Last updated: July 29, 2022
Lesson Plan
Quest for Omitted History: Part 1
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- MA Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy: Grade 7 Reading Standards for Informational Texts: 3, 9
MA Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science: Grades 6–8 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: 2, 6
Essential Question
How can new historical interpretations be more valid than older ways of understanding the past?
Objective
As a result of this lesson plan, students will…
1. Determine key information in historical texts.
2. Analyze the impact of the inclusion and exclusion of specific details in a text.
3. Infer the author’s purpose and extrapolate the impact of the historian’s decisions.
Background
Historians' work involves investigating the past by analyzing different kinds of evidence to get as complete an understanding as possible, much like how detective work involves seeing how different clues all fit together. In part 1 of this 3-part lesson plan, students grapple with sources that might change how the history of slavery in New England has been seen and understood.
Preparation
1. Ask students to imagine this scenario and discuss the questions that follow.
You have plans to go to the mall. You tell your family you are going to meet friends there. You leave out the fact that you are also meeting your significant other there as well.
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Does leaving out information make this statement a lie?
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Is this deceitful or dishonest?
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What are some reasons a person might do this?
2. Students now consider the following questions, write their answers, and share answers with a partner.
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What if history books leave out certain people or details?
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Is the history then a lie?
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Is it deceitful or dishonest?
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What are some reasons historians might do this?
3. Ask students to find the legal definition for "omission" and highlight what words or phrases stand out to them. Then discuss whether students believe the legal definition applies to historians (or not).
Materials
This packet includes 1 scanned image of a primary source document and its transcription.
Download Primary Source Packet: Part 1
Procedure
1. Students read the attached primary source from the "Materials" section above. Display or print out and the secondary source written below for students to read.
Secondary Source
The following is an excerpt taken from the previous version of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site brochure.
“Valuable Cargoes: Salem merchants were in business to make the highest profit on the smallest bulk. They were market speculators, not suppliers of necessities. Their ships carried native products like dried fish, lumber, cotton, butter, beef, and tobacco, along with rum and molasses from the West Indies to ports all over the world. They were traded for goods then considered luxuries, like tea, coffee, sugar, pepper, and Indian cotton textiles. These were the mainstays of the trade, the goods that brought a good profit at home or, as re-exported cargoes, in world markets where they were in demand.”
2. Ask students to share ideas about the sources with a partner and write answers to the following questions.
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What is the reader’s impression from each text?
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What information is present in the primary text that is not present in the secondary text?
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What is the effect of presenting only partial information?
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What facts related to slavery and the New England economy are found in this primary source document?
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What is the impact of thousands of people reading only the secondary source to understand the history of slavery and the maritime economy of New England?
3. Have students share and discuss their answers with the whole group.
4. Ask students this final question and collect all student ideas to be revisited in the next lesson, "Quest for Omitted History," Part 2.
- What can we do to fix this issue of omitted history?
Vocabulary
A Note on Language: Over the course of American history the language used to describe Black people has changed and most likely will continue to change. In these materials we use Black and African American interchangeably. Be sure to discuss with students that some of the primary sources they will encounter in these lessons use outdated terms as well as racist and offensive language to describe Black people. We recommend developing a plan or guidelines with students to ensure a respectful, reflective classroom discussion.
Additional Resources
Author Recognition: The "Quest for Omitted History" lesson series was developed by Casey Silot, grade 7 teacher, English Language Arts, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Lynn, Massachusetts.
Donor Recognition: This program was made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation through the generous support of Union Pacific Railroad and donors across the country.
Partner Recognition: The National Park Service at Salem Maritime collaborated with The Hard History Project and local teachers to co-create lesson plans dealing with slavery and freedom. Thank you to the staff of The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum where most of the documents used in these lessons are preserved and made accessible.