Twelve Years a Slave Lesson Plan

Home Sweet Saratoga

Kind of Activity:

Artistic Response

Objective:

Students will perform a close reading of the text in order to creatively interpret Northup's home life prior to his kidnapping.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.5

Structure:

Part of what is so disturbing about Northup's kidnapping is that his life in New York is so relatable, even by modern standards. By creating an artistic interpretation of his home life, students will reflect on how his normalcy (and even middle-class status, relatively speaking) made him an ideal "poster boy" for the abolitionist movement at the time.

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