Erin Simmons

Social Studies Instruction Peer Lesson

October 8th, 2013

Unit: The Civil War
Students will have previously learned about the major differences and tensions
between the Northern and Southern states, specically the disagreement on the
allowance of slavery. They are also familiar with Harriet Tubman, the Underground
Railroad, and the lives of slaves.

Lesson: The Sounds of Slavery

Grade Level: 5th Grade

CA State Standard: 5.8 Students trace the colonization, immigration, and settlement
patterns of the American people from 1789 to the mid-1800s, with emphasis on the role
of economic incentives, effects of the physical and political geography, and
transportation systems.
This unit teaches to the settlement patterns and migration of runaway
slaves from the South to the North through the Underground Railroad. This specic
lesson gives students a clearer understanding and a greater sense of empathy for the
slaves in the eighteen hundreds.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to identify at
least three of the ve types of the songs sung by African slaves in the South during the
years leading up the Civil War, as well as explain the importance of the songs to the
slaves themselves.

Materials:
(1) Writing Utensil
(2) A Sheet of Paper Per Student (for notes)
(3) Presentation Software/ Technology

Room Environment: Students will be sitting at their tables with their table groups. The
projection screen at the front of the classroom will be used and the students may turn
their chairs to obtain a better view. To the students left of the projection screen is a word
wall with terminology from the unit learned in previous lessons. Above the word wall are
the WE Statements.

Procedures:
Gain learners attention:
-Remind the students of prior knowledge by recapping the objectives of
previous lessons.
-Show the iTunes logo and ask students what kind of music they enjoy
listening to, then transition to the lesson.
Inform learners of the learning outcomes:
- a student will read the WE Statements on the board.
We are: historians
We are learning to: put ourselves in the shoes of slaves by analyzing their
songs.
We will practice by: writing our own songs about slavery as if we were
slaves from the eighteen hundreds.
Provide new information/skill or opportunity for students to gure out new
information for themselves:
-Main Idea: slaves did a lot of singing. They sang for different reasons and
their songs sound very different from the music you listen to today.
-Main Idea: the ve main purposes of a song sung by an African American
slave are: to deliver secret messages, record experiences, hope for freedom, release
anger, and protest slavery. These are the ve types of slave songs.
-Main Idea: slave songs were usually very spiritual because they believed
that God would lead them to freedom.
-Main Steps: (1) teach students the main ideas (2) remind students to take
notes on the ve types of songs (3) break down the structure of a slave song (4)
analyze two songs and categorize them as one of the ve types (5) watch a youtube
video to remind ourselves of the lives of slaves
Check for understanding:
-To check for understanding, I will ask students for things they noticed in
the youtube video, and emotions they felt during it. Then, I will ask for each table group
to offer a type of slave song. When they do so, I will write their group number with the
song type on the board for future reference.
Provide opportunity for students to demonstrate new-found knowledge or new-
found skills:
- Have students work in table groups to write their own slave song. It must
reect one of the ve purposes (assigned earlier in lesson- refer to board) and it must
have a chorus. It does not need to rhyme and it can have slang.