Lesson 6: Day 1 - Black Public Schools

Google Doc for this Lesson

Activity 1: Fact-Finding Activity

Overview: In this lesson, students will read From 1820-1842 the Black Community Saved Black Public Schools - Twice (2024) and complete a fact-finding worksheet with 16 questions. The activity guides students to identify key figures, events, and community actions that shaped Black education in early 19th-century Philadelphia. By combining close reading with evidence-based responses, students will deepen their understanding of how Black communities resisted systemic barriers and built institutions of learning.

Time: 25 minutes

Format: Partners

Objective: SWBAT identify key evidence from a historical text and analyze the significance of community-led education, demonstrating how Black leaders and families expanded access to schooling in Philadelphia between 1820 and 1842.

• Tell students they will work with a partner to answer 16 fact-finding questions using direct evidence from From 1820-1842 the Black Community Saved Black Public Schools - Twice (2024).

• Remind them to quote directly for fact questions and explain their thinking for the open-ended question (#16).

• Share the Black Public Schools: Fact-Finding Activity (Student Copy)

• • Invite students to make their own copy: Black Public Schools: Fact-Finding Activity- Make a Copy

• Circulate the classroom to ensure students are on task and able to locate evidence.

• Use the Black Public Schools: Fact-Finding Activity (Answer Key) for support.

Activity 2: Journal Writing Activity

Time: 25 minutes

Format: Individually

Overview: This activity invites students to consolidate what they’ve learned so far about Black education in Philadelphia — from early schools and leaders like Eleanor Harris, to community efforts at the Lombard/Forten School, to literacy statistics and Sunday schools. Students practice using historical evidence and themes to prepare for the larger essay contest on the Institute for Colored Youth.

Objective: SWBAT reflect in writing on the importance of Black education in Philadelphia and examine some of the early struggles and successes of Black-led institutions.

• Summarize the previous activity: “In the previous activity we saw how Black leaders, families, and teachers worked together to fight for strong schools. Education was not given — it was demanded, organized, and protected.”

• Share the Journal Writing: Black Schools in Philadelphia document with students. 

• • Invite them to make their own copies here: Journal Writing: Black Schools in Philadelphia- Make a Copy

• Give students time to write silently and independently.

• Remind them to use specific examples (people, schools, statistics, events) from our lessons.

• Prompt students who are stuck with: “Think of one person or event we studied — what does their story show about why education mattered?”