Understanding American Democracy

These learning activities were created for the Defining Democracy workshop series. Each activity utilizes materials from the 1619 Project Resource Guide Collection to provide strategies for engaging with 1619 Project materials connected to the workshop themes. The Defining Democracy series is designed to equip educators with resources and strategies for exploring the theme of American democracy in their classrooms and communities. 

STRUCTURE

During the “Understanding American Democracy” workshop, educators explored the ways The 1619 Project’s interrogation of American origin stories and myths can help us better understand American democratic history. The activities in this toolkit provide a strategy for engaging with 1619 Project materials and curricular resources connected to the workshop themes.

• The Founding Fathers Activity utilizes the 1619 Podcast to support the interrogation of narratives about the Founding Fathers.
• The Foundational Dates Activity utilizes the 1619 Literary Timeline to interrogate which events we consider foundational to American History and why.
• The National Identity Activity utilizes Born on the Water to interrogate the how and why we choose to define American national identity.

This is an activity using the 1619 podcast to support interrogation of common narratives about the beliefs and actions of the men who drafted and signed the United States founding documents. You can access the podcast episode through The New York Times.

STEP 1: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE CHECK

STEP 2: GROUP LISTENING

STEP 3: INDEPENDENT EXPLORATION

This is an activity using the Literary Timeline in The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story to expand our thinking about which historical events are most relevant to teaching about the United States’ origin story. This activity can also be completed with creative works from the original magazine issue.

STEP 1: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE CHECK

STEP 2: BUILDING CONTEXT

STEP 3: GROUP READING

This is an activity using The 1619 Project: Born on the Water to introduce a new perspective on the defining of national identity during the colonial period of United States history. 

STEP 1: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE CHECK

STEP 2: GROUP READING

• Explain that during this activity, participants will be engaging with an excerpt from the 1619 Project lyrical picture book, Born on the Water, which chronicles the history and legacy of slavery in the United States while engaging with themes of Black American culture, ancestry, and identity. 
• Use the relevant summary from the 1619 Project Curriculum Guide to frame the chapter on William Tucker.
• Read the “William Tucker” chapter together as a group.
• Discuss how this framing of William Tucker’s story interrogates common narratives around the means of defining American national identity.

STEP 3: BUILDING PERSONAL CONNECTIONS