Perspectives on the slave narrative
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=321
A lesson plan for grades 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies
This lesson plan introduces students to one of the most widely-read genres of 19th-century American literature and an important influence within the African American literary tradition even today. The lesson focuses on The Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave (1847), which, along with The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845), set the pattern for this genre and its combination of varied literary traditions and devices.
To help students recognize the complex nature of the slave narrative, the lesson explores Brown’s work from a variety of perspectives. Students first consider the narrative as a historical record, examining episodes that describe the conditions Brown lived through as a slave. Next, they examine it as a work of literature, investigating the rhetorical techniques Brown uses to shape his experiences into a story. Third, students consider the work’s political dimension, weighing the arguments that Brown presents as an abolitionist spokesman and the degree to which his narrative should be treated as political rhetoric. Finally, students approach the narrative as an autobiography, a work of self-actualization in which Brown charts a spiritual as well as a literal journey to freedom.
To conclude the lesson, students produce an essay or editorial explaining how Brown’s narrative challenged the prejudices of white readers in his own time and how it challenges prejudices today.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 9
- Goal 1: The learner will express reflections and reactions to print and non-print text and personal experiences.
- Objective 1.03: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print expressive texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- selecting, monitoring, and modifying as necessary reading strategies appropriate to readers' purpose.
- identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
- providing textual evidence to support understanding of and reader's response to text.
- demonstrating comprehension of main idea and supporting details.
- summarizing key events and/or points from text.
- making inferences, predicting, and drawing conclusions based on text.
- identifying and analyzing personal, social, historical or cultural influences, contexts, or biases.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- analyzing and evaluating the effects of author's craft and style.
- analyzing and evaluating the connections or relationships between and among ideas, concepts, characters and/or experiences.
- identifying and analyzing elements of expressive environment found in text in light of purpose, audience, and context.
- Objective 1.03: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print expressive texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- Goal 2: The learner will explain meaning, describe processes, and answer research questions to inform an audience.
- Objective 2.01: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- selecting, monitoring, and modifying as necessary reading strategies appropriate to readers' purpose.
- identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
- providing textual evidence to support understanding of and reader's response to text.
- demonstrating comprehension of main idea and supporting details.
- summarizing key events and/or points from text.
- making inferences, predicting, and drawing conclusions based on text.
- identifying and analyzing personal, social, historical or cultural influences, contexts, or biases.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- analyzing and evaluating the effects of author's craft and style.
- analyzing and evaluating the connections or relationships between and among ideas, concepts, characters and/or experiences.
- identifying and analyzing elements of informational environment found in text in light of purpose, audience, and context.
- Objective 2.01: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
Grade 10
- Goal 1: The learner will react to and reflect upon print and non-print text and personal experiences by examining situations from both subjective and objective perspectives.
- Objective 1.03: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print expressive texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- selecting, monitoring, and modifying as necessary reading strategies appropriate to readers' purpose.
- identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
- providing textual evidence to support understanding of and reader's response to text.
- demonstrating comprehension of main idea and supporting details.
- summarizing key events and/or points from text.
- making inferences, predicting, and drawing conclusions based on text.
- identifying and analyzing personal, social, historical or cultural influences, contexts, or biases.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- analyzing and evaluating the effects of author's craft and style.
- analyzing and evaluating the connections or relationships between and among ideas, concepts, characters and/or experiences.
- identifying and analyzing elements of expressive environment found in text in light of purpose, audience, and context.
- Objective 1.03: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print expressive texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- Goal 2: The learner will evaluate problems, examine cause/effect relationships, and answer research questions to inform an audience.
- Objective 2.01: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
- selecting, monitoring, and modifying as necessary reading strategies appropriate to readers' purpose.
- identifying and analyzing text components (such as organizational structures, story elements, organizational features) and evaluating their impact on the text.
- providing textual evidence to support understanding of and reader's response to text.
- demonstrating comprehension of main idea and supporting details.
- summarizing key events and/or points from text.
- making inferences, predicting, and drawing conclusions based on text.
- identifying and analyzing personal, social, historical or cultural influences, contexts, or biases.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- analyzing and evaluating the effects of author's craft and style.
- analyzing and evaluating the connections or relationships between and among ideas, concepts, characters and/or experiences.
- identifying and analyzing elements of informational environment found in text in light of purpose, audience, and context.
- Objective 2.01: Demonstrate the ability to read, listen to and view a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts appropriate to grade level and course literary focus, by:
Grade 11
- Goal 2: The learner will inform an audience by using a variety of media to research and explain insights into language and culture.
- Objective 2.01: Research ideas, events, and/or movements related to United States culture by:
- locating facts and details for purposeful elaboration.
- organizing information to create a structure for purpose, audience, and context.
- excluding extraneous information.
-providing accurate documentation. - Objective 2.03: Respond to informational texts by:
- using a variety of strategies for preparation, engagement, and reflection.
- paraphrasing main ideas and supporting details present in texts.
-explaining significant connections among the speaker's/author's purpose, tone, biases, and the message for the intended audience.
- Objective 2.01: Research ideas, events, and/or movements related to United States culture by:
- Goal 4: The learner will critically analyze text to gain meaning, develop thematic connections, and synthesize ideas.
- Objective 4.02: Develop thematic connections among literary works by:
- connecting themes that occur across genres or works from different time periods.
- using specific references to validate connections.
-examining how representative elements such as mood, tone, and style impact the development of a theme. - Objective 4.03: Assess the power, validity, and truthfulness in the logic of arguments given in public and political documents by:
- identifying the intent and message of the author or artist.
- recognizing how the author addresses opposing viewpoints.
- articulating a personal response to the message and method of the author or artist.
-evaluating the historical significance of the work.
- Objective 4.02: Develop thematic connections among literary works by:
- Goal 5: The learner will interpret and evaluate representative texts to deepen understanding of literature of the United States.
- Objective 5.01: Interpret the significance of literary movements as they have evolved through the literature of the United States by:
- analyzing the characteristics of literary genres, including fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry, and how the selection of genre shapes meaning.
- relating ideas, styles, and themes within literary movements of the United States.
- understanding influences that progress through the literary movements of the United States.
-evaluating the literary merit and/or historical significance of a work from Colonial Literature, the Romantic Era, Realism, the Modern Era, and Contemporary Literature.
- Objective 5.01: Interpret the significance of literary movements as they have evolved through the literature of the United States by:
Social Studies (2003)
Grade 11–12 — Advanced Placement United States History
- Goal 4: Nationalism, Sectionalism, and Reform (1816-1848): The learner will analyze the competing forces of nationalism and sectionalism and assess the effectiveness of the emerging reform movements.
- Objective 4.04: Evaluate the roles of the reform crusade on mid-19th century America and evaluate their effectiveness.
- Goal 5: The Era of Expansion (1828-1848): The learner will analyze the cause and effect of Jacksonian Democracy and Manifest Destiny.
- Objective 5.05: Examine the results and impact of expansion on slavery, politics, and sectionalism.
Grade 11–12 — African American History
- Goal 2: The learner will develop an understanding of the justifications and ramifications of slavery between 1619 and 1860.
- Objective 2.02: Discuss and evaluate the various ways Africans in America resisted slavery.
- Objective 2.05: Trace the development of the abolitionist movement and its impact on slavery and the nation.
- Goal 3: The learner will demonstrate an understanding of African American life and cultural contributions through 1860.
- Objective 3.04: Identify the contributions of African Americans in science and the arts.
Grade 11–12 — United States History
- Goal 2: Expansion and Reform (1801-1850) - The learner will assess the competing forces of expansionism, nationalism, and sectionalism.
- Objective 2.05: Identify the major reform movements and evaluate their effectiveness.
