Reflecting on 1619 Through Research, Podcasts, and Infographics

This unit was created by UBUNTU: High School for Law Advocacy & Community Justice, as part of the 2021 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network. It is designed for facilitation across approximately two weeks, or eight class periods.

Objectives

Students will be able to...

• Engage in historical research inspired by close reading of a text from The 1619 Project.
• Investigate an issue of their choosing and present their findings through audio, visuals, and text.
• Develop their skills of inquiry and deliberation collaboratively.
• Connect with family, community members, and/or other stakeholders to answer questions about issues and themes that interest them from The 1619 Project.

Unit Overview

In this unit, students will read, annotate, and outline an essay of their choice from The 1619 Project. They will then identify a theme or issue of interest in the text to research further. Students will interview family, community members, and/or other stakeholders about this issue. The unit culminates in the creation of a mini-podcast with an accompanying infographic containing a short excerpt from the chosen 1619 Project essay, at least two scholarly sources, and at least two interviews.

As part of their studies, students will listen to the 1619 podcast and other example podcasts to analyze their structure and prepare them to emulate elements of other podcasts they enjoy.

The idea guiding this project is to support students in the knowledge that nothing exists in a vacuum and all things are connected. Students will build on their skills of annotation, outlining, inquiry, and deliberation, and will emphasize technology as an essential skill in Social Studies.

Essential Questions

• How do we use multiple forms of media to deeply understand and communicate information about complex issues? 
• How do we use a concept map to help organize and brainstorm ideas/paths/concepts?
• How do we conduct scholarly research to provide strong evidence for our claims?
• How can we better understand the nature and function of a podcast?
• How do we make a podcast and an infographic?

Performance Task

Students will create a mini-podcast accompanied by an infographic. The podcast will be anchored in a selected excerpt from their chosen or assigned essay from The 1619 Project. Students will conduct interviews as part of their mini-podcast and explore the impact of their topic on the lives of family, community members, and/or other stakeholders.

This project will require independent and cooperative work. The process will engage a myriad of Social Studies skills and almost all Common Core Standards. Students will annotate, outline, create a concept map, research, interview, and use technology in order to complete their projects.

Two-week unit plan for teachers, including pacing, texts and multimedia resources, and worksheets for student projects. Download below, or scroll down to read the complete unit plan.

Unit Resources

New York State Scope and Sequence Unifying Themes for Social Studies 9-12:

• Individual Development and Cultural Identity
• Development Movement and Interaction of Cultures
• Time, Continuity and Change
• Geography, Humans and the Environment
• Development and Transformation of Social Structures
• Science, Technology and Innovation

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts 11-12:

RL.11-12-.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

RL.11-12.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

RL.11-12.9 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

RI.11.12.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

SL.11.12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

W.11.12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

W.11.12.4 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Performance Task

Below, explore examples of students' mini-podcasts accompanied by infographics. Students conducted interviews and scholarly research to explore the impact of their topic on the lives of family, community members, and/or other stakeholders.

Infographic and mini-podcast by Sophia D.

Anchor text: "Sugar" by Khalil Gibran Muhammad from The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

Infographic and mini-podcast by Helen C. G.

Anchor text: "Dispossession" by Tiya Miles from The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

Infographic and mini-podcast by Ashley B.

Anchor text: "Sugar" by Khalil Gibran Muhammad from The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story