Year 1: Unit 2 The Africans Who Built Colonial America – The Origins of Slavery (1585 – 1750): Lessons

Central Question: How did the Transatlantic Slave Trade affect the peoples of Africa, Europe, and the Americas?

Historical Background

The Atlantic’s Triangle Trade and the Transatlantic Slave Trade that drove this system, radically transformed the Americas. A number of economic factors combined to spur the rapid expansion of the slave trade: Large amounts of land had been seized from Native Americans and could be used to cultivate cash crops, European nations were competing for dominance in the commodities trade, and very cheap labor was available — enslaved Africans. From 1500 to 1860, it is estimated that around 12 million enslaved Africans were traded to the Americas. The Americas became a booming new economy — and captive Africans and their descendants paid with their blood and sweat for the phenomenal expansion of the Americas.

For more background, read “The Origins of Slavery” on the Gilder Lehrman website (free login required) and “How Sugar Changed the World” on the LiveScience website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Terms:

• Triangular Trade
• Middle Passage
• Slave port
• West Indies

Scholars understand the role of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and enslaved African labor in the development of the colonial economy and can explain the role of Europeans and Africans in this system over time.

Preparation

• Display the Unit 2 Essential Question on the wall in your classroom for scholars to reference throughout the unit.
• Create a word wall in your classroom with the Unit 2 Key Terms for scholars to reference during class discussion. Hold scholars accountable for using these Key Terms throughout the unit.
• Post a timeline in your classroom or create a digital timeline to track key events from this unit and previous units.
• In addition, to complete this project, you must have these materials:
  • Ensure you have printed the Triangle Trade Map template in the Unit 2 Workbook for each scholar.
  • Gather colored pencils for illustrating, and organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 2 Lesson 1 Do Now in the Unit 2 Workbook.

Context — 25 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Introduce the Essential Question for Unit 2: How did enslaved Africans shape colonial America?
• Explain that, each day, scholars will gather more evidence to answer this question.
• Remind scholars that this unit builds upon past content and that they must constantly make connections to previous periods of history to help them answer this Essential Question.
• Then, pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in launching their study of the origins and consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Watch (8 minutes)

• Watch the video, “Many Rivers to Cross: Episode 1 — The Black Atlantic,” available on YouTube.
  • Begin the clip at 2:00, and pause the clip at 9:33 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • Why did slavery begin in the American colonies?

Discuss (5 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video. Then, call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with a claim supported by evidence from the video.
  • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: If Africans were enslaved to provide labor for plantations, which region of British America would you expect to have the most enslaved people and why?

Watch (6 minutes)

• Continue to watch the video, “Many Rivers to Cross: Episode 1 — The Black Atlantic,” available on YouTube.
  • Continue the clip at 9:33, and pause the clip at 15:22 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did the Atlantic slave trade affect different people in Africa, Europe, and the Americas?

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video. Then, call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with a claim supported by evidence from the video.
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How was colonial American slavery different from slavery in Africa and other parts of the world?

Project Work — 15 minutes

• Explain that scholars are going to create their own maps today to illustrate the major cities and regions that interacted through the Transatlantic Slave Trade, referencing Maps A through D on pages 3–5 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook as they work.
• Tell scholars that their maps should clearly and compellingly show:
  • The major routes of the Triangle Trade and the Middle Passage (Maps A and B)
  • The Caribbean Sea (Map B or C)
  • Major African Nations: Senegal, Ghana, Angola, and the Congo (Map B or C)
  • Major North and South American slave ports: Santo Domingo, Cuba, Brazil, New York City, Charleston, and New Orleans (Map C)
  • The area colonized by the Dutch known as New Amsterdam (Map D)
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for accurate labels and compelling visual features in project work and to determine major trends in scholars’ work.

Wrap-up — 5 minutes

• Show an exemplar map to the class. Look for work that clearly and compellingly illustrates the routes, places, and major ports of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Homework

• Scholars read “Slavery Reaches Terrible New Heights” on the Newsela website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: Why did the Transatlantic Slave Trade expand so rapidly in the Americas?

Historical Background

The discovery of the New World boosted the European economy and marked the starting point of a new Atlantic economy based on large-scale plantation agriculture, driven by increasing demand for “luxury goods,” such as sugar, back in Europe. The exploitation of colonial land required millions of skilled laborers capable of tolerating the tropical climate that encompassed the vast region from the American South down to Brazil. The enslavement of Indians rapidly proved to be inefficient because the native population was hard to control and profoundly affected by European disease. The solution to the need for labor was the forced transportation to the colonies of poverty-stricken people, euphemistically called “indentured servants” or “engagés” in French. Europeans could not obviously count on their own “proletarians” who did not have the suited skills, especially when tropical agriculture was concerned. The final solution came from Africa where Europeans discovered a potential slave market at the time of their arrival in the middle of the fifteenth century. As a result of the slave trade, five times as many Africans arrived in the Americas as Europeans to sustain labor on sugar, tobacco, and rice plantations, and in mines in the Caribbean and South America.

For more background, read “The Atlantic Slave Trade” on the Whitney Plantation website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Terms:

• Immigrant
• Indentured servant
• Plantation
• Sugar trade

Scholars can apply their knowledge of world history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims about the growth of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 2 Lesson 2 Do Now in the Unit 2 Workbook.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Build excitement for today’s DBQ, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the origins and consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Tell scholars they will apply all their knowledge as historians to answer a question using new sources that they have not seen before.
• Scholars read the Lessons 2–4 DBQ Historical Context and Task in the Unit 2 Workbook to frame their thinking.
• Ask: What is the DBQ Task asking us to do?
• Scholars interpret the Task in pairs. Call on pairs to share out.
  • As a class, be sure to define the meaning of the word rapidly and how that should inform the documents scholars will be reading today.

Guided Document Study — 20 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars must tackle Documents A through D today by writing a main idea next to the title and using the text and their main idea annotations to concisely answer each short-answer question with a clear claim.

Read and Write (8 minutes)

• Read Document A* on page 7 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook with scholars. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title and use their understanding of the text to write a claim for the accompanying short-answer question in the Unit 2 Workbook.
  • *Note: Document A requires scholars to draw inferences from quantitative data and a written excerpt; scholars may struggle to use both parts of the document to articulate an idea in response to the question. If you anticipate that scholars will struggle more with Document B, C, or D, use one of those documents instead.

Discuss (10 minutes)

• Have a scholar with a strong main idea annotation and/or claim share out. Have scholars discuss 1) how the main idea annotation reflects full understanding of the document and/or, 2) why the claim effectively answers this short-answer question.
• Share non-exemplar work. Have the class discuss why the main idea annotation does not reflect full understanding of the document and/or why the claim does not answer the short- answer question.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work and know what they must do to improve.

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.

Read and Write — 20 minutes

• Scholars read the remaining documents on page 7 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook and write a clear and concise answer to each short-answer question in the Unit 2 Workbook. Hold scholars accountable for the clarity and strength of their claims!
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their thinking. Can their main idea annotations be made stronger? Are their claims simple and clear? Are they revising their writing?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ short answers and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their claims as well as their future writing. Use your study of the work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: Why did the Transatlantic Slave Trade expand so rapidly in the Americas?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their short answers from the previous lesson based on the feedback you gave them.

Plan — 15 minutes

• With partners or in small groups, scholars discuss possible answers to the DBQ Task. Ensure that scholars explain reasons that the Transatlantic Slave Trade rapidly expanded.
• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible answers to this Task. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this Task, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their answers and defend them with evidence from Documents A through D.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on accurate evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their answers.
• During the discussion, chart strong vs. weak answers. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong vs. weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their theses in their final DBQ essays. All of the evidence in an essay must prove this thesis.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to determine their own theses on the planning page of the DBQ in the Unit 2 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own theses based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their DBQ essays on the planning page of the DBQ by finalizing their theses and determining the three strongest pieces of evidence from Documents A through D that support their theses, based on their work in the previous lesson and the class discussion.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar explain his or her thesis. Does his or her thesis answer the DBQ Task? Is it compelling? Does the evidence selected actually prove this thesis?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps answer the DBQ Task on each document or in their outlines.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their DBQ essays. As scholars draft, they must focus on proving their theses with strong evidence from at least three different documents.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can their writing be made stronger?
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their theses in their DBQ essays.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for rereading their writing and eliminating any typos and errors in basic conventions.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make both to improve the strength of their theses and supporting evidence in this essay as well as in their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: Why did the Transatlantic Slave Trade expand so rapidly in the Americas?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and a non-exemplar draft essay from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-lesson. If there is no strong exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their DBQ essays and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the DBQ Task with scholars: Why did the Transatlantic Slave Trade expand so rapidly in the Americas??
  • Then share an exemplar draft from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s thesis compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this thesis.
  • Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar draft essay that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholar work with the previous lesson, and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the DBQ essay. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their DBQ essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will be productive only if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

• Share an essay that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to their partner how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their essays.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: a strong thesis and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

• Scholars read “The Origins of American Slavery” on pages 9–10 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, give scholars a final grade on their revised essay, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Central Question: Why did lifelong slavery based on race develop in colonial America?

Historical Background

At the beginning of the 17th century, both rich and poor Britons saw the newly established American colonies as a land of opportunity. As changes in England’s economy and word of hardships in America stemmed the flow of white indentured servants, English planters brought more enslaved Africans to America to raise their profitable tobacco, sugar, and rice crops and to provide other forms of labor in the North. Gradually, laws were enacted that defined legal status by race, ensuring that Africans and their descendants would be slaves. The impact of this new institution of racial slavery was felt by everyone, North and South, black and white, the enslaved and the enslaver.

For more background, read “The Birth of Race-Based Slavery” on the Slate website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Terms:

• Chattel slavery
• Slave codes
• Hereditary (heritable)

Scholars understand the early characteristics of slavery and indentured servitude in British America and New Amsterdam and can explain the reasons that race-based laws and customs were created to enforce the slave status of Africans.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 2 Lesson 5 Do Now in the Unit 2 Workbook.

Context — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the origins and consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Watch (12 minutes)

• Watch the video Africans in America “Journey Through Slavery ep 1 of 4 — Terrible Transformation,” available on YouTube.
  • Begin the clip at 13:54, and pause the clip at 25:36 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did slavery in the United States change over time?

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
  • One historian described American slavery as undergoing a “terrible transformation” during the colonial era. How did slavery in United States change over time?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How did beliefs about race in colonial America contribute to this change?

Investigate — 15 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate Documents A through D on pages 10–12 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• Circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How was lifelong racial slavery created through colonial law?
  • Why were these laws enacted?
  • What others factors led to the development of lifelong racial slavery in America?
  • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How did colonial religious beliefs influence the creation of slavery based on race?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • Why did lifelong slavery based on race develop in colonial America? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two different sources.

Homework

• Scholars read “The Middle Passage” on pages 14–15 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How did individuals experience the Middle Passage to the Americas?

Historical Background

Although it is important to consider the economic system that facilitated the Atlantic slave trade, the sheer scale of the trade can obscure the experiences of individuals. Over the course of four centuries, it is estimated that more than 12.5 million Africans were taken from Africa. Due to the brutal conditions on the Middle Passage, historians estimate that only 10.7 million of the captives survived.

For more background, read “African Immigration to Colonial America” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Terms:

• Slave ship
• Slaver

Scholars understand the scale, conditions, and impact of the Middle Passage and can explain the experiences of the individuals aboard these ships.

Preparation

• The race-based violence in this lesson is challenging to discuss in a classroom, but it is crucially important to scholars’ awareness of the world and its social, moral, and political foundations. Therefore, this lesson demands authentic, purposeful conversation. As such, more time is dedicated to the Discuss portion of this lesson and there is no Exit Ticket. Prepare to effectively facilitate this discussion by reviewing “Teaching Hard History.”

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 10 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in beginning their study of the experiences of enslaved peoples in the Americas.

Watch (5 minutes)

• Watch the video “TEDEd: The Atlantic Slave Trade — What Too Few Textbooks Told You,” available on YouTube.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • What hardships did enslaved Africans face on the Middle Passage?

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video as well as the question below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
  • How did enslaved Africans respond to the hardships faced on the Middle Passage?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: Why were slave ships so violent? What does this tell you about colonial slavery?

Investigate — 25 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate Documents A through C on pages 15–18 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• Circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on main ideas of the document.

Discuss — 10 minutes

• Tell scholars that there will be no written Exit Ticket for this lesson. Ensure scholars understand your expectations for an authentic, purposeful conversation of this content.
• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • Explain the experiences of individuals on the Middle Passage: enslaved Africans, other passengers, and the ship’s crew. Why did slave traders dehumanize their captives?
  • How did enslaved Africans resist this brutal treatment and their enslavement?
  • Why is it important, when we study slavery, to read the stories of the individuals we study?
  • What feelings emerge from all of these documents? How do these documents help us understand the emotions and experiences of the individuals involved in the Transatlantic Slave Trade?
  • Develop scholars’ understanding of historical context. Ask: To what extent do you think people at this time understood the experience on the Middle Passage? Why might it have been kept from public knowledge?

Homework

• Scholars read the essay “Slave Resistance” by historian James H. Sweet on the National HumanitiesCenter website, as well as the essay “Resistance and Rebellion” on the Understanding SlaveryInitiative website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How did Africans and African Americans resist slavery throughout the Americas?

Historical Background

Slave resistance began in British North America almost as soon as the first enslaved Africans arrived in the Chesapeake region in the early 17th century. As one historian has put it, “slaves ‘naturally’ resisted their enslavement because slavery was fundamentally unnatural.” Forms varied, but the common denominator in all acts of resistance was an attempt to claim some measure of freedom against an institution that defined people fundamentally as property. The most common forms of resistance were passive, or covert, acts of cultural resistance or defiance of the daily restrictions endured by enslaved people. At times, individuals and groups were able to coordinate enough power to engage in acts of more active resistance, like running away and organizing maroon colonies, and even in open acts of rebellion.

For more background, read “Slave Resistance” on the National Humanities Center website and the Whitney Plantation’s Marronage and Revolts summaries.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Terms:

• Cultural resistance
• Passive (covert) resistance
• Active (overt) resistance

Scholars can apply their knowledge of world history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims about African and African American resistance to colonial slavery.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 2 Lesson 7 Do Now in the Unit 2 Workbook.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Build excitement for today’s DBQ, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the experiences of enslaved individuals in the Americas. Tell scholars they will apply all their knowledge as historians to answer a question using new sources that they have not seen before.
• Scholars read the Lessons 7–9 DBQ Historical Context and Task in the Unit 2 Workbook to frame their thinking.
• Ask: What is the DBQ Task asking us to do?
• Scholars interpret the Task in pairs. Call on pairs to share out.
  • As a class, be sure to define “resist” and distinguish acts of passive and active resistance using the homework reading.

Guided Document Study — 20 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars must tackle Documents A through D today by writing a main idea next to the title and using the text and their main idea annotations to concisely answer each short-answer question with a clear claim.

Read and Write (8 minutes)

• Read Document A* on page 20 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook with scholars. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title and use their understanding of the text to write a claim for the accompanying short-answer question in the Unit 2 Workbook.
  • *Note: Scholars may respond to this question with overly literal answers, describing details of cultural practices rather than articulating one clear idea based on the document. If you anticipate scholars will struggle with a different document, use that instead.

Discuss (10 minutes)

• Have a scholar with a strong main idea annotation and/or claim share out. Have scholars discuss 1) how the main idea annotation reflects full understanding of the document, and/or 2) why the claim effectively answers this short-answer question.
• Share non-exemplar work. Have the class discuss why the main idea annotation does not reflect full understanding of the document and/or why the claim does not answer the short- answer question.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.

Read and Write — 20 minutes

• Scholars read the remaining documents on pages 20–21 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook and write a clear and concise answer to each short-answer question in the Unit 2 Workbook. Hold scholars accountable for the clarity and strength of their claims!
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their thinking. Can their main idea annotations be made stronger? Are their claims simple and clear? Are they revising their writing?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ short answers and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make to improve the strength of their claims as well as of their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: How did Africans and African Americans resist slavery throughout the Americas?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their short answers from the previous lesson based on the feedback you gave them.

Plan — 15 minutes

• With partners or in small groups, scholars discuss possible answers to the DBQ Task. Ensure that scholars understand the difference between active and passive resistance in their responses.
• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible answers to this Task. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this Task, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their ideas and defend them with evidence from Documents A through D.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on accurate evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their answers.
• During the discussion, chart strong vs. weak answers in a Google Doc. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong or weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their theses in their final DBQ essays. All of the evidence in an essay must prove this thesis.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to determine their own theses on the planning page of the DBQ in the Unit 2 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own theses based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their DBQ essays on the planning page of the DBQ by finalizing their theses and determining the three strongest pieces of evidence from Documents A through D that support their theses, based on their work in the previous lesson and the class discussion.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar explain his or her thesis. Does the thesis answer the DBQ Task? Is it compelling? Does the evidence selected actually prove this thesis?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps answer the DBQ Task on each document or in their outline.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their DBQ essays. As scholars draft, they must focus on proving their theses with strong evidence from at least three different documents.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can the writing be made stronger?
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their theses in their DBQ essays.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for rereading their writing and eliminating any typos and errors in basic conventions.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change scholars must make to improve the strength of their theses and supporting evidence in this essay as well as in their future writing. Use your study of scholar work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: How did Africans and African Americans resist slavery throughout the Americas?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make the essays stronger and clearer and understand how to use feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and a non-exemplar draft essay from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-lesson. If there is no strong exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their DBQ essays and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the DBQ Task with scholars: How did Africans and African Americans resist slavery throughout the Americas?
  • Then share an exemplar draft from the previous lesson. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s thesis compelling, and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this thesis.
  • Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar draft essay that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholar work in the previous lesson, and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the DBQ essay. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Set your expectations for how scholars will apply their individualized feedback to revise their work today.

Revise 1 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their DBQ essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will be productive only if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

• Share an essay that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to their partners how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to continue revising their essays.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the ENTIRE time to continue revising their essays.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: a strong thesis and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Homework

• Scholars read “Ancestral African Presence in Early New York” by historian and writer Christopher Mooreon the Our Time Press website in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, give scholars a final grade on their revised essay, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Central Question: How did Africans and African Americans shape colonial New York?

Historical Background

Throughout history, New York has defined itself as the capital of American liberty, the freest city in the nation — it’s the largest, most diverse, most economically ambitious, and most open to the world. It was also, paradoxically, for more than two centuries, the capital of American slavery. As many as 20 percent of colonial New Yorkers were enslaved Africans. During the colonial period, 41 percent of the city’s households had slaves, compared to six percent in Philadelphia and 2 percent in Boston. Only Charleston, South Carolina, rivaled New York in the extent to which slavery penetrated everyday life. But, too often, the story of slavery in New York is told only from the perspective of those who profited from enslaved people. The rediscovery of Manhattan’s African Burial Ground added immense historical value by drawing attention to the forgotten history of some of the first Africans in America and providing new evidence to understand their lives and collective role in shaping colonial New York.

For more background, read the History section on the Slavery in New York website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 2 Key Term:

• New Amsterdam

Scholars understand the role of enslaved and free Africans and African Americans in colonial New Amsterdam and New York and can explain how these individuals and communities shaped the economy and culture of the city over time.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Watch and Discuss 1 — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the lives of Africans and African Americans in colonial New York.

Watch (9 minutes)

• Watch the video “The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery — Part 2,” available on Amazon Video.
  • To access Amazon Video, you must first make an account on the Amazon website.
  • Begin Part 2 of the documentary at the beginning and pause the documentary at 9:07 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did Africans and African Americans contribute to the growth of New Amsterdam?

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed before the video as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
  • How did the role of African and African Americans in New Amsterdam change over time?
  • Make a connection to previous content. Ask: How was the role of enslaved people in New Amsterdam different from their role in other colonies, like the Middle Colonies and the South? Why was their role different?

Watch and Discuss 2 — 20 minutes

Watch (10 minutes)

• Watch the video “The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery — Part 2,” available on Amazon Video.
  • To access Amazon Video, you must first make an account on the Amazon website.
  • Begin Part 2 of the documentary at 9:07 and pause the documentary at 19:37 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did the experience of Africans and African Americans in New York change under English rule?

Discuss (10 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed before the video as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
  • How did Africans and African Americans contribute to the development of New York?
  • Why did enslaved people in New York organize more active resistance to slavery under English rule?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: Why do some historians argue that slavery in New York was even more restrictive than in Southern colonies?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • How did Africans and African Americans shape colonial New York? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence.

Homework

• Scholars read “Sarah’s Fire: Slave Resistance in New York” on pages 25–27 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How did Africans and African Americans respond to the conditions of slavery in New York?

Historical Background

Slavery was an institution in New York City, much more so than in other Northern cities. It was widespread, deeply entrenched, and supported by a network of laws, customs, and attitudes. In New York, a city always focused on business and trade, white colonists largely shared the conviction that slave labor was essential to the prosperity of individuals, families, and the city as a whole. In slavery, as in any institution, people showed a range of behavior. At one extreme were slave owners who beat their slaves mercilessly. At the other were owners who, maybe for their own benefit, educated their slaves or used punishment sparingly. Far more typically, white people who owned slaves worked them hard, used physical punishment, separated family members from one another, and denied them rights that white colonists took for granted.

For more background, read “The History of Slavery in New York,” published by the New York Historical Society.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand the role of free and enslaved Africans and African Americans in the development of Northern colonies and New York City and can explain the passive and active resistance to Northern racism and slavery.

Preparation

• To complete this jigsaw, before class you must:
  • Make a plan for how you are going to divide scholars into groups for the jigsaw.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Lesson 11 Note-taking Template in the Unit 2 Workbook accessible so that notes are purposeful and that scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the lives of Africans and African Americans in colonial New York.

Watch (9 minutes)

• Watch the video “Africans in America: Part 1— Terrible Transformation,” available on YouTube.
  • Begin the clip at 1:11:07, and pause the clip at 1:21:43 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did slavery and racism affect the lives of individuals in New York?

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the video.
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: Why did white New Yorkers pass new restrictions on free and enslaved Africans over time?

Investigate — 10 minutes

• Remind scholars that the purpose of a jigsaw lesson is to become experts so they are able to teach their peers. Set the expectations that scholars should be prepared to clearly and concisely share the Big Ideas about their individual at the end of their group work time.
• Divide scholars into groups, and assign each group one of the following five individuals: African Runaway (page 28 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook), Dorothy Creole (page 29 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook), Pegg (page 30 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook), Robin (page 31 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook), or Sarah (page 32 of the Unit 2 Sourcebook ). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned individual. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• Circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. Ask: What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on main ideas of the document.

Teach — 10 minutes

• Remind scholars that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and should take notes in their Lesson 11 Note-taking Template in the Unit 2 Workbook during each presentation.
• Have scholars from each group present the Big Ideas about their individual to the class in 2 minutes or less.
• As scholars share, chart the major takeaways from each group, and display this chart in your classroom for reference throughout the unit.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• After each group presents, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How did slavery shape the lives of these individuals in colonial New York?
  • How did Africans and African Americans resist slavery and Northern racism?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did the experiences of enslaved Africans compare to free Africans in colonial New York?

Exit Ticket — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Lesson 11 Exit Ticket in the Unit 2 Workbook independently.

Homework

• Scholars read the article “Evidence of Burial Ground Is Discovered in East Harlem” by David Dunlap on the New York Times website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How should the legacy of the enslaved Africans of New York be memorialized?

Historical Background

In early 2016, officials confirmed the discovery of a new African Burial site in East Harlem. The site, at East 126th Street and First Avenue, was formerly used as a bus depot. The burial ground dates back to 1660 when the village of New Harlem was incorporated and the Low Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem was built at the corner of First Avenue and 126th Street. A portion of the property — a one-quarter-acre lot — was set aside as a segregated cemetery, called the Negro Burying or Harlem African Burial Ground, which was used from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century. It holds the remains of free and enslaved people of African descent. Now a memorial site much like downtown Manhattan’s African Burial Ground National Monument is being planned for the site.

For more background, explore the East Harlem Preservation website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand key features of memorial artwork at the existing African Burial Ground site and plan artwork of their own that represents the legacy of African peoples in New York.

Preparation

• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • Create a teacher model of the Memorial Artwork Planning Guide.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Memorial Artwork Planning Guide in the Unit 2 Workbook accessible.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 2 Lesson 12 Do Now in the Unit 2 Workbook.

Study Mentor Images — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the lives of Africans and African Americans in colonial New York.
• Explain that scholars will spend the next three lessons planning and creating memorial artwork that celebrates the legacy of African peoples in early New York.

Examine (8 minutes)

• Choose at least two different pieces from the African Burial Ground Commissioned Artwork on the General Services Administration website to display and discuss as a class.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they examine the images:
  • How do these pieces illustrate the legacy of Africans in New York?
• After examining both pieces, Pairs of scholars discuss the question above. Then call on pairs to share out.

Discuss (5 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the following questions. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your question with claims supported by evidence from the African Burial Ground Commissioned Artwork and previous lessons.
  • Describe the most significant features of the memorial artwork found at the burial ground.
  • How does each piece memorialize the legacy of African peoples in a historically accurate and respectful way?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How can memorial artwork celebrate the individuals unearthed at the African Burial Ground?

Planning — 10 minutes

• Explain that scholars will create their own African Burial Ground memorial artwork.
• Tell scholars that their illustrations must portray a powerful and compelling idea supported by strong visual evidence, as in the sample images.
  • Remind scholars that visual projects, just like written pieces, make arguments, and all arguments require a strong idea with supporting details.
• Scholars may refer to the African Burial Ground Commissioned Artwork pieces and their homework as they work.
• Scholars use the Memorial Artwork Planning Guide in the Unit 2 Workbook to plan their artwork, writing their ideas and planning the details they will use to support them.
• In their plans, scholars should:
  • Describe their illustrations and draft a title and caption explaining their pieces.
  • List all materials they will need to complete their projects on sticky notes.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for best effort in project work and to determine the major trends in their work.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss how the plan illustrates the scholar’s idea with clear and coherent organization.
• Share a non-exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss why the plan lacks an idea and/or clear and coherent organization.
• Ensure scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work and know what they must do to improve.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will create their final artwork based on what they have learned.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ completed plans and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Focus on the quality and clarity of scholars’ ideas for their artwork and the details they plan to use to support them.

Central Question: How should the legacy of the enslaved Africans of New York be memorialized?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars use their project plans to create memorial artwork grounded in historical and contemporary sources that represents the legacy of African peoples in New York.

Preparation

• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • Create a teacher model of the memorial artwork.
  • Gather the following materials for each format for scholar projects.
  • Collage: Cardstock, glue sticks, scissors, construction, and other colored paper
  • Commemorative Stamps: Index cards, colored pencils or markers, fine- tip sharpies
  • Portrait: Cardstock, colored pencils, crayon, or pastels
  • Organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
  • Ensure each scholar has the Memorial Artwork Planning Guide in the Unit 2 Workbook returned with feedback.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their planning guides from the previous lesson based on the feedback you gave them.

Launch — 10 minutes

• Have scholars recall the previous lesson’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the lives of Africans and African Americans in colonial New York.
• Explain that scholars will use their plans from the previous lesson to create their memorial artwork today.
• Choose an exemplar plan from the previous lesson. As a class, discuss the features that make this plan effective and how scholars will use their planning to create accurate and compelling artwork.
• Explain what scholars must do to finish their projects by the beginning of the next lesson, and invest them in doing their best work to display in your classroom!
• Remind scholars to apply your feedback on their planning guides to their project work today, as well.

Project Work — 30 minutes

• Scholars begin to create their memorial artwork. Remind scholars that their artwork must include:
  • A compelling title
  • A caption explaining the illustration and/or significance of the piece
  • A compelling illustration that accurately celebrates the legacy of Africans in New York
• Set clear expectations for how scholars will access materials for their projects and what scholars must accomplish by the end of class.
• Scholars should refer to their plans and examples from the previous lesson as they work.
• While scholars are working, you should actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for best effort in project work and to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the Big Idea conveyed by his or her artwork Can the Big Idea be made stronger? How can the artwork illustrate the Big Idea more effectively? Is the artwork interesting and visually compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on conveying a powerful message in their memorials.

Wrap-up — 5 minutes

• Show an exemplar project to the class. Look for work that is both historically accurate and visually compelling and incorporates any feedback you gave on scholars on their plans and/or projects.

Homework

• Scholars study the Unit 2 Key Terms in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ projects and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Focus on the quality and clarity of scholars’ ideas for their artwork and the details they plan to use to support them.

Central Question: How should the legacy of the enslaved Africans of New York be memorialized?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars create memorial artwork that represents the legacy of African peoples in New York and share their pieces with classmates.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their projects and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their work today.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Have scholars recall the previous lesson’s Central Question, and invest scholars in continuing their study of the lives of Africans and African Americans in colonial New York.
• Tell scholars that today they will be finishing their memorial artwork and sharing their final work with their peers.
• Explain what scholars must do to finish their projects by the end of class today, and invest them in doing their best work to display in your classroom!

Project Work — 20 minutes

• Scholars use your feedback to revise their projects.
• Remind scholars that their artwork must include:
  • A compelling title
  • A caption explaining the illustration and/or significance of the piece
  • A compelling illustration that accurately celebrates the legacy of Africans in New York
• Set clear expectations for how scholars will access materials for their projects and what scholars must accomplish by the end of class.
• While scholars are working, you should actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for best effort in project work and to determine the major trends in their work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the idea conveyed by his or her artwork. Ask: Can the idea be made stronger? How can the artwork illustrate the idea more effectively? Is the artwork interesting and visually compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.

Share — 20 minutes

• Scholars either individually present their pieces to the whole class and explain the thinking behind their artwork or display their artwork from their seats and travel around the classroom to view one another’s work in a Gallery Walk.
• Regardless of the option you choose, you must set clear expectations for the share. As scholars view one another’s work, encourage them to give positive and constructive feedback that can transfer to future project work.

• Scholars read the following articles on Newsela*:
  • “Georgetown University Will Recruit Students Descended from its Slaves”
  • “The History of the White House”
• Scholars write a paragraph of no more than 200 words based on both of the articles above in response to the following prompt:
  • What is the legacy of slavery in major U.S institutions today?

*To access all articles on the Newsela website, you must create a free account.

Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about Big Ideas in American history.

• Why did the institution of slavery evolve in the Americas during the colonial period?
• How did enslaved Africans contribute to the growth of colonies in the Americas? How should the legacy of Africans in the United States be memorialized?
• Though no slave rebellion in British America ever defeated colonial plantation owners like the rebellions in Haiti, rebellions and rebel leaders continued to grow throughout the colonies. To what extent were these slave rebellions still successful?

Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below.

• Thematic Essay: Scholars write a thematic essay that answers one of the extra credit prompts, drawing on evidence both from the unit and from their own independent research.
• Podcast: Scholars create an original podcast that answers one of the prompts above. The podcast should be 5–8 minutes long. Podcasts must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• “Docudrama”: Scholars create a “docudrama” that answers one of the prompts above. A docudrama is a dramatized video that tells the story of historic events. The docudrama should be 5–8 minutes long. Docudramas must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Interview: Scholars record (video or podcast) an interview with a “historian” or a historical figure in order to answer one of the prompts above. The historian or historical figure must be the scholar. A parent, a classmate, or a teacher should be the interviewer. Interviews should be 5–8 minutes long. Interviews must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Propose your own project: Scholars may propose to do their own project. These projects must still answer one of the extra credit prompts, and any project proposal must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.