Lesson Title: Harriett Jacobs – Literacy Through Letters
By: Kathryn L. MacKay, Teacher Consultant, Wasatch Range Writing Project
Burning Questions: Can students improve their writing by writing letters? Can students understand the plight of slaves by reading a novel based on the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs?
Objectives:
· Students will use letter writing to improve their own writing.
· Students will consider letter writing as a way to tell a story. They will gain experience in reading an epistolary novel – a novel written as a series of documents, usually letters.
· Students will gain an understanding of slavery in America.
Context: Students reading at 6-8th grade level. Students may be studying American literature or American history.
Materials:
· Lyons, Mary E. Letters from a Slave Girl, The Story of Harriet Jacobs. New York: Simon Pulse, 1992.
· Template for a “friendly letter.”
Time Span: One week to read the novel in sections; 30 minute class sessions to “de-brief” each section.
Procedures:
1. Students will write for about 5 minutes a statement expressing their reaction to the text.
2. Students will use their written statements in a guided discussion of the novel in small groups of 2-3 and then to participate in larger class discussion. Teacher will write on whiteboard key phrases from students.
3. For the first sections of the novel, students might be asked to predict what will happen to Harriet. For the last section, students might be asked to speculate about what they might do if they were Harriet.
4. Students will write a “friendly letter” in which they explain their experiences with reading and discussing Letters from a Slave Girl.
Extensions:
1. Harriet Jacobs wanted to tell her story, but knew she lacked the skills to write the story herself. She had learned to read while young and enslaved, but, at the time of her escape to the North in 1842, she was not a proficient writer. She worked at it, though, in part by writing letters that were published by the New York Tribune, and with the help of her friend, Amy Post. Her writing skills improved, and by 1858, she had finished the manuscript of her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Lyons has written the novel based on Incidents in a way that shows Harriet becoming a more skilled writer. Students could have a discussion about experiences which have helped them become stronger writers.
2. Harriett Jacobs corresponded with a number of women involved in the anti-slavery movement. Students, individually or in small groups, could research some of the women with whom she corresponded and report their findings orally in class. For example, a short biography of Amy Kirby Post is available at: http://www.winningthevote.org/F-APost.html
Note: In studying slavery and slave narratives, students may encounter images, language, descriptions, and opinions that they find offensive or unsettling. Teachers should be mindful of student backgrounds and be sensitive to these issues.
Resources:
· The author, Mary Lyon has a web page of activities for younger children based on the book: http://www.lyonsdenbooks.com/html/jacobs.htm.
· PBS site in support of their film series Slavery in America has a lesson plan using Letters from a Slave Girl: http://slaveryinamerica.org/amliterature/amlit_lp_ya_tobeaslave.htm.
· Additional letters and documents related to Jacobs are available from: http://www.yale.edu/glc/harriet/docs.htm.
· From the Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society is information about “African American Children and Youth”: http://www.faqs.org/childhood/A-Ar/African-American-Children-and-Youth.html
· Format for a “friendly letter”
o The heading includes the sender's address and the date. The sender's address needs to be located at the top of the page in the center or at the top right-hand corner. The date needs to be located under the sender's address on the left-hand side of the page above the greeting.
o The greeting needs to be located under the heading on the left-hand side of the page. The greeting would include such words as Dear _____________.
o The body of the letter includes the message. It is written in paragraph form.
o The closing of the letter would include such words as Sincerely, or Your friend.
o The signature is your signed name under the closing.