| Endangered
Traditions is an in-depth, problem-based-learning, social
studies WebQuest that introduces students to a people and a
place that may be new to them-the Gullah communities of South
Carolina and the Sea Islands. The WebQuest takes students back
into the past-to slave ships crossing the Atlantic, to antebellum
rice plantations-and returns them to the present-to examine
the impact of modern land developments on regions saturated
with this history. Students are presented with a real-world-based
problem and must analyze the issues from various perspectives
before making recommendations as a task force about whether
or not to proceed with a land development project that threatens
the Gullah community and the historic South Carolina past. In
the process, students recognize how the past influences the
present and how complicated some decisions are because of the
history involved. The South Carolina situation illustrates how
the legacy of slavery continues to impact our society in the
21st century.
The
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in Cincinnati,
Ohio, created Endangered Traditions with generous support
from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation. It is the first in a series
of what we call FreedomQuests that we plan to develop over
the next several years with funding from KnowledgeWorks. The
Freedom Center is committed to developing quality educational
materials for teachers and students at all grade levels across
the nation. Our mission is to teach the positive lessons of
courage, cooperation, and perseverance that evolved out of
the historic pursuit for freedom during the period of the
Underground Railroad. Endangered Traditions was launched
in February 2002.
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