Objective:
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To decode double messages of slave songs.
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To identify messages of rebellion in slave songs.
Deep River
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Deep River
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My home is over Jordan, yes
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My Deep River, lord
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I want to cross over into campground
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Wade in the Water
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Wade in the water, Wade in the water Children
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Wade in the water, God’s gonna trouble the water.
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Steal Away
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Steal away, steal away
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Steal away, to Jesus!
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Steal away, steal away home,
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I ain’t got long to stay here.
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Many Thousand Gone
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No more auction block for me.
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No more, no more,
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No more auction block for me
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Many thousand gone.
Activity One
Working in groups of two or three, read excerpts from each slave song and write the double message of the songs.
Activity Two
Using John Collin’s Writing Across the Curriculum, write a type 3 paragraph describing the image projected from the slave songs above. The following are the focus correction areas, correct spelling, end punctuation, and two projected images.
Extension
Pretend you are a young slave who plans to runaway. You have planned to runaway with three of your slave friends. Create a slave song that would alert your friends that you are about to runaway. Be sure to choose your words carefully so that the slave master will not understand your message.
Lesson Two
Objective: To identify passive day-to-day rebellion of slaves and aggressive forms of resistance.
The class will review parts of the following films, “Roots,” “Amistad,” “Glory,” and “Sankofa.” The students will complete the following activities individually for each film.
Activity One: “Roots” volumes 1,2,3, and 4.
Write a list of the passive forms of rebellion that the slaves displayed in this film. Write a list of the aggressive forms of rebellion that the slaves carried out in this film.
Activity Two: “Amistad”
Describe the emotions of the captured Africans when they were taking over the slave ship.
Write a paragraph explaining why you think some slaves committed suicide as a form of resistance to slavery.
Activity Three: “Sankofa”
Write a summary of how the slaves devised a plan to fight back and win their freedom.
Activity Four: “Glory”
Write a paragraph describing the reasons why you think the character, played by Denzel Washington, resisted his enslavement. How do you know he was playing the part of a character who once resisted his enslavement?
Extension
Write a paragraph explaining why you think it was important for the character, Toby, of “Roots” to teach his daughter, Kizzy, African words and about his village in Gambia, West Africa.