Overview

Unit Name:__Approaching African American History_________________

Subject:

____African American History__________________________

Teacher: ___Hannah Carney____________________

Grade:

_10______________________________

Briefly give a narrative overview of the learning unit:

In this unit, students will explore their own identity in relation to their community and their family, and will also learn about some of the ancient
African civilizations along the Nile River.

Desired Results
Established Goals:
Students will have an understanding of the diverse identities and cultures of the Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Kushite peoples. Students will
compare and contrast the political systems, family structures, geography, and culture of these societies. Students will exhibit their knowledge of
Ancient African societies as part of a group culminating project. Students will recognize and reflect on their own identities as historians and
individuals.
Understandings:

Essential Questions:

Students will understand that identity is formed through personal

experience as well as through family ties, language, culture, and
geography.

How do people view themselves, their origins, and their place in the world?

Students will understand the complexity and diversity of ancient

African societies and will distinguish between these groups.

How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live?

What is culture?

Students will reflect on their own identity and place in the world.
Students will know how to conduct an oral history interview.

Performance Tasks:

Assessment Evidence
Other Evidence:

The central performance task is a group project (skit, PowerPoint

presentation, or poster) that synthesizes what the students have
learned about the diversity and complexity of ancient African
civilizations this week.

Class participation in discussions

Oral history interview
Journal writing from prompts
Circles of My Multicultural Self

Learning Plan
Day Essential Question(s)
1

Standard(s)

Content

Resources/ Materials

How do people view

themselves, their
origins, and their place
in the world?

Behavior
Standards,
Social Skills: 7.
Use leadership
and teamwork
skills to
work effectively
in diverse teams

StoryCorps mp4 story about

Ibukun,
https://storycorps.org/listen/alicemitchell-and-ibukun-owolabi160701/; Potential interview
questions sheet

How do people view

themselves, their
origins, and their place
in the world?

Behavior
Standards,
Social Skills: 7.
Use leadership
and teamwork
skills to
work effectively
in diverse teams

Students will start out in a

circle in the middle of the
room for Getting to Know
You activity. Students will
help set up desks in
assigned pairs and will
listen as a group to Alice
and Ibukuns story.
Students will work in
pairs on oral history
project.
Students will start with a
do now activity,
answering the prompt
what has shaped your
identity? in their
journals. Students will
then spend a few minutes
filling out the Circles of
my Multicultural Self
and will do a think-pairshare to discuss what they
wrote. Teacher will
introduce group project
and then discuss rules and
expectations for the
classroom.
Students will see their
names on the projector
screen and will sit with
their assigned groups to
discuss their jigsawed
readings/audio files from

Journals, Circles of My
Multicultural Self; readings for
tomorrow (to be read Jigsaw
style for homework): Excerpt
from Olaudah Equianos
autobiography, Excerpt from
Frederick Douglass
autobiography, Excerpt from
Remembering Slavery

What is culture?
How do people view
themselves, their
origins, and their place
in the world?

Geography
7.1.9.B.
Explain and
locate
regions
and their shared

Learning Activities (50

min. class periods)

Graphic organizer for note

taking. Short reading for
homework on ancient African
civilizations.

Getting to Know
You Activity
In-class Oral
History project
Large group shareout

Introduce Journals
as a Do Now
Circles of My
Multicultural
Self, think pair
share
Introduce group
project and share
group assignments
Discuss classroom
expectations:
student of teacher
and teacher of
students
Students choose
Jigsaw readings
Discuss Jigsaw
readings in groups
Share out and group
discussion:
What is culture?
What is African
Culture? (Whats

connections as
defined by
physical
and
human
features.

How do geography,
climate, and natural
resources affect the
way people live?

What is culture?
How do people view
themselves, their
origins, and their place
in the world?

Geography
7.1.9.B.
Explain and
locate
regions
and their shared
connections as
defined by
physical
and
human
features.
History
8.4.W.A.
Evaluate the role
groups and
individuals
played in the
social, political,
cultural, and
economic
development
throughout
world history.

last nights homework.

Students will turn desks to
face middle of room for
class discussion and
definitions of culture.
Teacher gives short
PowerPoint lecture on
ancient African
Civilizations.
Teacher will start the class
by handing out graphic
organizers which students
may use to take notes
unless they would rather
take notes free form in
their notebooks. Students
will work for 20 minutes
on their group projects at
the end of class.

PowerPoint presentation;
optional graphic organizer to aid
in note-taking (graphic organizer
handed out to all students; they
choose whether to fill it out or
take notes in notebook)

Students will start the

Journal prompt
class with their do now
journaling work,
responding to the prompt,
what do you think culture
is? and how do you
think identity is formed?
We will next move into
group presentations of the
performance tasks, with 5
minutes per group.

wrong with that

question?).
Short PowerPoint
introducing ancient
African civilizations

PowerPoint
presentation
continuing the
discussion of
ancient African
cultures.
Group work on final
project

Journal do now
activity.
Presentations of
Performance
Tasks
Wrap up and share
out

Resources:
Remembering Slavery resource:
http://zinnedproject.org/materials/remembering-slavery/
Olaudah Equiano on his family history and the story of how he was taken from them: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/Equiano/equiano_ch2_a.html
Reading on Ancient Egypt:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/beginners-guide-egypt/a/ancient-egypt-an-introduction
Reading on the ancient Kingdom of Kush:
https://oi.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibits/history-ancient-nubia