AP African American Studies Reading and Writing Workshop
Reading and Writing Workshop: The Early African American Experience
Grade Level: AP African American Studies
Essential Questions:
Part I: Reading Selections
Students will read and analyze excerpts from public domain works written by or about early African Americans
Primary Texts
Part II: Writing and Analysis Activities
Short Answer Questions SAQs
Students will respond to SAQs using evidence from the texts
Part III: Document-Based Questions DBQs
Students will analyze primary sources and use evidence to construct an argument
DBQ Prompt 1Evaluate the different ways early African Americans resisted oppression in the 18th and 19th centuries
Extension Activities
This workshop ensures students engage deeply with early African American voices, fostering both critical reading and analytical writing skills.
Grade Level: AP African American Studies
Essential Questions:
- How did early African Americans navigate the challenges of slavery and oppression
- In what ways did early African Americans resist and shape their own identity
- How did early African American writers document and critique their experiences
Part I: Reading Selections
Students will read and analyze excerpts from public domain works written by or about early African Americans
Primary Texts
- Olaudah Equiano – The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789)
- A firsthand account of enslavement and freedom
- Frederick Douglass – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845)
- A powerful autobiography on slavery and resistance
- Harriet Jacobs – Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
- A narrative about the experiences of enslaved women
- David Walker – Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829)
- A call for resistance against slavery
Part II: Writing and Analysis Activities
Short Answer Questions SAQs
Students will respond to SAQs using evidence from the texts
- Olaudah Equiano
- How does Equiano describe his early life in Africa and how does this contrast with his experience in slavery
- What rhetorical strategies does Equiano use to appeal to his audience
- Frederick Douglass
- How does Douglass describe the role of education in his path to freedom
- How does Douglass use imagery to depict the brutality of slavery
- Harriet Jacobs
- How does Jacobs’s experience as an enslaved woman differ from the experiences of male enslaved individuals
- What risks did Jacobs take to gain her freedom and how does she portray these challenges
- David Walker
- How does Walker challenge both enslaved and free African Americans to take action
- What role does religion play in Walker’s argument against slavery
Part III: Document-Based Questions DBQs
Students will analyze primary sources and use evidence to construct an argument
DBQ Prompt 1Evaluate the different ways early African Americans resisted oppression in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Documents:
- Excerpts from Equiano, Douglass, Jacobs, and Walker
- Slave advertisements and runaway notices
- Newspaper articles from abolitionist publications like The Liberator
- Guiding Questions:
- What strategies did enslaved people use to resist enslavement
- How did African American writers shape public opinion about slavery
- Documents:
- Excerpts from Douglass and Jacobs
- Laws restricting literacy for enslaved people
- Letters from enslaved people seeking education
- Guiding Questions:
- Why was literacy seen as a threat by enslavers
- How did literacy empower early African American activists
Extension Activities
- Comparative Essay: Compare the rhetoric of Douglass and Walker in advocating for African American freedom
- Creative Writing: Write a first-person narrative from the perspective of an enslaved individual seeking freedom
- Debate: Students debate whether resistance through writing or direct action was more effective in the abolitionist movement
This workshop ensures students engage deeply with early African American voices, fostering both critical reading and analytical writing skills.