African American Studies
For the past year I have been studying about influential African Americans. I have learned so much. I have been uplifted, enlightened, and enriched as I have studied. The purpose of my study was to find African Americans who are prominently known, as well as individuals who are not as known, and then learn a little about their unique story and be able to share that with my children. I started by creating a list of individuals, and as I studied, the list became longer and longer (and is still growing in fact).
I studied a few individuals each week, and then wrote a short biography in language that my children could understand. I also included a quote that I thought would have some meaning for my kids.
After awhile, however, I was not sure what to do with all the research and writings. I had about 30 pages worth of individual stories and I wanted to share them with my family. I was pondering some ideas, and my husband suggested a great solution: incorporate it into our weekly homeschool learning by adding activities that would help the kids relate to that person.
Yes! That was perfect. I started to create a sheet for each person with their name, birth/death date(s), biography, quote, picture, and four or five activities (such as math, science, research, acting, art, or reading) that would help us relate to the individual we were studying.
Here’s an example of some activity ideas for Jesse Owens:
History: Learn about the reason behind WWII and make a newspaper article announcing Jesse Owens’ victory
Research: Learn about the different kinds of track events
Drama: Pretend you work at one of Jesse Owens many jobs and create a skit to showcase his work
Fitness: Learn how sprinters start a race and practice several starts; learn how relay racers do a handoff, and practice several handoffs
Sometimes we do a few activities during the week, sometimes all the activities, or maybe only one. After we read and discuss about the person, I let the kids take the lead on what they would like to do to further our learning.
The best part is when we are out somewhere, or when we are eating dinner, or when we are playing, and one of the kids will talk about that person or ask a question. My purpose behind African American studies is to help my kids understand that they too are unique and capable, they have their own divine purpose and mission, and that they can also do hard things!
I will post about all the individuals on one of my medium pages, so feel free to check it out!
