Celebrating Black History Month Teaching Guide/Student Worksheets This guide supports the use of the profiles Celebrating Black History Month. It offers vocabulary words from the text and several short answer questions based on the content of each profile. In some cases, references to related websites are included with additional materials about the person or their pursuits. Lastly, the guide includes two or three activities per profile called “Newspaper Tie-ins.” These activities suggest how to bring the lessons of these historical figures into the present, to make their lives relevant and apply the lessons to today’s news. These graphic organizers were created for students in grades 4-8 and can be narrowed or expanded to accommodate the needs of each instructor’s class. Feel free to modify these activities or create your own. Written by Mary Hadigan Miller, Educational Services Director for the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education Program All rights reserved, 2013 Any questions contact Mary at [email protected] or call 518-449-1667 Common Core State Standards Chart Anchor Anchor Anchor Anchor Standards for Standards for Lesson Standards Standards for Standards for History/Social Speaking and for Reading Writing Language Studies Listening Jones 1, 4, 9 1, 7, 9 4 1, 4, 9 Talbert 1, 6 2, 4, 8 1, 3, 4 3 1, 2, 6 Johnson 2, 8, 9 3, 4, 7 1, 2, 6 4, 7, 8 Haley 1, 3, 7 1, 4, 5, 7 2, 3, 4, 6 1, 2 5, 6, 8 Teachers, use this chart as quick reference to find a lesson and the corresponding Common Core State Standards (CCSS). For more detailed information on the CCSS and the specific focus for instruction for each year go online to http://engageny.org/common-core/ or http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards Celebrating Black History Month - created by the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education. All rights reserved 2013. 2 Name_______________________________________________________________________________ John W. Jones Vocabulary – write a brief definition of the following words or phrases: Confederate ____________________________________________________________________________ fugitive _______________________________________________________________________________ Fugitive Slave Law (Act) _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ regiment _______________________________________________________________________________ Underground Railroad ____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Read the profile of John W. Jones. Then answer the following questions. 1. How did John Jones escape from slavery and get to Elmira? ________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How many people did Jones help into freedom? __________________________________________ 3. About how old was John Jones when he learned how to read? ______________________________ 4. Where did Jones work during the Civil War? What did he do? ______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 5. How did Jones show respect for the Confederate soldiers and their families? ___________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Why was reading important to John Jones’ job during the war? ______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Newspaper Tie-ins: John Jones treated his enemies with dignity. Look for articles in recent editions of the newspaper (print or electronic) that illustrate someone or a group of people treating those that oppose them with simple human decency. After escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad, Jones helped many others do the same. Look through the newspaper for articles about people fighting for their freedom. Compare and contrast them with the American slaves of the past. Use the chart on the next page to organize your thoughts. Celebrating Black History Month - created by the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education. All rights reserved 2013. 3 Name_______________________________________________________________________________ African American Slaves Person or Group from Today’s News Both groups are fighting for freedom. Who is trying to help? Who is trying to help? How are they trying to help? How are they trying to help? Why are they trying to help? Why are they trying to help? How are these two groups the same? How are they different? Assessment question: What was the most interesting thing you learned while doing this lesson? Celebrating Black History Month - created by the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education. All rights reserved 2013. 4 Name_______________________________________________________________________________ Mary Burnett Talbert Vocabulary – write a brief definition of the following words and phrases: dedicated ______________________________________________________________________________ progressive ____________________________________________________________________________ realtor ________________________________________________________________________________ showcase ______________________________________________________________________________ social circle ____________________________________________________________________________ Read the profile of Mary B. Talbert. Then answer the following questions. 1. What two schools did Mary Burnett Talbert attend as a young woman? Where was each located? ___ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What job(s) did Mary have following her education? ______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 3. After she was married why wasn’t Mary Talbert a teacher in Buffalo? ________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What organizations did Mary Talbert become involved in? _________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Why was Mary involved with all these groups? _________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Related website: http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/educator-and-activist-mary-burnett- talbert - African American Registry Newspaper Tie-ins: Look through several editions of the newspaper, print or online, for stories about how an ordinary citizen made a difference in their community. Compare one of these stories to Ms. Talbert’s work. Look through several editions of the local newspaper and read the editorials. These articles state an opinion on a given topic. In the news, what concerns you? Write an editorial persuading others to work together to solve something that you believe is wrong. Back up your opinion with facts. Use the following chart to help organize your thoughts before writing your OpEd. Celebrating Black History Month - created by the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education. All rights reserved 2013. 5 Name_______________________________________________________________________________ As a class, develop an essential question. List reasons citizens and leaders give for answering “yes” or “no” to the question. After studying the issue thoroughly, have each classmate write and draw conclusions. Each student should write his/her own answer to the question. Essential Question: (Example: Should the driving public switch to electric automobiles?) Reasons yes: Reasons no: Conclusions: Follow up: What more do you want to know about the topic? Where can you go for more information? Assessment: Write a sentence or two about something you learned studying about Mary B. Talbert. This activity was originally developed for Communities and Connections curriculum guide for the NAA Foundation by Dr. Sandra Cook Celebrating Black History Month - created by the New York News Publishers Association – Newspaper In Education. All rights reserved 2013. 6 Name_______________________________________________________________________________ Henry Johnson Vocabulary – write a brief definition of the following words: ammunition _________________________________________________________________________________ bayonet ____________________________________________________________________________________ boulevards _________________________________________________________________________________ consecutive _________________________________________________________________________________ cope ______________________________________________________________________________________ posthumously _______________________________________________________________________________ Read the profile of Henry Johnson. Then answer the following questions. 1. What job did