DRAMA
Year 9 Home Learning Assignment
Date Set: Monday 16th January
Date to be handed in: Monday 30th January
What is it about?
By the time your work is handed in, marked and returned to you, you will be beginning a
unit of work on 19th CENTURY SLAVERY. The task below is designed to give you some
knowledge of the topic before we begin the practical work in lessons.
What do I have to do?
Using the library, internet and your own creativity, you should imagine you are a 19th
Century African slave & create items that tell the life story of your character. You will do
this by creating 1 OR 2 of the following documents:
1. Minimum of 3 pages from your character's personal diary (some written when you
are free in Africa & some when you are captured and sold as a slave.) This can
include things you do in your day-to-day life, comments about your family, as well as
descriptions of how you were captured & your treatment as a slave.
2. A map of your character's journey from Africa to your new 'home' - you MUST mark
the route on the map & make notes on it explaining events that have happened to you
along the way.
What are you looking for in my work?
THERE IS NO RIGHT ANSWER with this task, you are creating the character and
imagining you are them. Obviously you must research what African slaves went through as
you want your ideas to be historically accurate.
OUTSTANDING WORK will have been well researched and presented beautifully. It will
show that the student has really understood the life of a slave and many things that happen
in their lives.
GOOD WORK will show that the student has done some research into the history of
slavery and work will be resented well, with good imagination and creativity.
UNSATISFACTORY WORK will be based on very little research into the slave trade &
show that the student has not made efforts to understand what African slaves lives involved.
Where do I start?
Find out as much as you can about the 19th Century Salve trade; why it was done, where it
was done, what happened to the slaves, what their lives were like.... The more information
you get, the more realistic your diary and map will be.
Wikipedia is NOT the only online resource available to you! Below are 2 (of thousands) of
websites that will help you:
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica (then click on 'Slavery')
www.history.com/topics/slavery
How long should I spend on the task?
You should not spend any longer than 3 hours on the task. This time can be spread over the
2 weeks.
What do I do if I don't understand the task?
You have 2 weeks in which to complete the task. If you struggle to understand the task you
should speak to your Drama teach either in lesson or at break/lunchtime in the Performing
Arts office.