Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Third Grade Black History Lessons (Photostory)


 February is Black History Month, here in the States.  At the beginning of the month, Adele outlined the Black History lesson plans to her third grade class. 

"February is the official month to celebrate Black history.  Of course, we won't limit our learning about Black history just to this month, but we will focus more on it during the next four weeks."  (Adele)

"So the plan for this month is to explore Black history in three stages.   We will start with the Kings and Queens of Africa, then we will discuss slavery, and lastly we will discuss where we are currently today.  Our lessons will culminate with an in-depth look at our current President of the United Staes, the first African American president ever in these United States."  (Adele)

"I have a couple guest speakers planned this month.  We also have a field trip planned for the African American museum in Washington, D.C., and a few other fun things planned.  At the end of the month, you will be asked to write a report, so it would be in your best interest to pay attention and participate in all the activities."  (Adele)

"Yes, Dillon?"  (Adele)

"Can we take the subway when we go to the museum?"  (Dillon)

"I'm afraid not.  For safety reasons, we are going to take a school bus."  (Adele)
There is a collective groan from the kids.

Nikaya and Janet start talking about the pending trip.

"Nikaya, is this a conversation you can share with the rest of the class?"  (Adele)

"Sorry Mrs. Jordan."  (Nikaya)

"As I said a few minutes ago, we will have a couple of guest speakers this month.  Our first guest speaker is here today.  She currently lives in Senegal, Africa, and she is here today to talk about some of the prominent Kings and Queens of Africa."  (Adele)

As Adele is speaking, the guest speaker quietly enters the room and makes her way up front.  The kids don't even realize she is there, until she gets to the front.

"Welcome Ms. Aminata.  We are so honored to have you with us today.  We are anxious to learn more about you and the history of our African Kings and Queens."  (Adele)
"Thank you so much for having me."  (Ms. Aminata)

The kids listen intently to Ms. Aminata.  Her accent is like none they have heard before.

"Hello class.  It is an honor for me to come before you today.  I love talking with kids about African history."  (Ms. Aminata)

The class appears to be captivated by Ms. Aminata.  The time flies as Ms. Aminata passionately talks to the kids. The kids have plenty of questions, and seem to be surprised by much of the information being shared with them.  Even after Ms. Aminata leaves, the kids are still full of questions for Adele.

Epilogue:
Ms. Aminata (not her given name) was a gift from Paulette Richards, the author of the blog, limbe dolls.  Paulette is currently in Senegal teaching American and African American literature, on a Fulbright fellowship.  We miss you Paulette.

A few of the girls wanted to show off their outfits.
Here's Jo wearing the school uniform I purchased a couple years ago.  She's wearing Only Heart girl shoes.

Janet is wearing an outfit I found at a doll show several years ago.  I'm not sure the origin.  She's also wearing Only Heart shoes.

Finally, Nikaya is wearing a new outfit and Only Heart shoes.

Here is the origin of the Nikaya outfit.  Someone is going to look really cute in that dress.

44 comments:

  1. This is one of my fav months I feel so special because I am originally from Ghana I was only born in the U.S

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    1. icecloud - Hello. So do you live in Ghana now? If not, how long did you live there?

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    2. I don't live there anymore I moved to the U.S about 5 years ago and I lived in Ghana for about 7 or 8 years

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  2. Love this story! The kids and classroom look great. :-)

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    1. Tracy - Thanks! Each year I have missed doing a Black history post. Glad to get one in this year.

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  3. I enjoyed your Black History Month post. The kids, as usual are so adorably animated. Love the girls' clothes. I am sure Ms. Aminata brought with her a wealth of information the kids enjoyed.

    (This post reminds me that I need to get the book back that my daughter "borrowed" for her kindergartners to incorporate in with their Black History lessons: Before John was a Jazz Giant. Philip Heath's Aaron was holding the book when she picked it up, thumbed through, and asked, "Who was John? -- "Girl, John Coltrane, a jazz saxophonist, I informed.")

    dbg

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    1. DBG - Thanks. I was determined to get a Black History month post in this year. Ms. Aminata, being a representative of Paulette, is a great teacher and she not only had great information, but her delivery to the kids had them enthralled and they wanted to know more.

      I'm surprised the book wasn't titled, Before Coltrane was a Jazz Giant. There is only one jazz Coltrane, but John could be anyone.

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  4. Great classroom and lesson. I love that you started with African kings and Queens.

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    1. Male Doll World - Thanks. In the past, Black History Month seemed to focus mainly on slavery and the 1960s. There is so much more to our history that gets overlooked.

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    2. Yay ... so tired of slavery. It's like surely something else happened. Thanks for sharing the overlooked bits.

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  5. Hello from Spain: I like this school. The blackboard is fabulous. I have a Dillon. I like clothes that girls are wearing. Ms. Aminata is fabulous. I follow the blog of Paulette. I miss Paulette. She is great. Interesting custom in your country about school to celebrate Black history. Keep in touch

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    1. Marta - Thanks. Paulette was great at sharing wonderful historical facts on her blog. I'm sure she will have lots more to share when she returns from Senegal.

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  6. Great story! What kind of dolls are the teacher and Jo? The classroom is very cute too. The Cloe doll on the last picture is a good initiative for children who are ill, very supportive!

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    1. Nymphaea - Thanks. The teacher is Hi Brow Adele and Jo is from the Mattel series "I Can Read" series. I think there were 4 different dolls in that series. The red head in the red outfit is Charlotte from the same series.

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    2. Hi Vanessa! Regarding the Mattel "I Can Read" series: your Jo is Jo March from "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. The other dolls in that series were your redhead Fern from "Charlotte's Web," blonde pig-tailed Heidi from "Heidi," and a red pig-tailed Anne from "Anne of Green Gables."

      Thanks for sharing that the Bratz fashions can be used for the Mattel kiddies. Reminding - whoa, come to think of it, you've shown that before ;-)

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  7. I like this post a lot! First of all the diorama and dolls are wonderful (the kids are so cute!), and then I really enjoy your storytelling.
    Kisses

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    1. billa's dolls - Thanks! I just had to get at least one Black History story done. I would have loved to do a couple more.

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  8. I have seen on a few blogs that February is a Black History Month. I remember that November was a Native American Month. I think it's very interesting idea to celebrate different ethnicities and their achivements, to learn about diversity. Are there White History Month and Asian History Month too?

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    1. jewel snake - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is in May. White history is taught twelve months out the year.

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    2. I see. When I checked on Wikipedia it gave me an impression of a cultural issue, like discovering different things, maybe some kind of festival, but looks like I was wrong. It's a political issue, right?

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    3. jewel snake - I wouldn't say it's political. Black people were enslaved for hundreds of years here in the US. Their culture, their language, and their families were stripped from them. Even after they were emancipated, they were still treated like less than a person. As a matter of fact, the US Constitution deemed them to be 3/5 ths of a person. Then we move into countless years of being discriminated against and led to believe we weren't as good as other races. So Black History Month is just a way that everyone can learn the truth about the African-American race and all the accomplishments they have contributed to this country. Hatred and discrimination come from a state of ignorance, which is a lack of knowledge about the very people that are discriminated against. White people weren't enslaved, or discriminated against as a people, and we have been learning their history since day 1. It is still the prominent information that is shared in our school systems. They don't need a month, they have had hundreds of years to tell 'their truth'.

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    4. Looks like I missed your reply.
      I'm sorry if my question sounded offending, didn't mean it to be like that. I simply don't know about current racial situation in US. Of course I know about slavery in US, that's really awful and disgusting thing.I think it's pretty obvious that African Americans want other people to treat them with respect they deserve, and celebrating such months is a great idea. Didn't know about this 3/5 of a person, that's so sick, I wonder what those people were thinking. They should be ashamed of themselves.
      Btw, white people were slaves too, for Africans, but since it was European white people, and not Americans, I thing this fact is not popular in US.

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  9. Adorable! I love the guest speaker. The little girls in the front (Jo and the red headed classmate in front of her) are so cute. I love how her expressions look totally different from the other bright-eyed, smiley Janet/Todd/Stacie dolls! They look like the shy and quiet types.

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    1. KenyaDoll - Thanks. I was happy to finally use my African doll in a story. I consider her a collectible, so I don't really play with her. This was the perfect time to get her in front of the camera. I really like the Jo and Charlotte dolls. I think Jo is a little shy. Charlotte is, too, but she's opening up a bit more lately.

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  10. "Would you care to share with the rest of the class?!" "Did you bring enough of that for the rest of the class?" Well, no I don't and no I didn't! OMG I don't know how many times and how many teachers said that to me. Why cant they just chastise you without bringing the whole freakin' world into it?

    As soon as you said there was going to be a guest speaker on Africa I knew it was going to be Limbe Dolls! *clap clap clap*

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    1. Muff - LOL! I should have known you were a troublemaker in class. I was so happy to have a Limbe Dolls rep who could step in and deliver the goods.

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  11. Okay, I'm all caught up on your posts. So sad to hear about what you're going through health wise. You are in my prayers. Btw...I told you to get some voo-doo dolls to keep the crazies a bay! Point them in my direction...they will never return. lol You have done a phenomenal job with the story lines. And, Ms. Ms. Aminata's hair is beautiful. Whose her beautician? Can she do human hair. lol Get well my friend.

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    1. Sonya - Thanks for the prayers. I have figured out how to handle the crazies, but thanks for the advice. lol.

      Ms. Aminata's hair was done by Ms. Paulette of Limbe Dolls. She designed a line of African dolls and this was one of them.

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  12. Hi Vanessa! I love the school!, Which prettiest accessories! Ms. Aminata is guapisima. I know the blog Paulette, it sure is nice. A kiss from Spain!

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    1. karmen - Thanks! Hopefully, when Paulette returns, she will continue with her Limbe Dolls blog.

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  13. Hi Vanessa ! I realy like your classroom and I hope you are better !

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    1. Shasarignis - Thanks! I'm working on getting better. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm hopeful.

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  14. Love the story, school, dolls. great work!

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  15. I'm sure this will be a very interesting month as regards lessons. I didn't know that february was the month devoted to Black History. Would like to have listened to Ms. Aminata's lesson!!!

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    1. Rossetti - Adele has lots of interesting lessons planned. I love interacting with the international community and discovering how we differ.

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  16. I love seeing how you present your class diorama and how you pull the kids out to show their fashions. Cool!

    BTW, above comment about your kiddie "Charlotte" when I said she's "Fern," I meant she is Fern for anyone looking for her online. Your doll has her own name.

    Thanks for putting together this story ;-)

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    1. D7ana - Thanks. I appreciate you clarifying the name Fern. I always forget her book name because I never read that book.

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  17. I love the classroom, it is so cute. Glad the kids were paying attention too. I can imagine all the learned. Your little ladies are very fashionable. My Stacie and Ashley are waiting for new fashions, they stare at me everyday to sew something for them. I keep telling them they are on the list. I haven't spotted those outfits before but the sure are cute!

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    1. Brini - Thanks. I really lucked out finding those ladies some clothes at a local doll show. I'm glad I'm finally able to show some of them.

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  18. I love this! You did an incredible job here! Black History needs to be taught and not forgotten about. Culture and they way things became are what I love to study. I am glad you made this photo story. It is my favourite set yet!

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    1. Kaitlyn - Thanks! I'm so happy you like it. I'd been wanting to do something like this the past couple of years. So happy to finally get to it.

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  19. The history is a very important subject in my opnion, it´s something good for kids and not only for kids.
    I love Nikaya´s outfits, she looks very nice with them.

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    1. Ana - In some cases these history lessons aren't being taught in the schools. It is important to learn the history of our ancestors. This is not just limited to Black history.

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