This section offers resources to educators and those collaborating with them. It includes an introductory narrative given to students when they arrive at the Behind the Big House program. This high school narrative directly relates enslaved labor to the construction of the main, or “big house,” where the Behind the Big House orientation takes place. The Young Person’s guide serves as a comparable narrative for elementary students, structured through questions.
This section also includes a lesson plan model, which incorporates standards from the 2011 Mississippi Social Studies Framework. Your plan should be site and state specific. Your state historic preservation office may also provide lesson plans and teaching units on their websites, such as those available through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Slavery in Mississippi curriculum.
In 2014, then University of Mississippi southern studies graduate student, Lauren Holt, drafted a general narrative on slavery in Mississippi. It is also included. It serves as a general introduction for teachers to share with students. It incorporates Marshall County WPA slave narratives in the description. Your narrative should be state, county, or region specific.
If you are planning a program and looking for ways to persuade educators to participate in your program, then resources like the Southern Poverty Law Center’s publication on Teaching Hard History proves the need for a more through incorporation of slavery into the U.S. social studies curriculum. Teachers can access and download the report, as well as additional resources on teaching difficult histories. The companion text, Understanding and Teaching American Slavery, will be helpful to educators seeking a methodology for teaching slavery in the classroom.