American History through American Lives

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 20.01.03

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction and Rationale: The False Narrative
  2. The False Narrative in Education
  3. Demographics
  4. The Benefit of Biography
  5. Unit Objectives and Components
  6. What is humanity? (1600s-1800s)
  7. What is Freedom? (1800s-1900s)
  8. What is Citizenship? What is Justice? (1900s to Present)
  9. Teaching Strategies
  10. Classroom Activities
  11. Conclusion and Unit Product
  12. Adaptations and Extensions
  13. Annotated Bibliography
  14. Appendix for District Standards
  15. Notes

“Faces in the Frame: More than a Narrative”-The Lives that Frame the True History of the United States through Primary Sources

Taryn Elise Coullier

Published September 2020

Tools for this Unit:

The False Narrative in Education

Students are often taught history, and specifically the history of the civil rights movement through curriculum in an oversimplified way using the “Master Narrative”; a phrase coined by Julian Bond.8 The narrative highlights isolated events and people out of context or full scope in a condensed format.9 Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are examples of figures often taught without complexity and depth. This decontextualized and one-dimensional view oversimplifies the four-hundred-year strength and struggle of African American people in the United States. “Civil rights history needs to be conveyed in a connected way”.10 In short, by not teaching students true history we are robbing them of self-awareness and pride within their history.

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