GeoCivics
Why Should We Know Who George Pointer Was?
Author: Jake Wager, Iowa
Grades 6-8
Students will learn about the remarkable life of George Pointer. They will learn that he was born enslaved, but was able to eventually buy his freedom. They will learn how Pointer purchased a home along the Potomac and how he spent his entire career working for the Patowmack Canal Company. They will learn how he saved his family home by writing to the C&O Canal Company asking for compensation for the land they would use for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canals. Finally, students will learn about the trials and tribulations the Pointer GeoCivics 2024 family endured to maintain their lands secured to them by George Pointer.
Why Should We Know Who Henry "Box" Brown as?
Author: Jake Wager, Iowa
Grades 6-8
Students will learn about the amazing story of Henry “Box” Brown. They will learn that he was born enslaved, but was able to eventually find his freedom. They will learn how Brown took a unique idea to escape enslavement and put it into action. Students will learn how difficult it was for Henry “Box” Brown to survive his escape by reading a primary source document, an interview given by Mr. Brown told in a newspaper.
Civic Action in our Community
Author: Jake Wager, Iowa
Grades 6-8
In this lesson, students will learn about ways citizens can engage in their school or city community to affect change through brainstorming and the development of an action plan. They will also learn how to engage with their environment to affect change by developing an action plan to solve a local problem and presenting their action plan to the class, school and/or community stakeholders, and how to become leaders and changemakers in their communities.