This document provides background information and instructions for students to prepare for reading the slave narrative "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" by Olaudah Equiano. It defines the term "slave narrative" and shares details about Equiano's life and work. Students will be assigned sections of the narrative to read, discuss in groups, and present on by creating a Google slide presentation addressing key details and discussion questions.
1. Start-Up Pair/Share
• With your VERTICAL partner, discuss the
following:
Were you ever, as a child (11 or younger) lost or
separated from your parents; in a store, at a
park, etc.? If so, how old were you? How did
you feel? If not, how do you think it would
feel?
How do you think those feelings would change
if you were taken (kidnapped) from them?
2. Start-Up Writing
• Now write about how you think
you would feel if that were to
happen to you at that young
age? How would you feel? What
would you do?
3. Objective
By the end of the period, students will have
been presented background information in
preparation for their reading of The Interesting
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. They
will be able to define the term “slave narrative”
and be familiarized with the subject matter of
Equiano’s work.
4. Slave Narrative
• Autobiographical account of a
person’s life as a slave.
• Used to alert people to slavery
situation.
• Often very descriptive.
6. Olaudah Equiano
• Freedman
• Sailor
• Author
• Abolitionist
(person who
takes
measures to
end slavery)
7. Olaudah Equiano
• Son of an African Ibo chieftain
• He was eleven years old when he
and his sister were kidnapped from
their home in West Africa.
• They were sold into slavery.
8. Olaudah Equiano
• Wrote the first
outstanding
autobiography in slave
narrative literature.
• His African name meant
"vicissitude" or "fortune"
9. Travels to America
• Separated from his sister, sent to
the West Indies, then to Virginia.
• Purchased by a British sea
captain, and served at sea.
10. Renamed!
• Renamed Gustavus Vassa, but he
changed his name back later.
• Enslaved under name Gustavus
for ten years.
11. Freedom!
• He bought his own freedom and
settled in England.
• 1789 – published narrative to
alert people to the plight of
slaves on ships.
12. The Interesting Narrative of the
Life of O. Equiano, or G. Vassa, the
African
• Written in 1787-1788 to
recount his exemplary rise
from slavery to freedom
and to argue the case for
abolition of the slave trade.
13. The Interesting Narrative of the
Life of O. Equiano continued…
• Although, one critic (G. I. Jones,
1967) has doubted Equiano's sole
authorship because of its style,
there is little doubt that the work
was essentially his own.
• An account of action in which the
realities and iniquities of slavery
and the slave trade emerge
eloquently in the telling of his own
story.
14. Life and Death
• Despite his sense of mission,
Equiano was destined never to
return to Africa. He lectured
extensively in Britain against the
slave trade during the 1790s and
married an English girl, Susan
(or Susanne) Cullen of Ely, in
April 1792. He is believed to have
died in London in 1797.
16. Start-Up
• Each group has been assigned a section of
Equiano’s narrative. Your first job is to read the
section you have been assigned. You can take
turns in your group or have one person read to
the group.
Group 1 - Lines 1-47 Group 2 – Lines 48-89
Group 3 – Lines 90-137 Group 4 – Lines 137-174
Group 5 – Lines 175-220 Group 6 – Lines 220-266
Group 7 – Lines 267-313 Group 8 – Lines 313-372
Group 9 – Lines 373-417
17. Group Presentation
• Today you will be creating a
presentation on one section of
Equiano’s narrative. You will need to
assign jobs to each member of your
group.
18. Jobs for Group Presentation
• Create and share with the group the Google
presentation itself including the creation of the Title
Slide (Slide 1). This person is responsible for making
sure the presentation is turned in to my webpage.
• With help from the group, write a brief summary of
your section; no less than 5 sentences, and create a
slide including the text of that summary (Slide 2).
• With help from the group, write answers to the in-text
questions for your section and create 2 slides to
include those answers (Slides 3 & 4).
• Search for and add visual images to go with the text
of each slide. Also find and add the final visual image
to represent slavery as a whole with a written
description/explanation; no less than 3 sentences.
(Slide 5).
19. Slide 1 – Title Slide
Must Include
1. A Title for your group’s presentation that
reflects the section you read.
2. Group number, names of all group
members, and jobs assigned to each.
3. Line numbers assigned to your group.
4. Some sort of image/illustration for your
group’s presentation.
20. Slide 2 – Summary of Section
Must Include
1. A summary of the section of reading
assigned to your group; no less than 5
sentences.
2. An image/illustration that represents the
section your group was assigned.
21. Slide 3 & 4 – IR Questions
Must Include
1. Written answers to all in-text questions
found in your group’s section of the reading.
2. An image/illustration that represents the
section your group was assigned.
22. Slide 5 – Representative Image
Must Include
1. An image that represents, to your group,
slavery as a whole.
2. A brief description of that image and
explanation of why it was chosen; no less
than 3 sentences.
23. Exit Ticket
• Put away all Chromebooks,
making sure they are plugged
in properly.
24. Start-Up
• Choose one quote that stands out to you
from the section of Equiano’s narrative what
was assigned to your group. Why did it stand
out to you? What was he trying to say
through that quote? Do you see the use of
ethos, pathos, or logos in the quote?
25. Today’s Objective
By the end of the period, students will have
completed their group presentations on their
assigned sections of Equiano’s narrative. They
will have developed a better understanding of
the language Equiano uses to relate his
experiences; including using context to
determine meaning.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11.6
26. Group Project
• Each group member present, take 30 seconds
to report out to your group on your progress.
Be sure to ask your group for help at this
time if you need it!
• Continue working on your portion of the
project. If your group’s presentation is
complete, see me for instructions on what to
do next.
27. Remember
Your group’s presentation
needs to be completed and
ready to present when you
come in to class tomorrow!
28. Exit Ticket
• Why do you think slave narratives were such
a powerful weapon in the fight to abolish
slavery? Do you think that Equiano’s account
would have been as moving if it were written
in the 3rd person? Does the personal way in
which he tells the story increase its impact?
Why or why not?
29. Start-Up
• Grab your folders and get out your Equiano
narratives.
• Be prepared to write in the answers to the IR
questions as the groups present them.
