Topic: SLAVERY IN ARKANSAS

Grade Level: Fourth grade

Time: One Day

Arkansas History Guidelines: 1.1.5, 2.1.2, 5.1.10, 6.1.3

Objectives: The students will be able to: (a) identify the different parts of the Arkansas Flag namely the star representing Arkansas' membership in the Confederacy; (b) explain why Arkansas was a member of the Confederacy (main reason: slavery); (c) analyze the treatment of some slaves and relate that treatment to the students' own feelings; (d) write a letter explaining their feelings about treatment of slaves.

Set: Students will each be given a copy of Arkansas' flag. The students will be asked to identify the colors, shapes, and symbols on the flag and then will be told what each symbol and shape represents. The top star will be identified as representing Arkansas' membership in the Confederacy. Following the mini-lesson, the students will then be given a color sheet of the flag and will be asked to label the meaning of each symbol.

Resources: Negro Slavery in Arkansas by Orville W. Taylor, 1958: The University of Arkansas Press; Fayetteville, AR. "Akansas Studies Lesson Plans for Grades K-12". General Education Division, Arkansas Department of Education. Little Rock, 1987.

Materials: Classroom set of Arkansas flags, or one large one. Arkansas flag color and labeling sheet. Crayons. Negro Slavery in Arkansas, Orville W. Taylor, 1958: The University of Arkansas Press; Fayetteville, AR. Pencil and paper. Writing rubric.

Key Terms: Confederacy, secede, slavery, "feeling" words.

Key Facts: Arkansas was the 25th state admitted to the Union. Arkansas has been a member of the countries of Spain, France, and the United States. Arkansas was a member of the Confederacy. The Confederacy was the states that seceded from the Union during the Civil War. The reasons they seceded were for slavery and state's rights. Slavery is the ownership of a person to be used for working. Africans were used as slaves. Some slaves were treated properly (adequate food, water, clothing, and shelter; semi-respectful treatment), however some were not treated properly, and were subjected to whippings and other harsh punishments from their owners. Slaves were not allowed to read or write.

Activites: Following the set activities, a brief discussion will be held on the Civil War, the Confederacy, and slavery. The students will be asked to define slavery. A selection will be read from Taylor's Negro Slavery in Arkansas, pg. 108. This selection is an example of the cruel treatment of a certain slave named Nora. The selection will be edited for content. The students will learn that not all slaves were treated this way, but many were. The students (whole group) will then create a list of words that would describe the feelings of Nora. Words such as sad, sacred, frightened, angry, hurt, and other various "feeling" words will be sought. The teacher will then explain to the students that slaves were not allowed to read or write. The students will then be asked to write a letter to a Congressman on behalf of the slaves. The content of the letter will be asking the Congressman to help end slavery because of the treatment of the slaves. The students will be asked to use at least three of the "feeling" words in their letter. They must use a correct business letter format. The prompt for writing will be "Write a letter on the behalf of slaves asking a Congressman to help end slavery. Use at least three "feeling" words to help persuade the Congressman."

Closure: Upon completion of the letter, the students will be allowed to read them to the class. The class will discuss the reasons each student uses to persuade the Congressman.

Assessmen: In preparation for the ACTAAP test, this writing assignment will be graded according to the writing rubric for the test. The areas of scoring are content, style, sentence formation, usage, and mechanics (rubric attached). Students must also correctly label their Arkansas flags.

By Justin Swope