Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 16, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 16, Lesson 2: A Look at Slavery (pp. 407-412)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Culture and Conflict Slaves survived cruel treatment and poor conditions with no luxuries and developed an African American family life, culture, and religion.

Discuss with students what it means to be free. Then ask them how they would feel to have that freedom suddenly taken away. What might it be like to be forced to work for someone else for no pay and to live in constant fear of punishment from the overseer or slave owner? Encourage students to think about what it was like to be enslaved.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students write two accounts of the same day on a plantation, one from the point of view of a member of the plantation owner's family and the other from the point of view of a slave working on the plantation. Remind them to use the information provided in the text to make their accounts as accurate and realistic as possible.
Ask students to draw the inside of a slave quarters as it may have existed during the time of slavery. They may use the photo on page 409 to get an idea of the size and construction of the quarters. Remind students that the life of a slave was very hard, and that they lived in very harsh conditions.

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