Topic: THE DAYS OF THEIR LIVES -A LOOK AT EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES IN THE LIVES OF ARKANSAS SLAVES

Grade Level: Eighth

Time: Three class periods

Ark. History

Frameworks: 2.1.7, 2.1.8, 3.1.12

Objective: Students will become aware of the various aspects of daily activities in the lives of Arkansas slaves.

Set: Show pictures or transparencies of contemporary homes, food, fashions, farm equipment and celebrations. Ask the class to brainstorm how students in 2151 would describe these pictures. Lead into a discussion of the lives of Arkansas slaves in the nineteenth century.

Resources: An Arkansas History for Young People, Baker and Browning
The History of Arkansas, Berry and Novak
Arkansas 1800-1860, Remote and Restless, Bolten
Negro Slavery in Arkansas, Orville W. Taylor
Slavery in the American South, Jeannie M. Whayne

Materials: Handouts
Index cards with questions
Transparencies
Vis-a-vis pens
Markers

Key Terms: property, fugitive, planter, quarters, delicacy, passive resistance, mulatto, osnaburg

Key Facts: Slaves were considered property.
The owner provided the basic needs of life for the slaves.
Slaves were used in many roles in Arkansas, but the primary use of slave labor was to raise cotton.
Many slaves lived in family units.
Religion was important to slaves.
Slaves showed resistance to their situation in life by running away or using passive means of resistance.

Activity: Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Assign each group an aspect slave life to research. Each group should receive an index card with three starter questions. Students will use the handouts and texts to write two more questions. They will write answers to the questions and prepare a transparency to share with the class that illustrates the topic being researched.

High Cotton: The steps in the production of cotton.

• What step had to be taken before planting cotton?
• Identify at least four additional steps in producing a cotton crop.
• What other tasks did slaves perform?

Chow Down: Foods eaten by slaves.

• Who provided food for the slaves?
• What was a typical diet for slaves?
• Name two delicacies for slaves.

Decked Out: Clothing worn by slaves.

• Who provided clothing for the slaves?
• How were slaves usually dressed?
• What kinds of clothing were worn on special occasions?

Cabin fever: Homes of slaves.

• Who provided housing for the slaves?
• Describe a slave home.
• On the average, how many slaves lived in each household?

Special Times: Holidays and Sundays.

• What religion were the earliest slaves in Arkansas?
• Name one important theme of Christianity found in the Old Testament that slaves identified with.
• What were two holidays that were observed by slaves?

Family Ties: Family units.

• Name a custom that many slaves used as a marriage ceremony.
• When slaves of different owners married, to whom did the children belong?
• Were family units usually broken apart by the sale of family members?

On the Lam: Runaway slaves.

• What were the two categories of runaways?
• Identify three locations that runaways hoped to reach?
• Name three forms of passive resistance shown by the slaves.

Closure: Students will display the transparency on the overhead and share the answers with the class. As an extended activity, the students could write a paragraph comparing a characteristic of slave life to that feature of contemporary life.

By Sherry Allen