Amazing Grace

Developed By
Kerry Kotarski
Jim LeMire
Jacob Reis
Lissa Richtig

Goals:

  1. Expand students’ knowledge about the origin of the song Amazing Grace.
  2. Use critical thinking skills to draw conclusions from an account from the author of the song Amazing Grace and why he would have written the song.
  3. Work collaboratively with other students to find the critical thinking conclusions.

Resources:

  1. The Atlantic Slave Trade by David Northrup (1994). Lexington: D.C. Heath and Co.
    (ISBN 0-669-33145-7)
  2. Amazing Grace. Newbridge Communication Inc., 1994. (Film)
  3. http://www.wilsonweb.com/archive/misc/newton.htm

 

Materials:

  1. Activity sheet

Time:

Approximate time of 2 to 3 hours depending on the time it takes to read account, finish group activity sheet and discuss answers.

Procedure:

  1. Hand out a copy of the account of John Newton (found on pages 80-89 in the David Northrup book) titled, A Reformed Slave Trader’s Regrets. Note to the teacher: depending on grade level, it may be appropriate to pick out one part of the account that would be most clear to the students.


  2. Students should read the account together as a class or read it on their own.
  3. Explain to the students that, following the movie, they will be asked to find connections between the movie and the account they read so they should take notes.
  4. Hand out the activity sheet and administer the movie.
  5. After the movie is finished, allow the students to work on their activity sheet on their own.
  6. Allow sufficient time for the students to work on their own, and then put them in groups of three to discuss their answers as a group.


  7. Finally, come together for a large group discussion on the findings of the class. It may be helpful for the teacher to prepare some of his or her own answers to get the students started on discussion.


Assessment:

  1. Each student should turn in the completed activity sheet (Criteria for success — see writing rubric).
  2. Each student should participate in discussion with small group and large group (Criteria for success — see group and self-assessment rubrics).

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

  1. Language Arts- writing skills and critical thinking are used to complete activity sheet and also communicating with others in discussion.


  2. Social Studies- reading a historical account of a slave trader as well as looking at the origins of a song.


  3. Music- Studying a popular American song and connecting it with historical events.


Possible Extensions:

  1. Have students discover other songs that have origins in the slave trade or Africa.
  2. Find more information on John Newton and how he lived the rest of his life.
  3. Have students find other cultural links to the slave trade.
  4. View film: Digging for Slaves BBC Elstre Enterprises, 1989.

 

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