TEACHING THE TRIANGLE OF TRADE
THROUGH MAPPING AND SIMULATION EXERCISES

Designed by Susan Brooke, Montclair Elementary, Carrie Oretsky, Crocker Highland Elemenary, Rachel Reinhard, Marilyn Spingarn, Montclair Elementary, Erika Strand, Kipp Bridge College Preparatory

I. OVERVIEW

The following lesson on the Middle Passage is part of a larger unit on slavery in America. This lesson included mapping and simulation exercises to create schema in preparation for the reading of autobiographical excerpts from Olaudah Equiano describing his personal experiences as an enslaved African. Using primary sources to put his experiences into a larger historical context helped students gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Africans during the Middle Passage.

Content question: How was slavery part of an international economic system? How does Equiano’s writing help us understand the experience of Africans as part of the triangle of trade?

Teacher question: What impact did a classroom simulation, combined with explicit and direct instruction, have on students ability to summarize a new and complex concept in their own words? ?