This lesson is an introduction to the Atlantic slave trade. Using a painting, The Slave Trade, by George Morland and the poem that inspired it, the students will demonstrate their knowledge by reenacting the painting and a writing summary an the 18thcentury poem that inspired the painting. At the end of the lesson the student will demonstrate their understanding reversing the process by analyzing another 18thcentury antislavery poem by Mary Stockdale, Fidelle; or the Negro Child, and creating a piece of art.

ObjectivesStudents will be able to:
  • Analyze an antislavery poem from the 18thcentury
  • Compare two maps on the Atlantic Slave Trade
  • Construct five “level one” questions and two “level two” questions from the Atlantic Slave Trade Maps
  • Create a piece of art from a poem
Materials
  • Prezi Presentation: Traites de Negres
  • “Stowage of the British Slave Ship Brookes” – PDF
  • “Overview of the Slave Trade: Out of Africa” Map- PDF
  • “Volume and Direction of the Transatlantic Slaver Trade from All African to all American Regions” Map – PDF
  • Morland Poem/Stockdale Poem - PDF
Procedure
​Day One
  1. Prezi Presentation: The lesson begins with a preview assignment. A preview assignment is a short, engaging task that instructs upcoming content. This preview assignment is a reenactment of the painting “Traites de Negre” by George Morland. During the reenactment, the students will analyze in a general class discussion how each person in the felt physically and emotionally. (slide 1)
    1. After the reenactment, the teacher will introduce the title of the painting and discuss its antislavery message.(slides 2 and 3)
    2. Then the teacher will discuss the exchange of slaves from tribes to tribe, then tribe to Europeans (slides 4 and 5)
    3. The teacher will describe the outside of the slave ship (slide 6)
  2. “Stowage of the British Slave Ship Brookes” PDF:  The students will then analyze identifying key figures within the drawing and elements that make it an antislavery document. (also slide 7) 
    1. Ms. Mac will then have eight male students get out of their seat and demonstrate atight packed and loose packed ship.
  3. “Overview of the Slave Trade: Out of Africa” Map- PDF and “Volume and Direction of the Transatlantic Slaver Trade from All African to all American Regions” Map – PDF: The students will be asked to analyze both maps and write down five level one questions (information directly from the two maps) and three level two questions (information inferred from the two maps) for tomorrow’s lesson. (slide 8)
Day Two
  1.  Preview Assignment: Accessing prior knowledge the teacher will ask the students what they recall from slides 1, 5, 6 and 7 of the Prezi “Introduction to the Atlantic Slave Trade.” 
    1. The students will then, using Kagan discussion strategies, share their questions in groups of four identify their best level one and best level two questions from the group in a whole class discussion. 
    2. Adding to the students’ knowledge base, the teacher will add the history of slavery in the world from the first civilizations (Ancient Assyria, Babylonia, China, Egypt, and Mesopotamia..) to the time of Christ, to specific states in Colonial America
  2. Morland Poem/Stockdale Poem PDF: The teacher will display George Morland’s painting, Traites de Negres, and share with the students that the painting was inspired by a French antislavery poem. Then the teacher will “share read” the poem with the students.
    1.  “Share read” is a technique that has the students follow along silently while the teacher reads aloud the excerpt modeling prosody, inflection, and punctuation. Then, after the students ask the meaning of specific words, the teacher asks the class to join in to read the excerpt that they just listened the teacher read. The teacher leads the reading; with the students joining after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).
  3. After listening and reading the poem, the first objective is to select “key words” from the selection. Explain the endgame is to use these key words to summarize the excerpt. 
    1. Note: Key words are very important contributors to understanding the paragraph. With those words the selection would not make sense. These words are usually nouns or verbs. Warn students not to pick words that are connector words such as are, is, or the. 
  4. The next step is a whole-class discussion and negotiation process in constructing a summary sentence using the key words selected by the class. The final negotiated sentence (or sentences) is/are copied in the summary section of the organizer. 
  5. After the summary, the teacher will read Fidelle; or the Negro Childby Mary Stockdale emphasizing imagery. After a whole class “share read” and discussion on the emotions of father and son.
  6. Assessment: As George Morland painted a picture of the slave trade, the students will create some image (drawing, painting, collage, etc) that reflects the imagery presented in the Mary Stockdale poem, Fidelle: or the Negro Child.