Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/ sends out good emails for professional development and learning, and on July 4th an interesting one came in my email inbox for suggestions to do with your class on (or around, b/c most have the day off) July 4th. The suggestions were good, yet my recent focus on colonial slavery prompted me to add to the list a little, such as an examination of Jefferson’s deleted paragraph from the Declaration that delineated the evils of slavery and the slave trade. Trying to teach the complexities and depth of slavery is challenging. Another prompt from the 19th century that I perhaps do not use enough is Fredrick Douglass’ speech. Text: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html
Morgan Freeman on the History Channel: http://www.history.com/shows/the-people-speak/videos/the-meaning-of-july-4th-for-the-negro#the-meaning-of-july-4th-for-the-negro