STACS - KS2:2 - What should we put in an online biography of Olaudah Equiano?

Enquiry question

1. What can evidence tell us?

The Scheme of Work begins by introducing Olaudah Equiano through the interpretation of layered historical sources, taking an archaeological approach.

Combined History and Literacy Learning Objective.

To participate in group discussion, assessing the nature and usefulness of a range of texts (historical sources) in building up a view of an historic figure.

Links with renewed Framework for Literacy, Year 6, Non-Fiction, Unit 1, Phase 1

Children explore the biography of a particular person as presented in a range of different texts, on paper and on screen. They build up a picture of the person’s life from the various perspectives offered, as well as discussing and evaluating the differences between the texts.

Activities

Withhold the overarching title of the Scheme of Work and enquiry question for the sake of keeping the element of surprise for the first activity. The text below sets up this activity as a drama exercise. Alternatively, you can lead the activity as a visualisation exercise (eyes closed) from the same script (Resource A).

Prepare enlarged colour versions of the seven documents from Resource B, together with a copy of Artefact: Leg Irons from www.understandingslavery.com (Learning Resources) (Resource C). You will also need to make enough A4 sets of these eight documents and the alleged portrait of Equiano (Resource D), placed randomly into A4 evidence folders, for small group work.

Create a slide show for your IWB including; Artefact: Leg Irons (Resource C), the alleged portrait of Olaudah Equiano (Resource D), the inference frame (Resource E), and the evidence table (Resource F) for modelling group work later on.

Starter: Time Travellers
Choose a space that can be blacked out as much as possible. Clear the floor and scatter it with bits of old wood (these might be from old bits of discarded furniture etc.) and fragments of transparent plastic (representing small shards of broken glass). Among the debris, scatter enlarged colour versions of the seven evidence documents (Resource B).

When pupils enter the darkened room explain to them that they are time travellers from the far future. They are going to travel back in time to the year 2107. Divide the class into small groups of about five.

Read from the script (Resource A) inviting the groups to gradually move forward towards the debris as you talk through the different sections. At each pause in the script, ask groups to freeze their positions and touch three or four individuals at random, asking them to briefly speak in the role of a far future time traveller about their feelings.

For the last section of the script (Section 4) move away some of the debris and shine a torch to ‘discover’ the papers on behalf of the group, as they watch. Then display Artefact: Leg Irons (Resource C) and the alleged portrait of Olaudah Equiano (Resource D) in turn on the IWB pretending that the torch has just discovered them in the dark. At this point end the drama.

Activity: History Detectives
Re-divide the class into small groups making sure that there is at least one strong leader in each. Give each group an ‘Evidence Folder’ containing nine documents that the time travellers took from their visit to the mysterious room in 2107 (Resource B, Resource C, Resource D). Each group’s task is to decide what each piece of evidence is, and what it can tell us about the room and its contents.

Model how to do this first, with help from the class. Display (Resource E), which shows the alleged portrait of Olaudah Equiano inside a speaking/listening/layers of inference frame.

Take suggestions from the class as to what should be written in answer to the first question What can I see? and write these around the edge of the picture in the first frame. Next, ask pairs to discuss What does this tell us? and use the no-hands rule to gather suggestions from a range of pupils, transferring them to the second layer of the frame. For example: “This was a shop selling pictures”.

Repeat the process for the third question What other questions could I ask? Pupils might suggest: “Who was he?” “Where did he come from?” “Is this a shop selling old pictures?” etc.

Give groups copies of the blank evidence table (Resource F). Ask pupils to read and analyse each document from the evidence folder in turn and then transfer their conclusions onto the table. Explain that the time travellers found extra pieces of paper with some documents, with the text in modern print and in some cases a version of text in English as it was written in 2007. Withhold any contextual information about the sources at this stage.

While this is happening circulate, assessing progress by listening to conversations and noting which groups are working effectively, as well as prompting or intervening where necessary.

Once the group work is complete, ask groups in turn about the different documents and discuss the answers on their evidence worksheets (Resource F). Ask the class to decide what the most important extrapolation for a particular piece of evidence might be. For example, (Document B7) (see below) tells us when Equiano (Vassa) came to Cambridge. Keep a copy of the completed evidence worksheets for later reference.

List of Sources in (Resource B);

B1 The will of Olaudah Equiano (Gustavus Vassa) who died in 1797.

B2 The frontispiece of Equiano’s autobiography “The interesting Narrative” published in 1789.

B3 A fragment of the record of Equiano’s baptism from St Margaret’s Church, Westminster dated 1759.

B4 An engraving of a slave ship “The Brookes” published 1789.

B5 A photograph of a stone memorial to Anna-Maria Vassa, Equiano’s daughter, who died in 1797, aged four (this includes a transcript & simplification).

B6 Wedding Register, Equiano’s marriage certificate dated 1792 (this includes a transcript).

B7 A letter from Thomas Clarkson introducing Equiano to St Johns College in 1789 (this includes a transcript).

Outcomes

To have participated in a piece of drama as time travellers.
To have participated constructively in group discussion, expressing a point of view by reference to evidence and listening to others in turn.
To have helped fill in a worksheet, deciding on the nature and usefulness of a range of texts (historical sources) relating to Olaudah Equiano.

Additional Resources

Resource A

Time travel script

Resource B

Document B1
Document B2
Document B3
Document B4
Document B5
Document B6
Document B7

Resource C

Artefact: Leg irons
www.understandingslavery.com
(Learning Resources)

KS2:2 What should we put in an online biography of Olaudah Equiano?