Rationale
Emphasizing connection across curriculum creates powerful learning opportunities that help students find relevance in the content and become more actively engaged in learning. By focusing on the use of thematical units, students are better able to understand relationships and make connections across literary and content specific material.
Black History is either mentioned slightly or else completely omitted from some History textbooks. In partial compensation, Black History has been assigned the month of February for celebration. During this time most students are exposed to the same few prominent figures and their accomplishments, for ex. Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad, and Rosa Parks' – Bus Boycott. The most talked about moment is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s – "I Have a Dream" speech.
In the past I have chosen to read a novel about a famous black activist. This approach proved to be long and boring for the students. This unit will allow me to use other forms of literature to teach Black History, such as poetry and song. This method will prove to be more interesting and allow me to cover a variety of topics.
The advantages of teaching history through poetry are twofold. First, you have the opportunity to teach two subjects at once. Not only are the History lessons being taught in an unorthodox way, but you are teaching Language Arts lessons in the process. This is accomplished by looking at how the poet uses language and how a very few verbal images can create a powerful response.
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