8th Grade Historians presented individual projects this week, closing a unit on the history of enslavement in the US and its impact on economy and politics during the era. For this project, students researched the life and impact of a Black abolitionist from the 18th or 19th century, presenting their findings in one of several formats they had previously learned. Throughout this year, 8th graders have been building skills to conduct independent research (from reliable, relevant primary and secondary sources), to document their sources in a bibliography, and to present their individual analysis and findings.
Each unit this year in 8 History has taught students to use a different form to present their work—including essay, poster, slide presentation, timeline + map multimedia artifact, podcast, documentary, and more. In this Black Abolitionist research project, students chose to learn about changemakers like Sojourner Truth, Mary Ann Shad, Sarah Parker Remond, Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, Dred Scott, William Still, Frederick Douglass, and more. They selected any of the previously learned formats to present their findings. Their presentations included excerpts of novels, speeches, and poems, summaries of abolitionists’ early lives, the ways their work was viewed at the time, challenges and threats they faced, and lasting impacts of their work.
Their presentations included excerpts of novels, speeches, and poems, summaries of abolitionists’ early lives, the ways their work was viewed at the time, challenges and threats they faced, and lasting impacts of their work.
Next up, they will continue their current study of the Civil War by reading, analyzing, and discussing New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s 2017 speech on the removal of Confederate statues and monuments.