# Lesson 6: Day 3 - History of ICY

## **Google Doc for this Lesson** 

[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A-ShD0rP1yPlsMdj2Vzrc2HUwj-SpTrDV0PKnoq6rIM/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A-ShD0rP1yPlsMdj2Vzrc2HUwj-SpTrDV0PKnoq6rIM/edit?usp=sharing)

  
**Activity 1:** Introducing the ICY Graduation

**Overview:** In this activity, students will be introduced to the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) through the idea of a graduation ceremony. 

**Time:** 15 minutes

**Format:** Whole Group

**Objective:** SWBAT identify key elements of past Institute for Colored Youth graduation ceremonies and compare them to contemporary educational activities in Philadelphia.

* Project the [__Newsletter__](https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/icy-grad) site.
* * Read “Octavius V. Catto Will Return to Philadelphia” aloud.
  * Watch the short video on the Institute for Colored Youth.
  * Project [__ICY Textbooks__](https://1838-black-metropolis.shorthandstories.com/ICYBooks/index.html) and read the Introduction aloud.
* Explain to students that the ICY Graduation is happening in May 2026!
* Explain that they will write essays connecting historical moments and figures with contemporary issues happening in Philadelphia, and around the world.  


**Activity 2:** Exploring ICY Graduates

**Time:** 35 minutes

**Format:** Small Groups

**Overview**: In this activity, students will step into history by exploring a digital archive of Institute for Colored Youth graduates. The website highlights graduates of the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) — one of the most important schools for Black education in the 19th century. Each graduate’s story shows how ICY prepared young people to become leaders in the world.

**Objective:** SWBAT investigate the stories of ICY graduates by exploring a digital archive, identifying key details about their accomplishments, and connecting their lives to broader themes of Black education and leadership.

* Introduce the idea: *“Imagine you are attending an ICY graduation — today we’ll meet the graduates through a digital archive.”*
* Read ahead of time, and project the [*__History of the Institute for Colored Youth__*](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/doc/l54-history-of-the-institute-for-colored-youth-S9g5eNYt2h).
* * Provide a brief overview of ICY.
* Next, show the [__Institute for Colored Youth Faculty, 1852-1866__](https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/institute-colored-youth/faculty) page and review the list of Faculty members.
* Project [__ICY Textbooks and Graduates__](https://1838-black-metropolis.shorthandstories.com/ICYBooks/index.html) and read the bios.
* Introduce students to the [__Biographical Sketches__](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/doc/l63-biographical-sketches-vxI5EaUivN)  written by Fanny Jackson Coppin (p. 1-2).
* Divide students into small groups of three to four students.
* * Assign each group one [__ICY Student__](https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/icystudents) to investigate. 
  * * *Note: Groups may be assigned to the same ICY student*
* Share the [__ICY Graduate Research Organizer__](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkOunBPCL3uuEQo60yIrT2cHKI-6yRDQaIHtUprjBiM/edit?usp=sharing) and invite students to research their assigned ICY graduate in small groups. 

Ask students to make their own copies: [__ICY Graduate Research Organizer- Make a Copy__](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkOunBPCL3uuEQo60yIrT2cHKI-6yRDQaIHtUprjBiM/copy)

---

**Documents**

- [L6:3 Newsletter](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-newsletter-eIrsEnlL4p)
- [L6:3 Student Bios](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-student-bios-5x0EOlt6wq)
- [L6:3 ICY Textbooks](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-icy-textbooks-HEV6PtCaed)
- [L6:3 History of the Institute for Colored Youth](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-history-of-the-institute-for-colored-youth-S9g5eNYt2h)
- [L6:3 Activity - Graduate Research](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-activity-graduate-research-XpsEIsKfk9)
- [L6:3 Extra - ICY Professors](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-extra-icy-professors-wJOdYRJ7GS)
- [L6:3 Extra - Fanny Coppin Biographical Sketches](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-extra-fanny-coppin-biographical-sketches-vxI5EaUivN)
- [L6:3 Extra - Emelie Davis' Diaries](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-extra-emelie-davis-diaries-cRfWkmVXt1)
- [L6:4 Extra - Jesse Glascow, Jr.](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l64-extra-jesse-glascow-jr-7WmsvxXGaX)
- [L6:3 Extra - Charlene Conyers Dissertation](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l63-extra-charlene-conyers-dissertation-pWDkgKwOLJ)
- [L6: 3 Extra - Pictures from the Institute for Colored Youth](https://1838blackmetropolis.getoutline.com/s/aa099d92-e5c1-4fa9-ad54-9fd69ac27a28/doc/l6-3-extra-pictures-from-the-institute-for-colored-youth-vZejA0Csxe)