Roots Lesson Plan

What does Kizzy do to help retain her ties and George's with their African heritage?

Students can explore the idea of identity and what it means to be proud of one's heritage, as well as how difficult it must be to keep one's heritage alive when one is in a new cultural context. In this story, Kizzy teaches George at a young age some African words and tells him the story of her African father, Kunta Kinte. Despite the indifference of the other slaves to their own African heritage, she insists that George be proud of his ancestry, and persuades him to tell the story of their great-grandfather to all of his children.

Explain the impact of the news of planned and actual...