Chronology of Slavery
Young Adult Literature and the History of Slavery Unit
By Rick Vanderwall

Overview

In this lesson, students survey the chronology of slavery online and select what they believe are the key events that provide them a basic understanding of when slavery took place in America and the events that defined it. In addition, students will reflect on the qualities of younger learners. Information students collect during this activity will not only shape the design of lessons but also will become part of the content of the lessons taught to the younger students.

Student Objectives

Students will:

• Define as many possible ways to create a timeline as they can.
• Discover, through reading and research, events at the beginning and end of slavery in America.
• Select the events that defined the institution of slavery.
• Select and create a database for creating lessons.

Skills Attained

Students will be able to:

• Read historical documents closely.
• Adapt information from a source for another purpose.
• Isolate key facts from a larger pool of information.

Materials Needed

• Computers or hardcopies of written materials posted at:
  http://www.innercity.org/holt/chron_1790_1829.html
• Chronology Worksheet

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

1. Ask students to define the word "chronology."



2. Engage students in a discussion about what content would be essential and appropriate for teaching the history of slavery to younger students. If it does not come up, suggest they consider the chronology of events that marked, not only the beginning and end of the slave period, but also the events that defined it.

Procedures

1. Divide the class into small groups of two or three students.



2. Direct each group to list the qualities of the grade level of students they will be teaching and to note these qualities on the Chronology Worksheet. (below)



3. Have groups go online to the Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism site at: http://www.innercity.org/holt/chron_1790_1829.html. Instruct students to find the beginning and end of the slave period. Then, have each student record the dates on their Chronology Worksheets.



4. Ask students to select the defining events of the slave period and record them on the Worksheets.



5. Then, have each group present the information it gathered to the class.



6. Have students discuss and agree on a method for arriving at group consensus on the information on the worksheet.



7. Create a master information sheet for the class to use in creating the content for teaching the younger students. Be sure to distribute a copy of the master sheet to all students.

Assessment

To grade students’ work, use the rubric below:

Grading Element	Points (out of 40 total)
Completion of the Chronology Worksheet	10
Participation during group process	20
Group presentation of collected information	10

Rick Vanderwall teaches Sixth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies at Price Laboratory School at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Return to the main unit page.

Group Members: ________________________________________________________________________

Chair: _____________________

Recorder: __________________

Instructions: As soon as your group is assembled, agree on who will chair the group and who will record the group’s responses on the form. Once your group has decided these roles, complete the following group tasks.

1. Task One
   
   List as many important qualities of the third/fourth/fifth grade learners that the class will be teaching. You will find it helpful to remember what you were like when you were that age or have group members contribute their experiences with younger siblings.



2. Task Two
   
   First, go online to the Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism web site:
   http://www.innercity.org/holt/chron_1790_1829.html. Then, find the beginning and end dates of slavery in America and list below.
   
   Beginning:___________________
   
   End:___________________



3. Task Three
   
   Using your group’s list of learning qualities, make a list from the website of the defining events of the slave period and record the date of the events and a brief description on the worksheet.