Remembering Black Loyalists (Gr. 7)

Program Highlights

 This program is especially relevant during African Heritage Month, February.

Students follow the footsteps of Black Loyalists as they make the epic journey from slavery to freedom.  The program begins with a survey of the origins of the Black Loyalists, their experience of slavery, and their arrival in Nova Scotia. Students are then divided into small groups to examine real artefacts and draw conclusions about the daily life of Black Loyalists in the late 1700s.

Curriculum Outcome Links

Grade 5

Outcome 1: Students will develop an understanding of how we learn about the past with a focus on Acadians, African Nova Scotians, Gaels, Mi’kmaq and additional cultures

  • Communicate understandings about primary source artefacts
  • Discuss why we learn about the past
  • Reflect on differences between the present and the past

Grade 6

Outcome 2: Students will analyze the importance of cross-cultural understanding inclusive of Acadians, African Nova Scotians, Gaels, Mi’kmaq and additional cultures

  • Discuss the importance of cross-cultural understanding, and the consequences of its absence
  • Examine the concept of stereotypes and the extent to which the mass media stereotype different cultural groups

Grade 7

Outcome 7.1.1: Explore the general concept of empowerment

Outcome 7.2.2: Investigate the various ways economic systems empower or disempower people

Outcome 7.5.1: Evaluate the conditions of everyday life for diverse peoples living in British North America in the mid-1800s, including African Canadians

Outcome 7.7.1: Portray an understanding of the extent of empowerment of individuals, groups, and the nation up to 1920

Duration

90 minutes

Program Capacity

2 classes (60 students maximum)

1 chaperone for every 10 students

Availability

January - February

Program Outline

Arrival: Bathrooms, hang up coats

10 minutes: Welcome and introduction

30 minutes: Survey – Black Loyalist Time Line
Led by Museum staff, students use a world map to locate key places in the Black Loyalist story. Students then develop a time line of significant events, from the origins of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, to the American Revolution, to the arrival of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia, to the abolition of slavery in North America.

45 minutes: Artifact Activity
In small groups, students examine several artifacts and answer guiding questions that reveal information about the life and work of the Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia. Students then present their finding to the rest of the class and discuss what they have discovered.

5 minutes: Conclusion and dismiss

Information and Reservations

To reserve your program, please call: (902) 755-5425 or email andrew.k.phillips@novascotia.ca

Registration will begin in September. We encourage you to book early!