Slave Dancer Museum Project
We will be reading Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, here is the book description from Amazon.com.
“One day, thirteen-year-old Jessie Bollier is earning pennies playing his fife on the docks of New Orleans; the next, he is kidnapped and thrown aboard a slave ship, where his job is to provide music while shackled slaves "dance" to keep their muscles strong and their bodies profitable. As the endless voyage continues, Jessie grows increasingly sickened by the greed, brutality, and inhumanity of the slave trade, but nothing prepares him for the ultimate horror he will witness before his nightmare ends -- a horror that will change his life forever.”
You will be working in a group to design an interactive museum display about this period in history (1830-1850). It must focus on a story of one person, but tell the history of the slave trade to America and slave trade within America.
These questions must be addressed.
1. What were the US slavery laws at this time?
2. What economic factors drove slavery?
3. What conditions did slaves live in?
4. What were abolitionists doing at this time?
5. How did the southern and northern states differ in their treatment of blacks?
6. Who were 3 important figures of the period associated with the slavery?
7. What three historical events highlight the turmoil of the era?
You must include:
1. At lease three primary source historical documents.
2. Three interactive components for the visitors.
3. Three artifacts
4. Three pieces of artwork
Your museum design can be presented as a diorama or a PowerPoint virtual museum (http://christykeeler.com/EducationalVirtualMuseums.html)
Dioramas must have an accompanying booklet or computer report with historical documents, art pieces and images for things too small to show in the model.
Outline of project due December 7, 2012
Project Due December 19, 2012