Teaching Lab 2

For this  first lesson students engage in a primary source inquiry based lesson. This lesson evaluates King Afonso's leadership after Portuguese slave trading begins in the Kingdom of Kongo. Students read the letter King Afonso writes to King Joao III. Teachers appreciated this lesson for its thoughtful introduction to the Transatlantic slave trade. Teachers also reported that  this lesson is engaging as it encourages students to make predictions about what two prominent kings might say to each other. 

For this lesson, students are divided into two groups.  Half of the class read excerpts from Hannah-Jones’s opening 1619 Project essay, and the other half read excerpts from the National Review's opinion article issued on the Fourth of July. Students debate which date is more important, and their reasons why, based on key claims made in both essays. The beautiful part about this debate is the conversation that  happens after. Many of the students truly felt that 1776 was more important and they still believed 1619 should not be banned from schools. 

Other Suggested Resources

• SDP Kingdom of Kongo Lessons

• SDP 1619 vs. 1776 Lesson

• NPR’s Code Switch, “Honoring My Enslaved Ancestors” Episode 1