The Journey from Slavery to Civil Rights Through Song Heather Moore Kelli Perkins Trinity College Educ 200: Analyzing Schools May 2005

Unit Intro Comparative history of American Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement taught by examining the music of the periods.

Context Hartford Magnet Middle School Diverse 7 th grade classroom Music and Social Studies 80 min./ 5 days Last week of Black History Month Saturday Trip to Mark Twain House/ Fisk Jubilee Singers

Objectives Understand the role spirituals played throughout slavery and African American history Explore the continuing power of the spirituals in the Civil Rights movement and as a shared American heritage Analyze the use of elements of music in negro spirituals to better understand the historical context

Objectives (Cont.) Gain experience working with oral tradition and song as types of historical evidence Synthesize music for a struggle of their choosing

Justification United States Standards for Grades 5-12, National Center for History in Schools Connecticut Framework: K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards (1998) National Endowment for the Humanities Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956)

Activities

Day One in Detail Desks moved to the back of the classroom All students sitting in middle of floor in close proximity to one another in the upright fetal position Students will watch five minute clips from Roots (Alex Haley, 1977) and Eyes on the Prize (Volume 162, Chapter 3)

Day One (Cont.) While movie segments are playing, students will also listen to spirituals that correlate with each scene Students will have five minutes to respond in journals about how the experience made them feel

Day One (Cont.) Class will engage in fifteen minute discussion on reactions to video/songs Lecture on Background and Development of Spirituals

Evaluation Daily Journal Entries In pairs, students will compose their own spiritual for homework following the fourth lesson During the second half of class five, students will present spirituals and engage in class discussion