Vol, 7, No. 5: February 4, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

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3. African American history resources

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press has released a new book relevant to Black History Month, while other African American history resources are abundantly offered on-line, by groups ranging from schools to private industry.

In Caroline Quarlls and the Underground Railroad, young readers follow the story of a teenage slave who makes a perilous journey to freedom. Caroline is on her own as she escapes St. Louis to Illinois, but quickly meets an ally who gets her to Wisconsin. There, compassionate citizens send her Northeast to freedom as the first "passenger" on the Underground Railroad route from Milwaukee to Canada. Author Julia Pferdehirt reveals the dangers and unexpected twists of Caroline's journey in a fast-moving, accessible style.

More general resources on-line include offerings from the federal government: a Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site page, a State Department gateway to African American History, and a website run by the Department of Education.

Tennessee Tech University offers a collection of links, as does Montgomery Public Schools and the Infoplease website.

The AT&T Knowledge Network Explorer developed six websites as models to suggest ways of integrating the Web and videoconferencing into classroom learning. The topic of African American History was chosen because of its importance, popularity, and the wealth of Internet resources available.

Media companies with African American History resources include Biography, The History Channel, and Kaboose.

In addition to valuable programs in February that teach about the historical hardships and significant contributions of African Americans, this is also a good time to reflect upon how the curriculum can support these efforts throughout the school year. The Wisconsin Model Academic Standards in Social Studies encourage teachers to offer students, throughout the K-12 experience, opportunities to learn global literacy, critical thinking, and multiple perspectives. These opportunities help ensure students have the chance to understand and accept the values, beliefs, and ethics of others.

The first part of this article was suggested by a SEAchange subscriber. Submit your own idea in an email to benson.gardner@dpi.wi.gov, with the words "SEAchange story idea" in the subject line. We are looking for exciting education programs, promising practices, initiatives that could benefit from publicity, or even topics that just pique your curiosity.

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Last updated on 2/4/2008