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Summary and Objective
Students will understand that African American pioneers moved west to obtain free land and freedom. Students will examine a poem, "I Have Heard of a Land", about the hope and vision of these travelers. Students will understand the concept of an African American poineer's journey into the wilderness for land and dreams come true.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Activate prior knowledge of pioneer days by reading aloud the first chapter of "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935, Harper Collins Publisher). Students will answer and discuss the following questions based on Chapter One: (1) Why did Pa want to move west? (2) Describe the wagon in which the family traveled, using both textual clues and details from the illustration by Garth Williams. (3) What did the family sell or leave behind? (4) What did the family members bring? Ask students: What kind of person might settle in a new land? What kinds of problems might settlers face in traveling to the new land? What means of transportation were used? If you were a pioneer child, how would you feel as you walked along the wagon train all day?
Step 2.
Build background by asking students to describe reasons why African Americans might want to move west. Tell students about the free land in Oklahoma for freed slaves. Create a chart where students can write their ideas about the advantages of moving to a new land and the challenges.
Step 3.
Introduce the concept of wagon trains by showing the photo attached to this lesson. It was taken by Frances Allen of Deerfield, MA, when she traveled to Florida in 1917. Even though the time period and location are different from those in the poem that will be studied here, the photo is perfect for illustrating the concepts of a wagon train and African Americans moving west. Ask students to point out everything they see in the photograph. Explain that this photo was taken at a different time and place than we will be learning about in our poem. Make sure that students specifically notice the identities of the people in the photo.
Step 4.
Read aloud the poem, "I Have Heard of a Land", by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Compare the cover art for the poem to the wagon train photo examined in Step 3 above. Discuss the fact that although the author is writing about the migration of African Americans to Oklahoma, no specific reference is made to the ethnic origin of the woman in the poem. Why might the poet have chosen to have the poem reference pioneer women in general, without speicific references to her African American heritage?
Step 5.
Write the final line from the poem on the board: "I have heard of a land where the pioneer woman still lives; her possibilities reach as far as her eyes can see, and as far as our imaginations can carry us." Divide students into small groups. Ask them to search the poem and find every example of the promises and possibilities that this African American pioneer woman searched for in her westward trip.
Step 6.
Groups report all of the examples of what the African American pioneer woman in this poem was seeking. Post this list for the whole class to view for Step 7.
Step 7.
Students will draw and write about at least five things from the poem that show why African American pioneers moved west (what they were seeking).
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