In the Wake
Of the Amistad

Subjects

Educational Technology
Social Studies
--Geography
--History
----U.S. History

Grade

3-5
6-8
9-12

Brief Description

Students read the story of the Amistad and create a timeline of the storys most important events.

Objectives

Students will

review how to create a timeline, either on paper, using Microsoft Excel, or using an online timeline generator;
read a story about the experiences of the Africans who arrived in Connecticut on the Amistad;
create a timeline of the storys most important events.

Keywords

Amistad, slavery, timeline

Materials Needed

Internet access
access to The Amistad Story (for older students) or Amistad Story (for younger students or less competent readers)
Tools or tutorials such as How to Make a Timeline, TeAchnologys Timeline Generator, or Create a Timeline Using Microsoft Office Excel (optional)
materials for creating a timeline; paper, pencils, labels; or Microsoft Excel; or timeline software
access to the map of the Mende Africans voyages from Mendeland to New Haven, Connecticut (optional)

Lesson Plan

Note: Depending on the method used, students might work as a class or in activity centers to create their timelines individually, in pairs, or in small groups.

Explain to students that they are going to create a timeline of important events from the story of the African slaves who arrived in Connecticut aboard the ship the Amistad, and played an important role in the abolishment of slavery in America. If this is your students first timeline, or the first time students will attempt an electronic timeline, you first might want to review with them the appropriate tutorial from those below:

Have students read the Amistad Story (younger students or less competent readers) or The Amistad Story from Enslavement through The Return to Africa (older students). Then invite them to create a timeline that shows the Amistad events from the Africans capture early in the year 1829 to their return home in 1842. Encourage students to share their timelines with their classmates.

Extension Activity: Distribute to students copies of the map showing the Mende Africans voyages from Mendeland to New Haven, Connecticut, via Cuba. Invite students to use an atlas to locate and label on their maps these important places in the Amistad story: Mendeland, Africa; Lomboko, Cuba; Havana, Cuba; Port Principe, Cuba; Long Island, New York; New London, Connecticut; and New Haven, Connecticut.
Activity and map courtesy of The Connecticut Historical Society (CHS).

Assessment

Assess students based on the information in their timelines.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics
GRADES K - 4
NSS-C.K-4.5 Roles of the Citizen

GRADES 5 - 8
NSS-C.5-8.3 Principles of Democracy
NSS-C.5-8.5 Roles of the Citizen
GRADES 9 - 12
NSS-C.9-12.3 Principles of Democracy
NSS-C.9-12.5 Roles of the Citizen

SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.2 Places and Regions

SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History
GRADES K - 4
NSS-USH.K-4.1 Living and Working together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago
NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage
GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)

TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.3 Technology Productivity Tools
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research Tools