Keeping in mind the focus of AP English Language and Composition as well as attempting to develop students' awareness of their roles as American citizens, I want students to consider the impact of the rhetoric of historical accounts that have been used to shape our understandings of American history. Their goal is to investigate, question, challenge, argue and create dialogue around the teaching of American Slavery as to ascertain how and when children should be educated about American Slavery. The clustered readings are chosen with the goal of diversity of thought, the components of the rhetorical triangle, and the span of historical occurrence.

Students will participate in this project-based learning unit to explore the 1619 Project and its assertions about the creation of America.

Learning Activities:

• Text Analyses

• Close reading and annotating of all pieces

• Socratic Seminar Discussions

• Chart of comparison-rhetorical triangle-class discussion of the tools of each text and

their relative impacts

• Rhetorical analysis and Argumentative writing

• Creation of Infographics

• Informal writing and discussion asking students to consider personal and community connections

• Essay writings

• Projects and group activities

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9

Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2

Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3

Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9

Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1

Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.