From Slavery to The White House

- January 07, 2022

Hello my dear pupils!

I hope you are all doing well.

This new chapter will deal about a very special subject. Can you try to guess what it is? :)

Doc 1: working in cotton fields

Look at this picture: describe it as precisely as possible.

Correction:

You can see people working outside, in what appears to be a cotton field in a cotton plantation. All the workers are black-skinned: they are slaves. Their work looks (= avoir l'air) harsh and difficult. There is no happiness in this picture.

Black-skinned: on a rendu cela sous forme adjectivale en ajoutant un "-" et un -ed.

Now, look at this picture: describe it and compare it with the previous one.

Correction:

This is Barack Obama, a former (= ancien) President of the USA. He was the first black President elected in this country in 2009. He looks happy, he's the leader (= dirigeant) of one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Nous sommes donc passés de personnes noires rendues esclaves à une vie à la maison blanche!

Cela sera donc notre titre de chapitre: from slavery to the white house (de l'esclavage à la maison blanche).

DOC 2: test your knoledge!

Now read this text and try to answer the following questions. What do you know about slavery?

correction: (cliquez sur l'image)

GRAMMAIRE:

Le Prétérit (passé)

è Ce temps correspond à décrire des actions passées (dans un récit), qui sont achevées . On peut le comparer à l’imparfait, le passé composé et le passé simple .

Construction : il y a 2 types de verbes :
REGULIERS = on ajoute -ED/ -D à la fin du verbe
IRREGULIERS = il faut les apprendre par <3

Dans les questions, les réponses courtes et dans les négations, on ajoute l’auxiliaire « DO », qui se dit « DID » au prétérit.

Exemples de phrases :

1) Affirmative : Sujet + V-ed// 2^e col + complément : I played football.

2) Negative : Sujet + didn’t + BV + complément : you didn’t play football

3) Interrogative : Did + sujet + BV + complément ? :Did you play football ?

à Lorsqu’on a «DID » à la négative et l’interrogative, le verbe RESTE A LA BASE VERBALE (non conjugué)

Exercices:

WAS = sg ou WERE= pl ? → auxiliaire ETRE/BE

1. She is thirty now, so last year she …………. twenty-nine.
2. …………. it a good film?
3. I got married when I …………. twenty-seven.
4. It …………. a great day, but we …………. so tired!
5. I didn't buy those jeans because they …………. too expensive.
6. When I …………. a child we lived in Rome.
7. Where …………. you yesterday afternoon?

Conjuguez les verbes au prétérit simple

1. The concert __________ (be/was-were/been) great. I really __________ (enjoy) it.

2. _______________________ (you / have/had/had) a nice weekend in London?

3. She _______________ (not / like) the food. It was horrible.

4. Which museum _____________________(you / go/went/gone) to ?

5. Yesterday we ________________ ( go/went/gone) to Paris and we __________ (pay/PAID/PAID) a visit to Jane.

6. They _________________ (pass) their exam last year. They __________ (be) very happy.

7. I _____________ (see/saw/seen) her five minutes ago!

8. They _______________ (not / win/won/won) the game. What a shame!

9. She _________________(do/did/done) some shopping but I didn't. I ___________________ (not / want) to queue at shops.

10. You _______________ (not / be) in very good health. That's why you __________ (lose/LOST/LOST) the match.

11. Sophie _______________ (be) ill yesterday. She ____________ (stay) in bed all day.

12. The house _____________ (burn/burnt/burnt) completely. The fire brigade ___________________ (not / arrive) on time.

***correction***

1. She is thirty now, so last year she WAS twenty-nine.
2. WAS it a good film?
3. I got married when I WAS twenty-seven.
4. It WAS a great day, but we WERE so tired!
5. I didn't buy those jeans because they WERE too expensive.
6. When I WAS a child we lived in Rome.
7. Where WERE you yesterday afternoon?

DOC 3: What is it to be a slave?

You are going to discover the life of Solomon Northup. Read the text below (it is the summary of his book):

Summary:

Solomon Northup was a free black man living in New York who was lured* south, kidnapped, and sold into slavery.

His memoir, written shortly after his escape, recounts the harsh* events of his kidnapping, and his dehumanizing and violent treatment as a slave on plantations in Louisiana where he worked in the cotton and sugar cane fields.
During all those years, Northup looked for a chance to escape…

*HELP:

Lured = attiré

Harsh = difficult, hard

Now: watch the trailer of the movie "12 Years A Slave":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg

EXERCICE: TRAILER STUDY.

1) First, look at the posters: what could be the story about? Would you like to watch the movie? Why?

2) 1) Watch the trailer and answer basic WH questions

→ what:

→ where:

→ when:

→ who:

3) Explain in your own words what happened to the main character in this story:

4) How are the slaves treated?

5) What is the relationship between people? Fill in this table.

Black vs White

Black vs Black

White vs White

Free

Slave

DOC 4: Civil War And Segregation.

In 1861, a war burst in the USA: the South wanted to split, because they needed to keep slavery active for their economy, whereas the North wished to stay united but abolish slavery.

The war ended in 1865 with the abolition of Slavery, thanks to President Abraham Lincoln (who was assassinated in 1865).