An introduction to slave narratives: Harriet Jacobs' Life of a Slave Girl

This lesson is intended to enhance student knowledge about the life experiences of a slaves in America during the 1800s by using the story of a North Carolina slave woman who eventually escaped.

A lesson plan for grade 8 Social Studies

By Joe Hooten

Learn more

• Slave Narratives Another resource from DocSouth with more relevant material and explanation for further research and investigation.

Related pages

• Spirituals and the power of music in slave narratives: In this lesson for grade 4, students will learn about the importance of music in the lives of slaves by reading slave narratives and listening to recordings.
• Slavery across North Carolina: In this lesson for grade 8, students read excerpts from slave narratives to gain an understanding of how slavery developed in each region of North Carolina, and how regional differences created a variety of slave experiences.
• Exploring the church in the southern black community: Students explore the Documenting the American South Collection titled, the “Church in the Southern Black Community.” Beginning with a historian's interpretation of the primary sources that make up the collection, students search the collection for evidence to describe the experiences of African Americans living in the south during the Antebellum through the Reconstruction Period centering on their community churches. The activity culminates in student presentations of a digital scrap book.

Related topics

• Learn more about African American history, American history, Harriet Jacobs, discussions, history, oral histories, slave narratives, slavery, and social studies.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• Read a selected oral history to learn about individual experiences of African Americans in the pre-Civil War era
• Use collaborative skills with each other to share their understandings and develop different perspectives on the reading
• Interpret primary source oral history document
• Summarize narrative of former slave

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 to 2 days

Materials/resources

Students will need:

• excerpt of Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• pen and paper

Technology resources

If you do not want to use handouts and, instead, display the excerpt on an overhead:

• LCD projector
• internet access to DocSouth
• laptop

Pre-activities

Teacher will need to read the excerpt prior to handout to be able to answer any student questions regarding the reading.

Explain the importance of using primary documents to investigate historical events and eras to better understand history.

Activities

1. Teacher will place students in groups of 3–4 depending on size of class. Have students sit in their groups, if possible.
2. Ask students to have pen and paper out on their desks.
3. Pass out selected reading of Harriet Jacobs’ narrative.
4. Allow time (depending on ability) for students to completely read the handout. 10–20 minutes.
5. Students will then meet with their small collabrative groups.
6. Pass out the Discussion Handout. This handout will have questions that students can use in their discussions. They should record each other’s responses and thoughts during the discussion.
7. Allow for collaboration between the groups. 10–20 minutes.
8. End the discussions and engage the whole class in a dialogue about their perspectives and what they discussed.
9. Collect their completed Discussion Handouts.

Assessment

Assessment can be based on student completion of Discussion Handout.

Teachers can also assess student learning by asking questions to see if students have gained knowledge of slave life through the readings and discussions.

Teachers may create their own quiz based on the reading if applicable.

Supplemental information

Comments

Teachers may revise the Discussion Handout to best fit the objectives you would like to focus on.

Teachers may revise the selected excerpts to best fit the objectives you would like to focus on.