Inheriting the Trade Lesson Plan

3 days

Essential Questions (Beth Lantz)

1. Why do we need to proceed with caution when producing and reading history? How is
historical knowledge produced? What is good history and how can we, as U.S. history
students pursue it?

2. Beyond our classroom, where are the past experiences of Native American domination and
the African slave trade in New England acknowledged in our society today? Are these
experiences acknowledged sufficiently? Do the ways of remembering this past fabricate
heritage or advance an understanding of history?

Day 1:
DeWolf Impressions

Think-Pair-Share:
Who was Moses Brown? Why was he important to history?

Chalk Talk
1. Students will proceed to the front of the board to answer the question: What does the DeWolf
memoir teach us about history?
2. All students will proceed to the board and each write one idea.
3. Next, students will respond to the idea of at least one other student with a question or
comment.

Jigsaw Activity on Outside Text White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack by Peggy
MacIntosh (1989)
https://www.isr.umich.edu/home/diversity/resources/white-privilege.pdf

1. Student divide into 4 groups and read the MacIntosh Article section assigned to them.
2. 10 minutes- Students read and discuss their section in groups and answer guiding questions
provided by Ms. Pang.
3. 10 minutes- Students from each group form new groups with representatives from sections
1,2,3,4 who share what they learned from their section.
4. 10 minutes- large group discussion in which small groups share insights, questions, concerns

Vocabulary Homework
Part 1
When you look back on Inheriting the Trade, how does DeWolf define the following terms?
Please paraphrase.
(include page numbers to assist students)
1) race
2) racism
3) prejudice
4) white privilege
5) male privilege
6) class privilege
7) meritocracy
8) systemic racism

Please write 1-2 sentences for each statement.

Part 2
Then, write at least one paragraph on the following prompt:

What forms of privilege do you carry in your metaphorical invisible backpack? How do these
privileges benefit you in your everyday life? Lastly, how might these privileges be related to
history?

Day 2:
Opinion Continuum on DeWolf

Think-Pair-Share:
Write and Discuss: What did you know about the history of Rhode Island before you read this
memoir?

1. Students are instructed to agree or disagree with the statements which will be read or
projected on the board.
2. Teacher will ask students who are on opposite sides for textual evidence for their opinion.
Teacher will also call attention to the students in the center for textual evidence about why they
are on the fence.

Sample Statement:
1. I knew that Rhode Island was home to some of the largest slave trading ports in the United
States.
2. Slavery was a Southern problem.
3. Africans who enslaved others and cooperated with the slave traders were just as responsible
as the slave traders.
4. A group is still responsible today for what their ancestors did in the past.
5. African Americans deserve some form of reparations (repayment) for slavery.
6. Slave traders are not to blame because they were just doing what was right according to the
customs of their time.
7. The audience for DeWolfs story is people of all races and backgrounds.
8. This book fairly represents all people involved in the slave trade.



Homework:
Read the Choices A Forgotten History pdf and answer the questions from the outline.

Day 3:
Excerpts from the Choices Curriculum
A Forgotten History: The Slave Trade and Slavery in New England

4 Side Debate: New England and the Slave Trade
Based on the Historical Opinions Presented in Winder 1783: Rhode Islands Moment of
Decision
Option 1: Continue Trading and Owning Slaves
Option 2: Emancipate Gradually
Option 3: Emancipate Immediately and Completely
Option 4: Send Africans Back to Africa