This unit was created by African American History at Mastery Charter Schools, part of the 2021 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across approximately three weeks, or fourteen class periods.
Essential Questions
- What was the social, economic, and political impact of the Atlantic Slave War?
- What key claims does The 1619 Project make about the legacy of slavery?
- What has caused resistance to The 1619 Project?
Unit Overview
In this unit, students will evaluate key claims made in essays from The 1619 Project as well as writing that criticizes the project. They will discuss the legacy the year 1619 in the history of the United States and explain the social, economic, and political impact of slavery in a research paper. This unit specifically provides students with an opportunity to discuss the contributions Black people have made to America and controversy surrounding the teaching/legacy of slavery.
Objectives
Students will be able to…
- Articulate the difference between arguments made for American exceptionalism and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.
- Write a four-paragraph paper about the impact of slavery, citing evidence from primary sources discussed in class and from their notes taken during 1619 Project discussion.
- Make connections between slavery and issues of race in the U.S. today.
Performance Task
Students will write a four-five paragraph paper describing the social, political, and economic impact of slavery. They will be required to cite a minimum of two sources, drawing on primary source documents, class discussions of The 1619 Project, and other class readings.
Implementation Suggestions:
- Leave two days for initial writing
- Read first draft and provide comments
- Return for students to write second draft
Three-week unit plan for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, rubrics, and examples of student work. Download below, or scroll down to read the complete unit plan.
Unit Resources
Common Core Standards for History/Social Studies:
RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
WHST.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Performance Task
Students write a research paper that answers the question: What was the social and political impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade? See below for an example essay written by a student at Mastery Charter Schools in fall 2021.
All of this white fear has been going on for years and years and is still going on in our present day. Not all whites are afraid of Blacks, but a good amount are, and that’s what causes so many young Black people to lose their lives...Slavery was a terrible 200 years for Black people because of white people's hunger for power and privilege. It was never okay to take free people from their countries and brand them and force them to do free labor. It was never okay to make laws stating that Black people couldn’t attend funerals and be in groups or leave without a pass from their 'owner.' Slavery may not technically exist in today’s world, but it does exist in many different forms. Our world has to change for the better because Black people don’t make our country worse, we make it better...We are proud kings and queens, and we are changing the world one day at a time.
Student essay from African American History at Mastery Charter Schools, fall 2021