Lesson Overviews
Lesson 1:
To begin the lesson inform the students that they are going to be investigating the movement of slaves out of Africa and the movement of convicts and free settlers out of Britain over the next few lessons. To accomplish this students will be investigating the main features of slavery and use sources to construct the story of the transatlantic slave trade and convict transportation. The unit overview page has been included in the construction of the digital artifact to trigger student prior knowledge regarding previous lessons that explored what the Industrial Revolution was and the impact it had on the movement of peoples throughout the world.
Tell students that slavery within the Transatlantic slave trade is the theme of the next two lessons and that students will be using a variety of sources (text, images, video, both primary and secondary sources) to construct the story of the slave trade. Begin by brainstorming the notion of slavery and then start unpacking the information on the 'Lesson One: Part A' page. Then the class watches the video lesson from Ted.ed as a class, with the students taking notes to assist themselves in answering the questions for 'Activity 1: the Slave Trade'. Next students will begin "Activity 2: Database Research", where they will become familiar with database researching, the scale of the transatlantic slave trade and how various sources have been used to help us to construct a picture of the past.
The second part of lesson one moves students to investigating the main features of slavery through text, images, video, and reflection. Inform the students that understanding the ideas, actions, and experiences of people in the past can be a difficult experience and is a challenge we will encounter throughout the study of history. Start "Activity 3 - Slave Resistance" to get the students to assess their own level of resistance and gauge reactions to a loss of freedom (keep in mind this Kahoot! quiz is simply a bit of fun). Having established from the quiz, that the students would not like to be slaves the class then moves into the logistics of the slave trade through participating in "Activity 4: Gallery Walk". Students are then informed that the next lesson they will be continuing their investigation into slavery by comparing first hand accounts of slavery and then will construct a definition of slavery.
Lesson 2:
Prior to starting the activities in this lesson it is necessary to inform the students of the benefits of investigating different perspectives in the study of history. Students are then introduced to the problematic nature of knowledge, through the elephant and the blind men, and what is required of us as learners to navigate our way around all the information and ideas we encounter. Students then begin "Activity 5: Historical Empathy" to investigate three different thoughts and ideas on slavery and how the social construction of knowledge, economic and political influence and the co-operation of multiple layers of people drove the practice of slavery. Students are then informed that without these multiple layers of influence slavery would not have survived for generations. Ask students about whether or not slavery still exists today. Students now watch the video lesson from Khan Academy and take notes to assist them in answering the questions for "Activity 6: What would you say?". Having defined slavery inform the students that they will be continuing their investigation on the movement of people in future lessons by shifting to the movement and experiences of free settlers and convicts out of Britain.
To begin the lesson inform the students that they are going to be investigating the movement of slaves out of Africa and the movement of convicts and free settlers out of Britain over the next few lessons. To accomplish this students will be investigating the main features of slavery and use sources to construct the story of the transatlantic slave trade and convict transportation. The unit overview page has been included in the construction of the digital artifact to trigger student prior knowledge regarding previous lessons that explored what the Industrial Revolution was and the impact it had on the movement of peoples throughout the world.
Tell students that slavery within the Transatlantic slave trade is the theme of the next two lessons and that students will be using a variety of sources (text, images, video, both primary and secondary sources) to construct the story of the slave trade. Begin by brainstorming the notion of slavery and then start unpacking the information on the 'Lesson One: Part A' page. Then the class watches the video lesson from Ted.ed as a class, with the students taking notes to assist themselves in answering the questions for 'Activity 1: the Slave Trade'. Next students will begin "Activity 2: Database Research", where they will become familiar with database researching, the scale of the transatlantic slave trade and how various sources have been used to help us to construct a picture of the past.
The second part of lesson one moves students to investigating the main features of slavery through text, images, video, and reflection. Inform the students that understanding the ideas, actions, and experiences of people in the past can be a difficult experience and is a challenge we will encounter throughout the study of history. Start "Activity 3 - Slave Resistance" to get the students to assess their own level of resistance and gauge reactions to a loss of freedom (keep in mind this Kahoot! quiz is simply a bit of fun). Having established from the quiz, that the students would not like to be slaves the class then moves into the logistics of the slave trade through participating in "Activity 4: Gallery Walk". Students are then informed that the next lesson they will be continuing their investigation into slavery by comparing first hand accounts of slavery and then will construct a definition of slavery.
Lesson 2:
Prior to starting the activities in this lesson it is necessary to inform the students of the benefits of investigating different perspectives in the study of history. Students are then introduced to the problematic nature of knowledge, through the elephant and the blind men, and what is required of us as learners to navigate our way around all the information and ideas we encounter. Students then begin "Activity 5: Historical Empathy" to investigate three different thoughts and ideas on slavery and how the social construction of knowledge, economic and political influence and the co-operation of multiple layers of people drove the practice of slavery. Students are then informed that without these multiple layers of influence slavery would not have survived for generations. Ask students about whether or not slavery still exists today. Students now watch the video lesson from Khan Academy and take notes to assist them in answering the questions for "Activity 6: What would you say?". Having defined slavery inform the students that they will be continuing their investigation on the movement of people in future lessons by shifting to the movement and experiences of free settlers and convicts out of Britain.
Links to Stage 5 History Syllabus, NSW
HT5-2: Students sequence and explain the significant patterns of continuity and change in the development of the modern world and Australia.
HT5-6: uses relevant evidence from sources to support historical narratives, explanations and analyses of the modern world and Australia
HT5-8: selects and analyses a range of historical sources to locate information relevant to an historical inquiry
HT5-10: selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to communicate effectively about the past for different audiences.
- This is evident in "Activity 1: The Transatlantic Slave Trade" and "Activity 2: Database research" as students explore the origins and scale of the transatlantic slave trade.
- This is evident within various activities in the lessons. For example during "Activity 1: Transatlantic Slave Trade" as students explore the reasons for the slave trade.
HT5-6: uses relevant evidence from sources to support historical narratives, explanations and analyses of the modern world and Australia
- Outcomes HT5-5/6 are evident within "Activity 4: Gallery Walk" and "Activity 5: Historical Empathy" as students break down their own biased preconceptions and support what they do know with valid reasons and interpretations based upon the use of valid sources.
HT5-8: selects and analyses a range of historical sources to locate information relevant to an historical inquiry
HT5-10: selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to communicate effectively about the past for different audiences.
- These outcomes are evident within "Activity 4: Gallery Walk" as students use a range of sources to analyse the motives and actions of past individuals in regards to the logistics of the transatlantic slave trade. And "Activity 5: Historical Empathy" as they compare three first hand accounts of slavery.
Rationale for the Resources
It is important that the lessons we produce consist of “positive and productive experiences for all learners” (Killen, 2013, p. 86). To achieve this it is necessary to consider multiple strategies that connect what teachers do, lesson-by-lesson, with the long term goals of the curriculum and the students’ interests. This is because the “environment and culture in which people are raised affects and even determines many of their thought processes” (Prensky, 2001, p.7). Many young students (digital natives) today have grown up as part of the ‘Games Generation’, meaning that they exist, interact, and learn within a more interactive world.
Many students crave interactive learning and immersion that is familiar to them. Unfortunately, student interest does not always match the content of the lesson. It is therefore necessary that technology not only be incorporated into the classroom but also into teacher pedagogy. By drawing upon our technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) we are able to plan and design digital artifacts, using a range of ICT’s, including YouTube, Weebly, Kahoot, GoogleDocs, and so on, that provide quality learning experiences for students in the classroom and are able to meet the needs of individual learners. Put simply using ICT’s in the classroom can improve student engagement because it is a medium many students are very familiar with using for their own learning.
According to Prensky (2001), what this means is that the development of new digital technologies and media has resulted in cognitive changes in digital natives; leading to a variety of new needs for learning and teaching. One of these new needs has been the teaching of multiliteracies. Using multiliteracies is a way of making productive use of the student’s personal experience and background knowledge, as the students are often implicitly familiar with multiliteracies, and this is crucial for engaging the students in classroom activities and building deep understanding (Gore, 2007). Further elements of the NSW Quality Teaching Model (Gore, 2007) are embedded throughout the lesson.
The Intellectual Quality of the lessons is maintained through engaging the students in tasks that require higher order thinking, problematic knowledge and sustained communication. This is evident from the students’ participation in the analysis of different perspectives relating to the movement of peoples and use of a variety of sources to construct understandings of the past. Students are engaged in higher order thinking (Gore, 2007) during the inquiry process for Activity 5: Historical Empathy, by allowing the students to break down their own biased preconceptions and support what they do know with valid reasons and interpretations. During this activity the relationships between a “concept and the lived experience and narrative to which the concept relates shows enough dissonance and strain to trigger inquiry in order to understand it” (Kennedy, 2012, p. 41). This activity also employs an ‘information gap task’ (O’Toole, Burke, Absalom, 2012) approach that sees the students interpreting their chosen perspective in groups and then explaining that perspective from multiple points of view. This provides repetition and reinforcement as the students discuss the same text but it also provides a different discussion as other groups can challenge the interpretation.
This digital artifact has been produced by using Weebly; a website builder. The artefact aims to improve student engagement by providing the students with a resource that looks and feels similar to how they would typically navigate around the internet looking for information. The tasks offered in the lessons aim at developing student inquiry and participation through collaborative thinking. The Google Docs, group work and discussion time (aimed at constructing a group definition of slavery) are evidence for the collaborative thinking taking place.
It is vital that opportunities for reflection and critical thinking are built into lessons. Within these lessons there are multiple opportunities for students to reflect upon what they have been learning through written tasks and what the students are reflecting upon requires them to engage with a range of texts, images, video and each other through a digital platform. Students are being challenged to reliably analyse primary and secondary sources, identify individual perspectives in a text, engage in reading, writing, and listening, and representing knowledge and ideas. Using ICT’s and developing our technological knowledge and incorporating that into delivering productive and positive classroom activities will help push us from teaching strategies that merely attempt to insert knowledge into students heads (Presnky, 2012) and instead engage them in a process of learning how to think; as they are active and interactive learners.
Many students crave interactive learning and immersion that is familiar to them. Unfortunately, student interest does not always match the content of the lesson. It is therefore necessary that technology not only be incorporated into the classroom but also into teacher pedagogy. By drawing upon our technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) we are able to plan and design digital artifacts, using a range of ICT’s, including YouTube, Weebly, Kahoot, GoogleDocs, and so on, that provide quality learning experiences for students in the classroom and are able to meet the needs of individual learners. Put simply using ICT’s in the classroom can improve student engagement because it is a medium many students are very familiar with using for their own learning.
According to Prensky (2001), what this means is that the development of new digital technologies and media has resulted in cognitive changes in digital natives; leading to a variety of new needs for learning and teaching. One of these new needs has been the teaching of multiliteracies. Using multiliteracies is a way of making productive use of the student’s personal experience and background knowledge, as the students are often implicitly familiar with multiliteracies, and this is crucial for engaging the students in classroom activities and building deep understanding (Gore, 2007). Further elements of the NSW Quality Teaching Model (Gore, 2007) are embedded throughout the lesson.
The Intellectual Quality of the lessons is maintained through engaging the students in tasks that require higher order thinking, problematic knowledge and sustained communication. This is evident from the students’ participation in the analysis of different perspectives relating to the movement of peoples and use of a variety of sources to construct understandings of the past. Students are engaged in higher order thinking (Gore, 2007) during the inquiry process for Activity 5: Historical Empathy, by allowing the students to break down their own biased preconceptions and support what they do know with valid reasons and interpretations. During this activity the relationships between a “concept and the lived experience and narrative to which the concept relates shows enough dissonance and strain to trigger inquiry in order to understand it” (Kennedy, 2012, p. 41). This activity also employs an ‘information gap task’ (O’Toole, Burke, Absalom, 2012) approach that sees the students interpreting their chosen perspective in groups and then explaining that perspective from multiple points of view. This provides repetition and reinforcement as the students discuss the same text but it also provides a different discussion as other groups can challenge the interpretation.
This digital artifact has been produced by using Weebly; a website builder. The artefact aims to improve student engagement by providing the students with a resource that looks and feels similar to how they would typically navigate around the internet looking for information. The tasks offered in the lessons aim at developing student inquiry and participation through collaborative thinking. The Google Docs, group work and discussion time (aimed at constructing a group definition of slavery) are evidence for the collaborative thinking taking place.
It is vital that opportunities for reflection and critical thinking are built into lessons. Within these lessons there are multiple opportunities for students to reflect upon what they have been learning through written tasks and what the students are reflecting upon requires them to engage with a range of texts, images, video and each other through a digital platform. Students are being challenged to reliably analyse primary and secondary sources, identify individual perspectives in a text, engage in reading, writing, and listening, and representing knowledge and ideas. Using ICT’s and developing our technological knowledge and incorporating that into delivering productive and positive classroom activities will help push us from teaching strategies that merely attempt to insert knowledge into students heads (Presnky, 2012) and instead engage them in a process of learning how to think; as they are active and interactive learners.
References
References:
The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_history_of_american_slavery/2015/06/animated_interactive_of_the_history_of_the_atlantic_slave_trade.html
Board of Studies, NSW. (2012). Syllabus for the Australian curriculum: History K-10 Syllabus NSW. Sydney: Board of Studies NSW.
Barbot, J. (1732). Extract – Slave Trade Documents by John Barbot 1732. In T. Astley & J. Churchill (Eds), Collection of Voyages and Travels. London. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/slavetrade.html
Dennett, B., & Howitt, B. (Eds.). (2013). Oxford Insight History: Australian Curriculum for NSW, Stage 5. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Biard, F. A. (1862). Slave Auction, Rio de Janeiro, 1858-1860. [painting]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=&theRecord=2&recordCount=71
Blake, W. O. (1857). Branding Slaves, 19th cent.[illustration]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=&theRecord=4&recordCount=75
Equiano, O. (1789). Extract - From The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/olaudahequiano.html
Falconbridge, A. (1788). Extract – From Conditions on an English Slaver. In An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa. London. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/englishslaver.html
Gore, J. (2007). Improving Pedagogy: The challenges of moving teachers toward higher levels of quality teaching. In J. Butcher & L. McDonald (Eds) Making a Difference: Challenges for Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education (pp. 15-33). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
The Illustrated News. (1857). Africans Packed into a Slave Ship. [illustration]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=Slave%20Ships%20and%20the%20Atlantic%20Crossing%20%28Middle%20Passage%29&theRecord=46&recordCount=78
Jones, K. (2006, September 10). Youth for Human Rights – No Slavery [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWCjLeADSLE
Kahoot! https://getkahoot.com/
Kennedy, D. (2012). Lipman, Dewey, and the Community of Philosophical Inquiry. Education & quality teaching. In J. Butcher & L. McDonald (Eds) Making a Difference: Challenges for Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education (pp. 15-33). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Khan Academy. (2013, August 23). CCWH24 Slavery KHAN [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X5JMS9_EK8
Killen, R. (2013). Planning for Quality Teaching and Learning. In Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (pp. 86-109).
Livingstone, D (1874). Slave Coffle, Central Africa, 1866.[Engraving] Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=3&categoryName=&theRecord=2&recordCount=43
Prensky, M. (2001). The Games Generations: How Learners have Changed. In Digital Game-Based Learning (pp. 1-26). McGraw-Hill.
Prensky, M. (2012). From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Introduction. In Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st Century Education (pp. 1-9). Corwin
Reid, M. (1864). Deck of Slave Ship, 19th cent.[Sketching]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=&theRecord=56&recordCount=71
Speilberg, S. (2008, July 2). Middle Passage (from Amistad) [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nePOpkYwjY
Speilberg, S. (2011, February 17). Slaves thrown overboard [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65oxOc7FIo
Speilberg, S. (2011, October 27). Amistad (2/8) Movie CLIP – The Middle Passage [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMliaXlKxow
TED-Ed. (2014, December 22). The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you – Anthony Hazard [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXC4Q_4JVg
Tibbles, A. (1994). Iron Shackles Used in Slave Trade. [image]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=Slave%20Ships%20and%20the%20Atlantic%20Crossing%20%28Middle%20Passage%29&theRecord=26&recordCount=78
Unknown (1769). Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans. [poster]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas&theRecord=71&recordCount=75
Unknown (1789) Plan of the British Slave Ship “Brookes,”1789. [illustration]. Retrieved from: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/detailsKeyword.php?keyword=brooks&recordCount=3&theRecord=0
Van Tol, D., Ottery, S., & Keith, R. (2012). Pearson History student book.9. Melbourne: Pearson Australia.
The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_history_of_american_slavery/2015/06/animated_interactive_of_the_history_of_the_atlantic_slave_trade.html
Board of Studies, NSW. (2012). Syllabus for the Australian curriculum: History K-10 Syllabus NSW. Sydney: Board of Studies NSW.
Barbot, J. (1732). Extract – Slave Trade Documents by John Barbot 1732. In T. Astley & J. Churchill (Eds), Collection of Voyages and Travels. London. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/slavetrade.html
Dennett, B., & Howitt, B. (Eds.). (2013). Oxford Insight History: Australian Curriculum for NSW, Stage 5. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Biard, F. A. (1862). Slave Auction, Rio de Janeiro, 1858-1860. [painting]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=&theRecord=2&recordCount=71
Blake, W. O. (1857). Branding Slaves, 19th cent.[illustration]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=&theRecord=4&recordCount=75
Equiano, O. (1789). Extract - From The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano. In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/olaudahequiano.html
Falconbridge, A. (1788). Extract – From Conditions on an English Slaver. In An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa. London. Retrieved from http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/englishslaver.html
Gore, J. (2007). Improving Pedagogy: The challenges of moving teachers toward higher levels of quality teaching. In J. Butcher & L. McDonald (Eds) Making a Difference: Challenges for Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education (pp. 15-33). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
The Illustrated News. (1857). Africans Packed into a Slave Ship. [illustration]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=Slave%20Ships%20and%20the%20Atlantic%20Crossing%20%28Middle%20Passage%29&theRecord=46&recordCount=78
Jones, K. (2006, September 10). Youth for Human Rights – No Slavery [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWCjLeADSLE
Kahoot! https://getkahoot.com/
Kennedy, D. (2012). Lipman, Dewey, and the Community of Philosophical Inquiry. Education & quality teaching. In J. Butcher & L. McDonald (Eds) Making a Difference: Challenges for Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education (pp. 15-33). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Khan Academy. (2013, August 23). CCWH24 Slavery KHAN [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X5JMS9_EK8
Killen, R. (2013). Planning for Quality Teaching and Learning. In Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (pp. 86-109).
Livingstone, D (1874). Slave Coffle, Central Africa, 1866.[Engraving] Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=3&categoryName=&theRecord=2&recordCount=43
Prensky, M. (2001). The Games Generations: How Learners have Changed. In Digital Game-Based Learning (pp. 1-26). McGraw-Hill.
Prensky, M. (2012). From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Introduction. In Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom: Hopeful Essays for 21st Century Education (pp. 1-9). Corwin
Reid, M. (1864). Deck of Slave Ship, 19th cent.[Sketching]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=&theRecord=56&recordCount=71
Speilberg, S. (2008, July 2). Middle Passage (from Amistad) [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nePOpkYwjY
Speilberg, S. (2011, February 17). Slaves thrown overboard [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65oxOc7FIo
Speilberg, S. (2011, October 27). Amistad (2/8) Movie CLIP – The Middle Passage [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMliaXlKxow
TED-Ed. (2014, December 22). The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you – Anthony Hazard [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXC4Q_4JVg
Tibbles, A. (1994). Iron Shackles Used in Slave Trade. [image]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=5&categoryName=Slave%20Ships%20and%20the%20Atlantic%20Crossing%20%28Middle%20Passage%29&theRecord=26&recordCount=78
Unknown (1769). Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans. [poster]. Retrieved from http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas&theRecord=71&recordCount=75
Unknown (1789) Plan of the British Slave Ship “Brookes,”1789. [illustration]. Retrieved from: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/detailsKeyword.php?keyword=brooks&recordCount=3&theRecord=0
Van Tol, D., Ottery, S., & Keith, R. (2012). Pearson History student book.9. Melbourne: Pearson Australia.
