So I have a question. In my North Carolina history class we are making a unit plan for 4th grade Social Studies and I found something very hard with it. How do we teach slavery to young kids? I do not want to be the teacher who says "Oh all the slaves were happy and we didn't have that many in NC anyway" because that is wrong. I also feel, however, that in the 4th grade they are not ready for the whole truth. I think it is situations like this that lead to what some label as bad teachers when in reality it is just plain hard to teach some things.

Yes Adam, it is hard to teach some topics of our history. But, if we don't teach our children what really happened, then you are not really teaching history. We should first remember the purpose for teaching our nations history. We teach so the next generation will remember mistakes of the past and hope that they will not make those same mistakes. We also teach so our students can have a better understanding of how we all got to where we are now. Our history also explains why groups of people behave differently to other groups of people. The reason I say all of this is to show how important every event in history really is. Now, you have a very sensitive subject, Slavery, to teach. Should you show graphic pictures and videos of burnings, hangings, etc? I think not. These pictures are not appropriate for 4th grade students. But you should tell them that these things did happen. You should tell them the truth. Just be selective in what you show. Images can stay with a person for life. Plus, they may not get so upset if they just hear about it and not actually see these things being done. Not having a face to connect these events with is probably best for 4th grade students. Be sensitive, be selective, but don't mislead your students into thinking slavery was humane.

You bring up many good points Jake. History should be taught truthfully because students should know what happened before them to shape the world they live in today. Subjects like slavery are definitely touchy and teachers should use age appropriate approaches to teach their students what really happened. Many grusome and inhumane things went on during slavery and are not appropriate for 4th graders but I think slavery can be introduced and taught to them in a less-descriptive way so they are not scared from the grusome pictures and stories.

I agree with Chase. History should be taught truthfully. History texts often leave out the perspectives of the oppressed and victims. However, in teaching history it is your job to provide students with the true story. You don't have to go so in-depth that it scares students; at this age they don't have to know the graphic details. However, you can present it in a way where they get the main idea and understand what happened.

I myself was always taught that slavery was very terrible, but I know that in 4th grade, my teachers didn't expect me to understand WHY slavery was so terrible. I also think that while we SHOULD teach how terrible slavery was, it is something that students probably won't have a huge grasp on at that developmental stage because it's something that calls for so many abstract thoughts and ideas (empathy, etc.) and most nine-year-olds are still at the Concrete Operational stage.

Teaching the horrible things that happened in our history is really hard but i think it is important to always be truthful. I know that when I got into college and started taking history courses I was so shocked because a lot of the things I learned were not how it really happened. Even things I learned in high school were so different than the same things I learned in college.
Its important to know our history to keep those horrible things from happening again so it really needs to be taught well.

I agree with everyone you have to teach history being truthful. You are just creating a false world to those students by not telling them the truth about slavery or anything else in history. I think as teachers we are suppose to be the ones that provides the truth to students as long as we do not step over our boundaries. The students will find out one way or another and usually if they do not find out from the teachers it is probably going to be false information.

I agree with the other posts. In my opinion, students should be taught the entire truth. Like others, I have learned so many harsh things about history that I was never taught in school growing up. Slavery is a touchy subject. I think it is very important for students to learn the perspectives of people going through this period. There are many wonderful picture books that could be used to show a victim's perspective. One book in particular that acurately portrays the feelings and experiences of a slave is "Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom" by Carole Boston Weatherford.

Teaching that subject to a young group definitely has it's draw backs, and like everyone has said we have a duty to teach the truth. I agree with Melanie, and that is a great book to use for Elementary School kids, we have even discussed using it in High School class for it's content.

One thing you could think about doing is having them relate to what being a slave was like. You don't have to go into the beatings, or the Atlantic Slave trade. But you could teach them that being a slave means having no freedoms, which at that age they should be beginning to appreciate. Put it in terms they can understand such as, You can't play with your friends after school, you couldn't play baseball, soccer, do dance.. etc.. Show them what slavery took away from the people and it will give them a true concept of it without terrifying them.