This unit focuses on the slavery era and life during the Great Depression, from the African-American perspective.
Emphasis is placed on social studies, reading, and language arts.
In the first phase, the students will study slavery by participating in selected activities from the Afro-American in United States History and study factual accounts of Jullus Lester s To Be A Slave. By studying slavery through a social studies perspective, the students will gain the necessary understanding of the concept of slavery, a prerequisite to studying any African-American literature. In addition to developing the conceptual understanding of slavery, the students will briefly learn about the geography and cultures of the South. The literature-based selections, chosen for my eighth grade reluctant readers, are set during the Great Depression. This perspective seems especially appropriate during today s economic times.