Grant Awarded for Fifth Grade Curriculum Project

We are pleased to announce that we have received an $8000 Endowment Fund Grant from the Northampton Education Foundation for our project "Sojourner's Truth in the 21st Century: Applying Local History to Fifth Grade Curriculum." In partnership with three Northampton teachers, Roxanne Nieman (Leeds), Putnam Goodwin-Boyd (Leeds), and Thomas Chang (Jackson Street), we will be developing a curriculum unit on local history and bringing all fifth grade classes in Northampton on walking tours of the African American Heritage Trail.

Over the next three years, Northampton fifth grade teachers will develop a curriculum unit about the local history of abolitionism and Sojourner Truth. The unit will address how students think about equality and race in contemporary times, and will include a text set of books about Sojourner Truth, abolitionism, slavery, and pre-Civil War history. Teachers and students will also develop a walking tour video that can be used in all future classrooms. Every fifth grade class will participate in a walking tour of the African American Heritage Trail, including a visit to the David Ruggles Center. At the end of the grant, the curriculum will be distributed for use throughout the school district.

During our previous grant funded by the NEF, we worked with six fifth grade teachers to introduce their students to the rich local history of Sojourner Truth and the abolitionist community in Florence through books, classroom discussion, and walking tours. We are excited to make this next step in bringing Sojourner’s history and teachings into classrooms.