CSDE Model Curricula Quick Start GuideThe African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course of Studies is a one credit, year-long elective in which students will consider the scope of African American/Black and Puerto Rican/ Latino contributions to U.S. history, society, economy, and culture. It utilizes Connecticut’s Social Studies Framework themes and inquiry-based approach already familiar to social studies teachers to deliver a content rich and personalized learning experience.The course is an opportunity for students to explore accomplishments, struggles, intersections, perspectives, and collaborations of African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino people in the U.S. Students will examine how historical movements, legislation, and wars affected the citizenship rights of these groups and how they, both separately and together, worked to build U.S. cultural and economic wealth and create more just societies in local, national, and international contexts.Coursework will provide students with tools to identify historic and contemporary tensions around race and difference; map economic and racial disparities over time; strengthen their own identity development; and address bias in their communities. This course will contribute to the critical consciousness and civic-mindedness competencies of a twenty-first century graduate, and ultimately facilitate students’ interest in pursuing further ethnic, anthropology, or human rights studies in the future.

Semester 1: Unit 1 At-A-Glance: Where We Come From: Introduction to African Origins and Contributions of Ancient African Empires to World Civilizations and the African DiasporaIn this unit, students will:•Examine the impact of various aspects of African culture world civilizations in the past and present.•Analyze the factors that have contributed to racialized global conflict and change in the modern world; and•Develop a positive and accurate identity, including an awareness of and comfort with ones’ membership inmultiple groups in society.Compelling Questions: What impact did the people of Ancient Africa have on early and modern civilizations, and why has this impact been largely ignored through much of history? How has the concept of race been socially constructed over time?Pre-Assessment: Students complete a course self-assessment to gauge interest, comfort level, and current knowledge.

This lesson focuses on the slave narrative of Solomon Northup, a free black living in the North, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Slave narratives are autobiographies of former slaves that describe their experiences during enslavement, how they became free, and their lives in freedom. Because slave narratives treat the experience of one person, they raise questions about whether that individual's experiences exceptional.