5th Grade Slavery Inquiry How Did Slavery Shape My State? J. Stephen Conn, “Cheapside Slave Auction Block Historical Marker,” in downtown Lexington, KY, October 31, 2011 Some rights reserved, CC BY-NC 2.0 Supporting Questions 1. Where did populations of enslaved people grow? 2. How did the slavery system differ from place to place? 3. How did your state’s former enslaved people describe their treatment? 4. How is the legacy of slavery visible in your community? 1 ​ ​ ​ THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE 4.0 INTERNATIONAL LICENSE. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5th Grade Slavery Inquiry How did Slavery Shape my State? 5.G.GR.1 Use a variety of maps, satellite images and other models to explain the relationships between Kentucky Academic ​ Standards for Social the location of places and regions and their human and environmental characteristics. h Studies, 5 ​ Grade 5.H.CE.3 Describe the social and economic impact of the slave trade on diverse groups. ​ ​ Staging the Question Students generate questions around a local place name or landscape feature, considering how it reflects community history and grappling with the question: How does history shape our surroundings? Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3 Supporting Question 4 Where did populations of How did the slavery system How did your state’s UNDERSTAND enslaved people grow? differ from place to place? former enslaved people describe their treatment? How is the legacy of slavery visible in your community? Formative Formative Formative Formative Performance Task Performance Task Performance Task Performance Task Complete a graphic Compare and contrast how Write a summary that Write a claim supported by organizer that explains slavery differed from place describes enslaved people’s evidence concerning how where slavery grew and to place using a graphic discussions of their the legacy of slavery is what geographic features organizer. treatment. visible in your community. led to its growth (e.g., proximity to waterways). Featured Sources Featured Sources Featured Sources Featured Sources Source A: Interactive map, Source A: Excerpt from Source A: Kentucky Slave See teacher note below for ​ ​ ​ “The Spread of U.S. Takaki, A Different Mirror Narratives, Works Progress source selection guidance. ​ Slavery” Source B: Excerpt from Administration Records, ​ Source B: 1860 Census Map “Slavery in Colonial British 1941 ​ North America,” Teaching Source C: Slave Population ​ Source B: Slave Auction ​ History, Zagarri ​ Statistics ​ Advertisements, Kentucky Source C: Excerpt from A Digital Library, 1853-59 ​ ​ Concise History of Source C: Douglass, The Kentucky, Klotter ​ ​ Meaning of July Fourth for Source D: Excerpt from ​ the Negro “Kentucky and the Question of Slavery,” KET ​ Education ARGUMENT How did slavery shape my state? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay) that ​ ​ ​ Summative discusses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from historical and Performance contemporary sources while acknowledging competing views. Task EXTENSION Create a timeline of your state’s history, incorporating slavery’s influence. ​ ASSESS Have a class deliberation about how the history of slavery is, and should be, memorialized in your Taking ​ ​ community. Informed ACT Write a class proposal to send to the mayor or other stakeholders, suggesting how to memorialize this Action ​ history. 2 ​ ​ ​ THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE 4.0 INTERNATIONAL LICENSE. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Overview Inquiry Description This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the influence of slavery on the history of Kentucky. By investigating the compelling question, students examine the growth and development of slavery, the ways in which the slave system differed from place to place, the violence endured by enslaved people, and how this portion of the country’s history is (or isn’t) being remembered. By completing this inquiry, students will explore how slavery had a significant impact on the development of the country and their particular region, while also providing space to consider the extent to which public memorializations appropriately reflect slavery’s historical impact. It is important to note that this inquiry requires prerequisite knowledge concerning the origins of slavery in the Americas. If needed, teachers can provide applicable sections from Howard Zinn’s A Young People’s History of the ​ United States and/or Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror for Young People. ​ ​ NOTE: This inquiry is expected to take six to ten 30-minute class periods. The inquiry time frame could expand if ​ teachers think their students need additional instructional experiences (i.e., supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources). Inquiries are not scripts, so teachers are encouraged to modify and adapt them to meet the needs and interests of their particular students. Resources can also be modified as ​ necessary to meet individualized education programs (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans for students with disabilities. Structure of the Inquiry In addressing the compelling question—How did slavery shape my state?—students work through a series of ​ ​ ​ ​ supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources in order to construct an argument supported by evidence while acknowledging competing perspectives. Note on Language Throughout this inquiry, the term “enslaved people” was used instead of “slave.” Likewise, “slave owners” was replaced with “enslavers,” where possible. (Language was not changed in resources or source excerpts). This semantic choice emphasizes the humanity of enslaved people, rather than reducing their lives to a commodity owned by others. Before the inquiry (prior to the Staging Task or Supporting Question 1), teachers should discuss the word choice with students. See more: Waldman, K. (19 May 2015). Slave or Enslaved? Slate. Accessed from: ​ ​ https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/historians-debate-whether-to-use-the-term-slave-or-enslaved-per son.html 3 Additional Resources NATIONAL VERSION The national version of this inquiry is an adaptation of a 2017 version of this ​ ​ Kentucky-focused inquiry. It was created especially for Teaching Tolerance’s Teaching Hard History resources on ​ ​ American slavery. How did slavery shape my state? (2018). Teaching Hard History Inquiry Design Models. Southern Poverty Law ​ Center, Teaching Tolerance. Accessed from: ​ https://www.tolerance.org/frameworks/teaching-hard-history/american-slavery/inquiry-design-models. ​ JOURNAL ARTICLE Article describing writing and implementation of 2017 version of this inquiry. ​ Muetterties, C. & Haney, J. (2018). How did slavery shape my state? Using Inquiry to Explore Kentucky History. Social Studies for the Young Learner 30(3), p. 20-25. Accessed from: ​ https://www.socialstudies.org/publications/ssyl/january-february2018/how_did_slavery_shape_my_state_u sing_inquiry_to_explore_kentucky_history. ​ PLACE NAMES To challenge the invisibility of history, author Caleb Gayle calls for a reconsideration of place names, ​ ​ in consideration of who and what is memorialized. This article complements the Staging Task and Taking Informed Action task. Gayle, C. (13 July 2020). Don't Stop at Statues. Demand a Reconsideration of Place Names Too. Time Magazine. ​ Accessed from: https://time.com/5865753/oklahoma-indigenous-land/. ​ ​ IMAGES Use these sources to supplement formative performance tasks. ​ Lewis, D. (25 May 2016). An Archive of Fugitive Slave Ads Sheds New Light on Lost Histories. Smithsonian ​ Magazine. Accessed from: ​ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archive-fugitive-slave-ads-could-shed-new-light-lost-historie s-180959194/ John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky. Accessed from: https://exploreuk.uky.edu/fa/findingaid/?id=xt74xg9f541m#fa-heading-ref26 Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/ ​ National Museum of African American History and Culture: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection ​ 4 Staging the Compelling Question Students generate questions around a local place name or landscape feature, considering Staging Task how it reflects community history and grappling with the question: How does history shape our surroundings? Featured Sources Table: Common place names around Kentucky Staging Question and Task How does history shape our surroundings? To prepare students for this inquiry, the staging task has students reflect ​ upon their own community to consider how visible (or invisible) history is across the landscape. For the staging task, students generate questions around a local place name or landscape feature, considering how it reflects community history. STAGING AND TAKING INFORMED ACTION TASKS Framing the inquiry, this staging is complemented by the ​ Taking Informed Action task. After completing the inquiry on the history of slavery in Kentucky, students return to the idea of community history and how the past is memorialized, or invisible, on the landscape. The Staging Task focuses on local well-known place names, whereas the Taking Informed Action task is an opportunity to consider less well-known places or place names. For this task, it is not expected that students know the history of the chosen place names. Rather, this task is meant ​ ​ to generate student association with place names.