Through the Years:
African-American History in Champaign County
Lessons to accompany Through the Years newsletter
Goal: Through a strategic reading of the
African-American newsletters, students will analyze museum artifacts and
photographs of primary sources in order to connect local history to national
events.
Essential Questions:
1. What do people do to
overcome obstacles?
2. How and why were
separate facilities UNequal?
3. Where can you find
history?
Blacks in Champaign
County, 1865-1970
This lesson serves to
introduce some critical vocabulary and issues in the study of the
African-American experience.
Lesson
#2 – Winter 1995/Spring 1996 issue
Reflections on Life
As students read an article
written by an African-American woman who came to Champaign in 1938, they learn
about her life experiences in this area, how segregation affected her, and how
she chose to rise above it.
Prepare for the Future
Estelle Merrifield, the
author of this article, says, "There is much to be gained in remembering the
past, and more to be gained by projecting into the future that which has been
learned as it relates to the improvement of people." Students develop an understanding of what history is, and
why it is important to study history.
The Legato Music Club
Students learn to summarize
as they read the article on this local African-American music club. Extensions for this lesson could be
research on African-American musicians such as Paul Robeson and Marian
Anderson. (Websites provided for
further research)
A Tribute to the 99th
Pursuit Squadron
Students analyze how groups
interacted within military institutions, and examine the creation of the
Servicemen's Center in Champaign County.
A possible extension (with websites provided) would be a study of the
Tuskegee Airmen.
Frances Nelson
Health Care Center Then and Now
Vocabulary words taught in
this lesson include, "adequate, inadequate, indigent, prenatal, expectant,
mortality, remedy" as students read about a local health care center designed
to help poor mothers. This lesson
encourages students to critically examine the idea of "separate but equal."
A Picture is Worth a
Thousand Words
This lesson involves students
in analyzing primary sources – photographs, to begin with. Then, students use primary sources such
as cartoons, articles, etc. to construct a classroom timeline of
African-American history. This
timeline will include items from the Through the Years newsletter as well as
national primary source documents.
Lesson
#8 – Spring/Summer 2000
The Shelton Laundry: 1934-1986
As students develop
vocabulary and read about a local family's response to challenges during the
Depression, they analyze primary sources (photographs from the Shelton
Laundry).
This Legacy is Yours: Continuing Memories Shared
This lesson helps students
understand that history is all around them, and they can begin to study the
history of their own families to
better understand themselves and the world around them.
Lesson
#10 – Fall 2002/Winter 2003 issue
Our Stories
By reading the biography of a
local woman, students begin to connect national historical events to local
people. They learn how to write
simple biographies, and many websites are included for further research.