Warm Up (10min): SEE THINK WONDER is a simple critical-viewing strategy to guide students’ analysis of any visual media. By prompting students to slow down their thinking and simply observe before drawing conclusions and asking questions, you can help them engage more deeply with and analyze more thoughtfully the media they are viewing.

Use the See Think Wonder PDF for this Warm Up.

Step 1: Students will carefully analyze primary source images to make observations and predictions about the life and work of Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

Step 2: Utilizing see-think-wonder sentence stems students will share reflections surrounding their observations.

• I SEE…(What are (3) things you notice or observe in this image?)
• Which makes me THINK…(What are (2) things you think about when you analyze this image?)
• So now I WONDER…(What is (1) thing you wonder about this topic or lesson?)

Step 3: Summarize student WONDERS as a transition into the lesson

Teacher Considerations....

• Allow (2) minutes with each image
• Allow share-out time after each source
• Activity can be written or oral
• Circulate to prompt on-task behavior
• Reinforce the use of sentence stems to guide responses

Jigsaw Activity (10min): Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables students of a "home" group to specialize in one aspect of a topic. As students re-group with the whole class to share information each "home" group serves as a piece of the topic's puzzle and when they work together as a whole, they create the complete jigsaw puzzle.

Step 1: Students will divide into (3) groups to explore the article Remembering Vertamae by Jed Portman

Step 2: While reading the assigned excerpt, groups will complete reflection questions and record responses in class Jamboard

• List (2) important or interesting points from this excerpt
• What can you learn about the life and work of Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor from this excerpt?

Step 3: Each jigsaw group will share-out and relay their finding and reflections to the whole group

Step 4: Once all jigsaw groups have shared reflections, students will answer supporting question on class Jamboard

• How did Vertamae’s work honor/respect/uplift African American history & culture?

Teacher Considerations….

• Allow (5) minutes for group exploration of excerpts
• All students should have editing access to Jamboard
• Reflection questions should be posted for reference
• Circulate to promote on-task behavior
• Allow (5) minutes for group share-outs
• Supporting question will serve as transition to closing activity

Making Connections Closing Activity (10min): Student Choice Opportunity; giving students choices can help them be more engaged and responsible for their own learning.

Step 1: Each student will select (1) extension video to expand their understanding of African American culinary history and make modern connections to the work of Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

• Option One – High on the Hog: Legacies & Recipes Ep. 1
• Option Two – Culinary historian Michael Twitty History Through Food

Step 2: Students will independently complete connection questions for their self-selected extension video

Option One Questions"

1. List (4) items used in traditional African American cooking that were brought from Africa
2. How did enslaved Africans replace the yam in their dishes when they arrived in the United States?
3. What name did African Americans give to their traditional foods & cooking styles?
4. How does this video connect to the life & work of Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor?

Option Two Questions

1. How were chickens significant to enslaved Africans?
2. Why does Historian Michael Twitty choose to study African American food culture?
3. What is unique about traditional African American cuisine?
4. How does this video connect to the life & work of Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor?

Teacher Considerations…

• Responses can be recorded via engagement tools like Pear Deck, Padlet, Jamboard, ect.