Page 109 - 1619 Project Curriculum

Introducing the Lesson:

The following lesson plan guides students in exploring a special 1619 Project section of The

New York Times for Kids, "Why You Should Know About the Year 1619." The section
includes…
• A timeline starting with the year 1619 that presents standout facts and dates related to
slavery. The timeline aims to visualize underrepresented facts about the history and

legacy of slavery.
• A column addressing common myths about slavery.

• A column explaining the career of a historian.

The lesson plan is designed to help students engage with the timeline and come up with their

own connections between slavery and the larger narrative of U.S. history, while also
encouraging them to think about the ways in which history is framed in their own education.

Thematically, this lesson explores how history is written by engaging students in the following

questions:
• Who gets to write history, and how does that story determine what we know about the
world?

• What research goes into creating a historical narrative?
• What can historians do when they are lacking written sources?

Warm-up:

I
f
1. you were to make a timeline of the history of the United States, what are some of the

important dates, people, and events that you would include? Create this timeline as a class.

2. As a class, discuss how the events were selected. Consider…

• Which three events on the timeline do you think are most important, and why?

• Are there any events on the timeline you do not think should be included? If so, why?
• What events did the class choose not to include?

• What role did slavery play in the timeline you and your classmates created?
• How did you learn about the history of slavery in the U.S.? What did you learn, and how
was that information presented?

3. The 1619 Project aims to challenge our understanding of U.S. history by proposing 1619,

rather than 1776, as the nation’s founding year. That year, the first enslaved Africans were

brought to the state of Virginia. In Nikole Hannah-Jones’ essay “The Idea of America,” cited
in the introduction to "Why You Should Know About the Year 1619," Hannah-Jones writes:

“The story of 1619 is not a black story, and it’s not a white story; it’s truly an American story.”
What do you think is meant by this quote?
Analyzing the Timeline:
1. Fill out this graphic organizer you read through the timeline from "Why You Should

a
s
Know About the Year 1619."
2. In her introduction to "Why You Should Know About the Year 1619," journalist Lovia
Gyarkye writes: