Date: April 29, 2003

Grade Level: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Subject(s):

• Social Studies/Multicultural Education
• Social Studies/US History
• Language Arts/Writing

Duration: 10-14 class sessions

Description: America is a melting pot of many groups of citizens that have had great influence on our way of life. It is important that we know and understand the contributions to medicine, architecture, literature, the Arts, war efforts, and betterments of our society by African Americans, many of who first came to this country as slaves. Studying Black History will give you an understanding of the many hardships faced and overcome by this group of citizens in the United States.

Goals:
National Standards for History :

• Standard 1A: The student understands family life now and in the recent past; family life in various places long ago.
• Standard 1B: The student understands the different ways people of diverse, racial, religious, and ethnic groups, and of various national origins that have transmitted their beliefs and values.

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as the write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

1. Students will have an understanding for the contributions of African Americans.
2. Students will use web sites to research information on Black History.
3. Students will use a graphic organizer to record data researched.
4. Students will synthesize information into an ABC Pop-up Book of Black History.
5. Students will use conventions of good writing, style, and vocabulary to write for an audience.

• computers with Internet access
• various ABC books written in different genres
• Poem, "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes
• Poem, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus
• materials for making the pop-up books (construction paper can be used, but used folders are the best because they are thicker)
• Introduction and Task
• Graphic Organizer for Notetaking
• Rubric

Handouts in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click the icon to obtain the free Reader.

Instruction and Activities:

Day 1:
Begin with a class discussion on the heritage of each student. On the overhead or on the chalkboard write down the different countries from which students’ ancestors have come. Lead students to the idea that the United States is a "melting pot" of peoples and cultures. Stress that most peoples have come because they wanted the freedom that the "New World" offered, but many were forced to come as slaves from their native countries. Have students read the words on the Statue of Liberty entitled, "The New Colossus" and "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes. Discuss the different dreams of those who have come to America and the means by which they have come. Tell students that tomorrow they will begin research on the contributions of African Americans to the American culture.

Day 2:
Hand out the Task and Rubric for the study. Go over both items with the students. Tell them that they are going to begin a study of the Black History and its influences on the American Culture. Have a few ABC books with pop-up illustrations on hand to show the different types that have been written. Tell students that they will be writing theirs to show examples of and explain the history of African Americans. Use the Encyclopedia Britannica guide to Black History ( http://search.eb.com/blackhistory ) for biographies and articles on Black History listed in ABC order. Tell students to choose any words from these lists to research, but also give them the options of using their own family histories and photographs in their pop-up books. Explain that they will begin their research using the web sources that you provide to get started. Students can record their information on a graphic organizer (see Materials ). Let students begin to research.

Days 3-8: (Depending on whether students are working individually or in pairs.)
Students use the Internet to find information. Pictures can also be found and copied at this time.

Days 9-14:
Students begin to make their books. Depending on available computers, students can either use the data they have researched to write their information or use the computer to write their sentences/paragraphs for the pop-up books. It is important to stress that correct usage, punctuation, and spelling is necessary since the books will be for an audience. Depending on the grade level and the ability level, students can differentiate their information by writing a sentence or paragraphs with topic sentences and detail sentences. Reiterate the information in the Rubric as the guide for their books.

Lesson Extensions:
Let students share their books with each other or in front of the class. You might also take sets of the books to different classes to be read. Contact your local library to see if they would be willing to put the books on display.

Assessment: Teacher observation and the Rubric (see Materials ).

Rubric Scoring: For teachers wanting to give a percent, 3 points could be given for every Advanced score, 2 points for every Basic score, and 1 point for every Needs Help score with the opportunity to re-do that section. A total of 18 points is possible. By dividing the total into the number of points received, a percentile can be found. For instance, a child who scores 17 points out of the total 18 would have a score of 95% by dividing 17 by 18. If you want to grade in categories, the student receiving an "A" would have the majority of items in the Advanced column circled; a "B" would be a combination of the Advanced and Basic columns; a "C" the majority of items in the Basic column circled; and a "D" or below, the majority of items in the Needs Help column.

Useful Internet Resources:
* Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History
http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/

* NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
http://www.ncte.org/standards/standards.shtml

* National Standards for History
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/