This Is How I Am Using The 1619 Project In My Class

This Is How I Am Using The 1619 Project In My Class

Slavery is difficult to teach, and I would argue that teaching slavery to a majority of Black pupils is even more difficult. I often tell children that the last thing I want to do is re-traumatize them because of the violence they are seeing in their town. My objective is to constantly strike a balance between teaching Black history and encouraging good racial identities. I'm thrilled to report that the "1619 Project" book has aided me in my endeavor.

I've been teaching African-American history for ten years, and this is the first year I've been able to fulfill my students' needs and desires. My pupils are 99.9% black, and they've been asking me some of the finest historical questions I've ever heard in my life for the last three weeks.
To supplement their study of the Atlantic Slave War, the contributions of Black people to the United States, and Black resistance, my students have worked hard reading portions from the 1619 Project essays and original materials. The most enjoyable aspect of this experience is seeing students' high level of cognitive engagement as they explore essential aspects of labor camps, slavery's economics, and enslaved people's everyday lives.

I've been utilizing the "1619 Project" book in the following ways in addition to the initial grant award:
Lessons were created for the "Fear" article by Leslie Alexander and Michele Alexander, as well as the "Justice" piece by Nikole Hannah Jones. These courses were delivered over many days and resulted in an in-depth debate in which students identified parallels between slavery's legacy and the situation of Black people today.
My honors class is delving into the poetry in the book. They were given a poem to read for homework, and the following day, they met in 4-5 person literacy circles to discuss the poem's content, phrases and words they were having trouble understanding, and why the poem was chosen for inclusion in the book.

Choosing the passages I want students to study is one of the most difficult aspects of teaching the essays. I teach ninth grade, and the majority of my pupils are struggling readers. I often have to make text changes and direct students to certain passages that I want them to read. Finding appropriate original materials to support the essays was one triumph