INTRO
About this Resource
This docu-series follows the journey of two rappers, Jelly from Toronto and Yoshi from Atlanta, as they retrace actual slave trading routes across Georgia, USA, Ontario, Canada and Gold Coast, Ghana. We made this resource for educators to enhance Black history curriculums and to bring more culturally relevant, responsive and engaging content into classrooms. We hope this resource inspires, connects and better informs students and educators alike about the transatlantic slave trade and how it's shaped so much of the world we experience today.
For more info about the team behind this resource, please click here.
How to use this Resource
This resource is designed for use virtually or in-person, in classrooms and community-based spaces ( i.e. virtual schools and after school programs, etc). To maximize accessibility, we created lessons that can be delivered in multiple formats that compliment activities and digital tools educators are already using in virtual and in-person classrooms.
Lesson Design
There are eight core lessons provided in this resource. Each lesson is connected to four main sections : 01 Intro, 02 Georgia, 03 Ontario, 04 Ghana. Each lesson includes: a main activity and a reflect and share. The main activity is the heart of the lesson and provides opportunity for deeper understanding and exploration of the topic and the reflect and share provides space for students to share personal perspectives and new learnings.
01 Intro Lesson Plan
-
Meet Jelly & Yoshi
-
YYZ to ATL
02 Georgia Lesson Plan
-
The Ports
-
Slave Burials
-
Sapelo Island
03 Ontario Lesson Plan
-
North Buxton
04 Ghana Lesson Plan
-
Elmina Castle
-
Cape Coast Castle
A Google Earth presentation is also included for educators to help present key information for each lesson and as a resource for students to explore historical sites highlighted in this docu-series with the cast. Students can also create a Google Earth presentation as a culminating assignment to create tours of their own to uncover places, cities and spaces they would like to learn more about and share within their classrooms and school community.
Access the Google Earth presentation of Jelly and Yoshi's tour here.
Learn more about Google Earth as an amazing resource for virtual experiential learning here.
Explicit and Controversial Themes
The transatlantic slave trade was horrific. There's no easy way to share and unpack the events that transpired during that time. However, we believe it is critical for educators to create space within their classrooms to allow students to hear from and relate to diverse perspectives and gain deeper understandings of taboo topics that have deep impacts on our daily lives.
Facilitating space for critical conversations isn't easy and we hope we can support you in anyway we can.
Please see our resource/activity page on Creating Space for Difficult Conversations in the Classroom.
Below is also a list of further readings and resources on teaching sensitive content.
Please reach out anytime via email with questions or comments at info@stolenfromafrica.org.
Resources & Readings on Teaching Sensitive Content
-
"Chapter 4: Teaching Controversy" by Teaching Tolerance
-
"Teaching With Conflict and Controversial Issues in Diverse and Multicultural Classrooms" by Christina Parker, OISE/University of Toronto
-
"Teaching Hard History: American Slavery" by Teaching Tolerance
-
"Response: ‘Don’t Avoid Controversial Topics’ in School" by Larry Ferlazzo
-
"Why We Need Controversy In Our Classrooms" by Rebecca Recco
CAST
Meet Jelly & Yoshi
Duration: 1hr - 1hr 45min
Lesson Objectives:
-
To strengthen classroom culture by sharing important parts of our cultures and identities
-
To explore our personal identities and cultures and how they shape and impact our lives
-
To examine how history impacts and shapes the world and the people we are today
Materials Needed:
-
Host to Hidden Treasure Google Earth Presentation Slides
-
Culture Cue Cards or Culture Slide with cultural identity categories
Review Your Class Norms or Collective Agreements (or see Creating Space for Difficult Conversations in the Classroom)
Play: Meet Jelly & Yoshi (2min)
Jelly and Yoshi are artists, Jelly from Toronto and Yoshi from Atlanta. They wanted to learn more about their history, so they agreed to participate in a Black history tour in each other’s cities.
Introduction (1 - 10min)
Jelly and Yoshi agree to participate in this docu-series because they want to learn more about who they are and where they come from. This icebreaker activity, adapted from Jada Monica Drew’s Revolutionize Now: Creative Leadership & Action for Social Change, builds classroom culture by providing students with an opportunity to share something unique or special about their identities.
If students have had limited conversations on themes connected to identity and culture, you can use a Menti Word Cloud or a piece of chart paper to brainstorm a collective definition of key terms.
Icebreaker: Culture Wheel (10 - 30min)
If you have a large group, split students in smaller groups of 4 to 8. They can sit or stand in a circle or if teaching virtually, students can meet in preset breakout rooms.
Now that Jelly and Yoshi have shared a little about their identities, you can ask students to share a little about themselves with each other. Introduce each culture identity component and the accompanying examples and ask students to pick one culture category and share something unique or special about their identities or cultures within their groups.
Follow-Up Questions
from Jada Monica Drew’s Revolutionize Now: Creative Leadership & Action for Social Change
-
How did the activity make you feel?
-
Did you have anything in common with someone else? If so, what?
-
What do you like about the activity?
-
What, if anything, made you feel uncomfortable during the activity?
-
Are we given enough time to share these things with each other? Why or why not?
-
Do you usually ask these questions up front when meeting someone new or when you are developing a work relationship? Why or why not?
Key Points
from Jada Monica Drew’s Revolutionize Now: Creative Leadership & Action for Social Change
-
Take time to learn deeply about one another.
-
It is important to develop more intentional relationships in order to understand each other more.
-
Be inquisitive after this activity! Make time to learn more about each other
Activity: Identity Chart (15 - 30min)
from Facing History and Ourselves
Have students complete an identity chart. Link to the activity is here.
Reflect and Share (30 - 45min)
Have students share or present their identity charts to the class. Let them know they only have to share parts of their charts that they are comfortable with sharing.
Journal Reflection or Follow Up Questions:
From Exploring Identity - Facing History and Ourselves
-
What parts of your identity do you choose for yourself? What parts of your identity do you think are determined by others, by society, or by chance and by history?
-
Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your own identity?
-
What dilemmas arise when others view you differently than you view yourself?
-
What aspects of your identity do you keep private in order to be accepted? What aspects of your identity are you willing to change to fit in?
Suggested Readings & Resources
-
Catalyst Change Resources by Jada Monica Drew
-
10 education word cloud activities that get students talking by Poll Everywhere
-
Exploring Identity by Facing History and Ourselves
-
“The Role of Afrocentricity in the Inclusive Curriculum in Canadian Schools” by George J. Sefa Dei