The 8th grade class has been reading All American Boys, coauthored by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keily, in their Language Arts/Humanities class. The book delves into themes of racial injustice, identity and social justice.
In conjunction with vocabulary and literary analysis work, the students have been learning about African American history to place the plot of the novel in historical context. The eighth graders examined the struggles of African Americans to achieve justice and equality after the abolition of slavery in the U.S. in 1865.
Each student studied one “step” in the “walk” through selected events and topics in African American history, starting with the arrival of the first Africans in North America in 1619 and ending with the Black Lives Matter movement today. After examining primary and secondary sources, each junior historian wrote about what they learned and analyzed its relevance to the struggles of Black Americans for social justice throughout American history. They also tied in these topics to the issues and themes in the novel.
Students shared their explanations and interpretations of African American history in individually curated displays that included informational text, historical documents, images and handmade artifacts. Visitors to their classroom exhibit were invited to take a “Walk through African American History” to view the displays and talk to each 8th grade curator. Visitors included the fifth and sixth grade students, teachers and parent guests on campus for CLAS and Middle School Open House.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the exhibit!
FRIDAY BLOG 