Lesson 2: Day 1 - African Origins

Google Doc of This Lesson

Activity 1: Read Aloud

Overview: In this read-aloud, students will read an excerpt from African_Reflections_on_the_American_Land.pdf (Joyner, 2003) to learn about the Africana origins of Black people in colonial America. 

Time: 15 minutes

Format: Whole Group 

Objective: SWBAT explain key ideas from the early African presence in colonial America by listening to and discussing an excerpt from African Reflections on the American Land (Joyner, 2003).

• Project African_Reflections_on_the_American_Land.pdf (Joyner, 2003).

• Read the title on p. 8. 

• Scroll to the Table of Contents on p. 9 and explain to students that today’s lesson will focus on chapter 1.

• Read the “Executive Summary” on p. 11-12 aloud.

• Skip ahead to p. 16 and read aloud until p. 20. 

• • Pause occasionally to ask clarifying questions like:

  • • What surprises you?

    • What questions do you have?

• Invite students to share one takeaway with a partner. 

• • Partner #1 should spend about 90 seconds sharing.

  • Invite students to switch so Partner #2 can share their takeaway.

Activity 2: African(a) Origins and Trafficking to the American Colonies

Overview: In this activity, students will work in groups to analyze a series of maps that trace the journeys of African and African American people—from kingdoms and empires in Africa, through kidnapping and trafficking to the American colonies, to the domestic purchase and sale of human beings. By examining these maps, students will uncover how geography, forced migration, and resistance shaped the Black experience from the 17th to 19th centuries and how visual records preserve these stories.

Time: 20 minutes

Format: Small Groups

Objective: SWBAT interpret cartographer-created maps to describe how geography, human trafficking “trade” routes, and regional identities shaped the early Africana diaspora in the Americas.

• Project the map. 

• Invite students to think about what they notice. 

• Highlight some of the key aspects of the map:

• • Title 

  • Time frame

  • How the map highlights regions or features 

• Show students the Africana Maps graphic organizer.

• Explain to them that they will be working in groups to analyze their assigned map and to answer the following questions:

• • What does the map tell us about how people of African descent arrived in the Western hemisphere and where they came from? 

  • What questions come to mind as you study this map?

• Tell students they will be responsible for writing a five to seven sentence caption summarizing what their map shows and why it matters.

• • Remind them their captions will later be shared with the whole class during the discussion.

• Next, divide students into small groups of three to four students. 

• Invite each group to analyze one of the following maps:

• • Group 1: Kingdoms and Empires in Africa

  • Group 2: Origins of Africans deported to the United States, 1628-1860

  • Group 3: African arrivals in the Americas, 1501-1867

  • Group 4: African Americans in the 13 colonies, 17th-18th centuries

  • Group 5: The Domestic Slave Trade 1808-1865

  • Group 6: Free African American population, 19th century

  • Group 7: African American population living in the West & North, 1850-1870

  • Group 8: The domestic slave trade, 1790-1799

• Share the Africana Maps Graphic Organizer with students. 

• • Invite students to make their own copy: Africana Maps Graphic Organizer- Make a Copy

• Encourage students to look carefully at important dates, names of cultural groups, borders, labels, coastlines, and routes.

• Walk around, ask clarifying questions, and support vocabulary.

• Remind students that their caption should explain what the map shows and why it matters historically.

Activity 3: Share and Discuss

Overview: In this whole group activity, students will share the map captions they created in small groups and present their interpretations to the class. Together, the class will reflect on how maps tell stories about Africana history—revealing movement, displacement, and resilience across centuries. 

Time: 15 minutes

Format: Whole Group 

Objective: SWBAT explain how historical maps document African and African American experiences and evaluate how maps serve as visual narratives that preserve stories of migration, community, and resistance.

• Display maps on a projector and let each group present briefly.

• Have each group share their caption with the class.

• Facilitate a wrap-up discussion about how maps are a form of historical storytelling.