Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone? What was it about?
  • What challenges did enslaved African Americans face?

• INTRODUCTION

  Direct students to the introduction section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following two video clips that provide background information about the American system of slavery. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #1: The Slave System (4:44).

  • Based on the clip, how many African Americans were enslaved?
  • What is “slavery?”
  • According to Rita Roberts, what two things did the American legal system ‘ensure?’
  • Of what did enslaved individuals have “no formal power?”
  • What did slave codes “forbid,” and what did this mean for both enslaved individuals and slave owners?
  • What did enslaved African Americans “consistently reject?” How so?
  • Summarize what the “evidence” shows.

• Clip #2: Not Monolithic (1:40).

  • Did African Americans have a “monolithic experience?”
  • Based on the clip, what did African Americans’ experiences depend upon?
  • According to Rita Roberts, what did African Americans demonstrate?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage.

  We recommend having your students complete the activity in a jigsaw format to save time. Or, depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students engage in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student is responsible for completing one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

  Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• LETTERS

  Direct students to the letters section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to choose two of the following six video clips that that highlight a specific letter or exchange of letters. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer.

  Have your students prepare to share their findings with a small group or the class when finished, potentially via the Jigsaw method. Ensure that students record their peers' findings as well.

• OPTION #1: Clip #3 - Emily and Adam Plummer (4:28).

  • Based on the clip, where did Emily and Adam Plummer live?
  • Compare the literacy skills of Emily and Adam, as described by Rita Roberts.
  • What did enslaved individuals “fear?”
  • Summarize the context and implications of Emily’s letter from April 20, 1856, and of Adam’s response.
  • What evidence suggests that family was “central” to Emily and Adam?

• OPTION #2: Clip #4 - Harriette and Dangerfield Newby (6:04).

  • Based on the clip, who were Dangerfield Newby’s father and mother?
  • According to Rita Roberts, why was Dangerfield separated from his wife and children?
  • What was Dangerfield “determined” to do?
  • Why did Dangerfield become “desperate,” and what did he decide to do? Describe what happened.
  • How was the centrality of family “evident?” Summarize the example of Frederick and Annie Douglass.

• OPTION #3: Clip #5 - Sarah Logue and Jermain Loguen (3:57).

  • What does it mean that Jermain Loguen was a “fugitive slave?”
  • Based on the clip, who was Sarah Logue?
  • Summarize Sarah’s letter from February 20, 1860, and what she asks Jermain to do.
  • According to Rita Roberts, what had Jermain done since escaping from enslavement?
  • Summarize Jermain’s March 28, 1860 response to Sarah. What did he “basically” tell her?

• OPTION #4: Clip #6 - Annie and John Washington (2:04).

  • What did enslaved African Americans take “advantage” of, and why were black Union soldiers “disappearing?”
  • When did John Washington “declare his love” for Annie?
  • According to Rita Roberts, what happened to John after escaping enslavement?
  • For what did Annie “criticize” John?
  • Based on the clip, what was John’s response to Annie, and what happened?

• OPTION #5: Clip #7 - Ameilia and Lewis Douglass (2:51).

  • Based on the clip, who was Ameilia Loguen?
  • How does Rita Roberts describe Ameilia and Lewis Douglass’ love letters?
  • What was Ameilia “not sure” about, and how did Lewis respond?
  • According to Roberts, what was Ameilia worried about? Why? What concern did Lewis have?
  • Based on the clip, what happened in 1869?

• OPTION #6: Clip #8 - Laura Spicer and Her Husband (3:08).

  • Whose letters do we have, and what does this allow us to “intuit?”
  • Based on the clip, for how long had Laura Spicer and her husband been separated?
  • According to Rita Roberts, what did Laura and her husband find out after the Civil War?
  • Summarize the husband’s response letter, as read in the clip.
  • What did Laura and her husband “decide,” and what does the husband ask Laura to do?

• REFLECTION

  After your students finish sharing their findings from the letter activity (either in a jigsaw activity or otherwise), direct them to the reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following final video clip in which author Rita Roberts provides reflective thoughts for the lesson. Direct your students to answer the related questions and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #9: An American Story (1:12).

  • What do people “forget” occurred during the post Civil War period?
  • Summarize the story of the mother, as told by Rita Roberts.

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished with the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having learned about a few African American Civil War Era letters, describe what these letters illustrate about the “American story.” Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your response.