The narrative works of Frederick Douglass engage learners in the topic of slavery. They will experience American history in a new way, a Douglass expresses his thoughts in his own words. Pupils then interpret this literary work.   

Concepts

first-person point of view, close reading, Vocabulary, sentence variety, Writing, speaking skills, listening

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Number students 1-5 and assign them the tasks with their number (all #1's will do task 1, all #2's will do task 2 and so forth) instead of group work make it all individual
• Have partners or groups compare and contrast what they know about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman and collaborately write two paragraphs
• Use highlighters and sticky notes to mark the text

Classroom Considerations

• Excellent resource for Black History mMonth
• Team up with history teachers and expand the exercise
• Highlighters and sticky notes are a must for this lesson
• Make a copy of text for each individual in the class

Pros

• Unit assignment encompasses all literacy components
• Can be used for history class too
• Excellent discussion starter for Black History Month

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.8.1 RL.8.2 RL.8.3 RL.8.4 W.8.1.a W.8.4 SL.8.1.a SL.8.3