LaughingCat Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I would like to do a short unit next year on slavery (an area older DD has expressed interest in learning more about) -- I've been searching around a bit, but so far it seems like many books are focused on either the Civil War or the Underground Railroad (especially escapes of specific people). To add complexity, it needs to be aimed at logic stage but not an advanced reader logic stage (interest= late middle school, ability=closer to 5th grade) Sugar Changed the World would seem to be in the right type of book -- but I need something a couple steps down in reading level/complexity. Note: in a perfect world, I'd even like the unit to go from the beginnings of slavery in the US through civil rights -- so I'm not adverse to all books regarding slavery and the Civil War or the Underground Railroad; I just don't want those to be the focus of the unit I am down to paging through gobs of dry/boring books from the library hoping to find some winners --so I thought I'd ask if the Hive has any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Traveling the Freedom Road http://www.amazon.com/dp/0810983389/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3JBC9QAGGOI3C&coliid=IXBBXIFMJYCUD followed by... Miles to Go for Freedom http://www.amazon.com/Miles-Go-Freedom-Segregation-Rights/dp/1419700200/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=14R47G8FZXF11G4948HY 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I don't have any suggestions for nonfiction, but there are some good historical fiction books that depict life as a slave (in the 5th grade reading range): Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (life as a slave in Colonial America) My Name is not Angelica by Scott O'Dell (depicts the St.John's slave revolt of 1733) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) The Slave Trade (Sadler) -- brief overview of worldwide African slave trade, 1500s-1800s Bound for America: The Forced Migration of Africans to the New World (Haskins) -- start of US African slavery Slavery (DK Publishing) -- overview of world history of slavery, with special focus on African American slavery If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America (Kamma) -- late elementary, but a good overview Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom (Hamilton) -- picture book for late elementary; overview Lest We Forget: The Passage From Africa to Slavery and Emancipation (Thomas) -- adult "picture book" From Slave Ship to Freedom Road (Lester & Brown) -- picture book for late elementary/middle school; emotive paintings and text To Be A Slave (Lester), or, When I Was a Slave (Yetman) -- first person narratives, ex-slave memoirs Edited September 11, 2016 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 You might try pre-America too, as well as the Slave Triangle. The word Slave comes from the word Slav, from a time when the Slavic area was a handy place to get more slaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Look at Jamestown for some resources on both slavery and indentured servants. They have educator resources on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Look at Jamestown for some resources on both slavery and indentured servants. They have educator resources on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Look at Jamestown for some resources on both slavery and indentured servants. They have educator resources on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Don't know if it is true, but the "Lies my teacher taught me" book talks about the first slave owner in what later became the U.S. was a black guy. He had an indentured servant. When they ran away or did some crime time got added onto their sentence. One guy eventually got his servitude extended to Life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krsmom Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Not a book, but this you tube video is fantastic. It was produced by HBO "Unchained Memories is a riveting compilation of more than forty narratives drawn from interviews with former slaves conducted in the 1930s by the government's Works Progress Administration. The book is an adaptation of HBO's documentary special for 2003, also titled Unchained Memories . From slave auctions to emancipation, the narratives trace the extraordinary experiences of lives spent in slavery." I had to heavily edit it for a class I was teaching to a group of 3rd - 5th graders, but it was powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfusLVvOlRM 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 PBS has a documentary "Slavery by another name" that was pretty good. I think it's based on a book, though I haven't read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 We listened to Elijah of Buxton as an audiobook this last year - really enjoyed it. I think it would be about a 5th grade reading level. http://www.amazon.com/Elijah-Buxton-Christopher-Paul-Curtis/dp/0439023459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435039058&sr=8-1&keywords=elijah+of+buxton&pebp=1435039063973&perid=1A6HKB2RFHGW8TQT2BZE Different perspective (the first child born free in a settlement of runaway slaves just inside of Canada). There are lots of resources for it on Pinterest too, if you want. The same author has other books that address civil rights from a child's perspective - I haven't read the others, but they get even better reviews than the one we really enjoyed. ETA: I suppose this is obvious, but I feel I should mention that there is violence and racism and the author paints some pretty vivid pictures with words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happybeachbum Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) I know older post, but here are some books 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northop Incident of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs Frederick Douglas Talked and Wrote about his experience as a slave. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South by John W. Blassingame Before the Mayflower Lerone Bennett (of course not all about slavery, but a great book) The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist (it's controversial) Author of pretty well received George Washington Imperfect God wrote Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves by Henry Wiencek ( When I say that The Half Has Never been told is controversial it has nothing on how controversial this book was and still is when it came out is an understatement.) Edited September 11, 2016 by happybeachbum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Slavery is as old as the Earth. Look for books on slavery that are not based on US history. Look for a time period different from the 1800's and/or a location different from the US. Slavery still exists today in parts of the world. You could even look for information on slavery in the world today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth 2 Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 (edited) While I don't know the books, to follow-up there is a documentary called "African Americans: Many River to Cross," by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. He went to Africa and looked at the origins there and how it changed people there and in the U.S. I was only able to watch the first portion before it went off Netflix, but I hope they bring it back this next year. I would like to finish it as it follows the same time frame you are studying. It came out in 2013, so maybe the library will have a copy if youtube isn't an option. I would recommend pre-screening because slavery was/is ugly and I don't know your family's boundaries. Edited because I found full episodes on PBS. Edited September 19, 2016 by Elizabeth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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