Last updated: July 22, 2019
Lesson Plan
Lesson 2 - MAROONED FOR FREEDOM
- Grade Level:
- High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 90 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 9-10.RI.1, 9-10.RI.2, 9-10.RI.3, 9-10.RI.7, 9-10.RI.10, 11-12.RI.7, 11-12.RI.10, 9-10.RH.8, 9-10.RH.9, 9-10.RH.10, 9-10.RH.1, 9-10.RH.2, 11-12.RH.1, 11-12.RH.2, 11-12.RH.10
- Additional Standards:
- NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES
VI. Power, Authority, & Governance - Thinking Skills:
- Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
How far would you go to be free?
To what extent are oppressed people bound by the laws of the society that oppresses them?
Objective
LEARN about the forgotten hero of Maroon society, San Malo.
UNDERSTAND the historical facts of Maroon Settlements.
ANALYZE high level readings to gain understanding of historical events.
PRACTICE skills in analyzing informational text.
Background
This lesson uses a song from the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park cd Remembering 300: The Arrowhead Jazz Band, and a podcast from New Orleans Public Radio: More Than A Runaway: Maroons In Louisiana, https://www.wwno.org/post/more-runaway-maroons-louisiana . It concerns the history of free settlements established by escaped slaves in isolated areas of Louisiana, and the most famous leader of those settlements, San Malo, also called St. Malo or Juan Malo
To prepare, the teacher should listen to the podcast at the link above, and read the background articles provided under LESSON MATERIALS.
Preparation
To prepare, the teacher should listen to the podcast at the link above, and read the background articles provided under LESSON MATERIALS.
Teacher will need access to the internet and equipment to amplify the podcast. Students could also be given computers to access the podcast independently.
Materials
Lyrics for use by students in step 1.
Download Marooned for Freedom lyrics
Suggested questions to ask about the song and podcast, with possible answers.
Download DISCUSSION HELP/HINTS
Transcript of the podcast. The transcript is also available on the podcast site if students have their own devices to access the podcast.
Download TRANSCRIPT-More Than A Runaway: Maroons In Louisiana
This is an edited and shortened version of the Master’s thesis by Erin Elizabeth Voisin San Malo Remembered. Any errors in the handout are due solely to the author of these plans.
Download HANDOUT- SAN MALO READING FOR STUDENTS
This is a graphic organizer that will lead students through an analysis of Ms. Voisin’s thesis.
Download HANDOUT-ORGANIZER SAN MALO REMEMBERED
This is the key to the organizer. It is a copy of the reading in which the sections of the text that the students should write onto the organizer have been highlighted.
Download KEY-ORGANIZER-SAN MALO REMEMBERED
Complete master’s thesis by Voisin on San Malo as a maroon leader and a spiritual figure in the belief system popularly known as voodoo. Erin Elizabeth Voisin. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Lesson Hook/Preview
The hook to this lesson is to play them the song MAROONED FOR FREEDOM as shown in step #1 under PROCEDURES.
Procedure
- Play the song MAROONED FOR FREEDOM, (track 10) for students.
- It is suggested that they first listen to the song without lyrics. This might increase their concentration.
- Lyrics could be distributed before or during step 2 below.
- Discussion of the song.
DISCUSSION HELP-HINTS document under LESSON PLAN MATERIALS will help you with this. These are some of the suggested questions to ask. Based on your knowledge of your class, decide if they should be given a copy of the lyrics, also available under LESSON PLAN MATERIALS.
- How would you characterize the mood of the music?
- What does the song seem to be about?
- To what irony do they refer? Why is it ironic?
- What is your understanding of the word marooned? (Remind them of Pirates of the Caribbean if they seem stuck.)Does comparing the meaning various meanings of marooned help you to recognize the irony referred to in the song?
- This song is called a dirge. Based on the fact that this is a dirge, what do you think eventually happened to San Malo? (You might decide to hold back the answer to this question, and allow them to discover the answer for themselves after they have listened to the podcast and read the transcript.)
- Where were these people located?
- How did they survive in that locale?
QUESTIONS REFERRING TO SPECIFIC LYRICS for answers.
- Where did they “find freedom”?
- Why was their location a good place?
- What is mean by “Brought freedom to dozen of fellows…”
- Geographically, where was the area?
- What was the area like?
- What is one of their chief methods of survival?
- TRIPOD PODCAST. This will give them a deeper understanding.
- Have students listen to the podcast :
https://www.wwno.org/post/more-runaway-maroons-louisiana
- If students have their own devices to access the podcast, you can have them follow along with the transcript. However, it is often best to require them to listen without a transcript to encourage closer listening. You might also pause the podcast several times and carry on a running discussion.
- Podcast transcript is available under LESSON MATERIALS.
- Discussion of podcast. This can also be done as an assessment/written assignment. See those materials on this site under ASSESSMENTS. Suggested questions are given below. Possible answers are on the document DISCUSSION HELP-HINTS.
- How were MAROONS different from most runaway slaves?
- What were living conditions like for maroons?
- Why were swamps a good place for maroon settlements?
- How large was the typical maroon settlement and where did they tend to be located?
- What were the advantages of being located in those areas?
- Why would some family members stay behind?
- Why did the slaves feel justified in stealing from the whites?
- What were some ways to get the resources needed to survive?
- Why were the Maroons such a threat to the slave holders?
- Who was San Malo?
- How was his settlement different from other settlements of maroons?
- What eventually happened to San Malo?
- According to one Maroon, why live such a life with all of its suffering?
- QUICK WRITE: THINKING/OPINION/INTROSPECTION QUESTIONS.
These are more abstract questions meant to bring about deeper thinking by the students. In this step you will ask each question of the students and give them one or two minutes to jot down an answer. The class will then share/review their responses, and then do a longer writing. This also can be an assessment.- What have you learned today?
- San Malo is largely unknown. Why do you think his story is largely forgotten?
- What does this history suggest to you about the reality of slavery at that time?
- What would be the pros and cons of being a Maroon?
- Would you have joined the Maroons?
- What lesson is taught us by the fate of St. Malo?
- Ask students to share responses. Use this as an opportunity for additional discussion. Then give students time to add to their answers. Tell them that they need at least four sentences for each. (Adjust this based on the academic level of your class.)
- For additional knowledge you can have students read the edited Master’s Thesis by Voisin. It is a higher level reading and should be reserved for classes able to handle its level of difficulty. An organizer is provided that can be an exercise or assessment.
- Hand out reading. Give students sufficient time to read it. Consider doing it as a group reading or a whole class oral reading.
- Hand out the ORGANIZER. This is a graphic organizer that puts the most important information into an easy to absorb format. If students have not used this type of organizer you may wish to do part of it with them, or have them work in groups. See LESSON MATERIALS for Organizer and Key. The organizer can be an assessment. Students should be allowed to summarize answers to save space.
- On a subsequent day, return the graded organizers and engage in a discussion of the answers. See the key under ASSESSMENTS. You may wish to project a copy of the organizer during the discussion.
Vocabulary
- BAYOU: A creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary to another body of water. In popular use it sometimes refers to low swampy areas.
- CIMARRONES: Spanish language word for slaves who escaped and set up semi-permanent free settlements in isolated areas such as swamps. Synonym of MAROON.
- DIRGE: A song or hymn of grief or lamentation especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites. A slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music.
- IRONY: A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects.
- MAROON: A legally enslaved person who escapes to a semi-permanent life of freedom lived in an isolated region within slave territory. Maroons do not escape to free territory, but instead establish a free society within an enslaved area. Synonym of CIMARRONES.
- MAROONAGE: The action of an enslaved person deserting his or her forced status of oppression in pursuit of life independent of being at the mercy of another person’s will.
- MAROONED (verb): To put ashore and abandon on a desolate island or coast by way of punishment or the like, as was done by buccaneers. To abandon and leave without aid or resources.
- OPPRESSION: The unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power.
- PONTCHARTRAIN: A large shallow lake of brackish water located in Southern Louisiana, just north of New Orleans.
- SAN MALO: A Maroon leader of 18th century Louisiana. He later became seen as a spiritual figure by followers of the belief system popularly known as Voodoo.
Assessment Materials
Handouts integrated into the lesson could be collected and act as assessments.
Supports for Struggling Learners
- Students with hearing problems should be provided with copies of lyrics and transcript of podcast.
- Students with reading problems will benefit from a robust whole class discussion. To aid them in preparation of the ORGANIZER, they should be paired with higher level readers.
Enrichment Activities
Have students engage in internet research on Maroons. Below are a few resources to get them started.
https://vimeo.com/216549409
https://southwritlarge.com/articles/pasajs-passages-for-san-malo/
https://www.noirnnola.com/post/2018/07/30/jean-saint-malo-the-man-the-maroon-the-martyr