Story of revision social studies units in the midst of racial isolation

Abstract

Black teachers encounter various microaggressions in and around schools that make the profession taxing (King, 2016). While hurdling relational challenges, Dr. Bell funneled his energy and revised two units for fourth and fifth grade students in the learning community. One unit, Events Leading Up to the American Revolution received limited edits due to the restraint of planning time and COVID19 quarantine mandates before implementation. The second unit, Activism, received a major overhaul as it was originally cut short during the Spring 2020 semester. This article reflects Dr. Bell’s account of the year spent revising both Social Studies units that students engaged in. He includes the events that led to the decision to focus on Social Studies content and the reactions of students and their involvement as they learned content and participated in class discussions. His students enjoyed the interactive lessons, although a majority of the planning was done by him without much collaboration from his team members. As a result, this experience has inspired him to find an opportunity to develop a secondary social studies course.