Creator: University of North Carolina | visit site
Grade Range: 8 - 11
A collection from the University of North Carolina’s "Documenting the American South" series, this site contains original writings and transcripts of interviews with slaves and former slaves collected prior to 1920. As such, they differ from some other accounts which were recorded as part of a depression-era effort to recapture this portion of our history. Interesting as a primary resource for research.
In the Classroom
Use these primary sources to supplement text in teaching about Slavery in the Antebellum South. Divide students into groups, with each group to analyze and interpret a separate source pre-selected from the site. Have groups read their sources with the intentions of presenting their findings to the class. To additionally educate students about the validity of sources, teachers can have students present and then defend their sources to the other groups as to the validity and reliability of the document. Have the class vote off sources Survivor style, with the last source to be the most reliable and valid! By the end of this lesson, students will not only understand slavery as a way of life but also how to interpret primary sources.
At Home
Bookmark this site for your student’s papers and projects on slavery in the U.S. How do these real accounts in interviews with actual former slaves change your ideas of what you previously believed about slavery?