolts have been recorded.
11. At this point in the lesson you may wish to have students explore sections of their text relating to the slavery and the Middle Passage. If you are using the text listed in the Student Resources the following pages can be used: 145, 155, 163, 202-203, 236, 241-245. Have students compare and contrast what they have learned from primary sources and literature with what they read in their textbooks.
12. If time permits, have students research the wreck of the Henrietta Marie. This was a merchant slave ship that was wrecked off the coast of Florida in 1700 after the crew stopped to sell a shipment of 190 slaves in Jamaica. Numerous artifacts including iron shackles used on enslaved Africans have been recovered from the ship. Excellent information can be found at the following website: http://www.melfisher.org/henriettamarie/overview.htm. Note that a Teacher’s Guide and many activities relating to the ship and its discovery can be found at this website: http://www.melfisher.org/henriettamarie/teacherguide.htm.
13. As a culminating activity have students explore the tragic events about the slave ship Zong in 1781. Begin by giving each student a copy of the short informational article, “The Slave Ship Zong,” and a copy of the “Questions of History Chart” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Explain that students should read the article carefully and then analyze the events described in it by completing the chart. Give students time to complete the activity and then have them share their charts with a partner.
14. Remind students that to understand historical events it is useful to explore different points of view relating to the events. Give each student a copy of the “Point of View” chart located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Explain that they should read the different passages relating to the events on the Zong, which are written on the chart and describe the point of view of each person. Explain that in the last section of the chart they should describe their own point of view regarding what happened on the Zong. Give students time to complete the activity and then discuss the various points of view with the large group.
15. The following can be used as optional enrichment activities for this lesson:
· Have students research a slave fort in Ghana at this site: http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/main/PickandMix/Inside%20a%20Slave%20Fort.doc.
· Take your students on a field trip to the Museum of African American History in Detroit and view the exhibit “And Still We Rise.”
· Visit the home of an enslaved carpenter form the Hermitage Plantation in Georgia at this website sponsored by the Henry Ford Museum: http://www.hfmgv.org/education/smartfun/hermitage/open.html.
· Explore how a descendant of a young enslaved girl about the Hare researches her ancestor and visits the nation of Sierra Leone at these websites: http://www.africanaheritage.com/priscilla/photogallery.asp?id=4 and http://www.yale.edu/glc/priscilla/index.htm.
Assessment
Have students complete the “Questions of History Assessment Chart” located in the Supplemental Materials (SS050408.doc). Note that a completed chart of possible answers has also been included to guide you in evaluating student charts. The “Analyzing Primary Sources” charts from Step 3 as well as the charts from Step 13 and 14 can also be used as an assessment.
Application Beyond School
Students could explore African American history in their own local community.
Connections
English Language Arts
Students practice the speaker’s craft as they participate in large group discussions.
Students practice a variety of comprehension skills as they analyze primary sources.
July 31, 2006 SCoPE SS050408 Page 5 of 5