The aim of this lesson is to analyse the conditions, impact and human cost of the Middle Passage during the transatlantic slave trade.

The lesson begins by introducing the Middle Passage and examining the horrendous journey endured by enslaved Africans as they were transported across the Atlantic.

Students assess the conditions on board the slave ships using a combination of video, audio and historical source evidence, allowing them to build an understanding of the experiences of those who were enslaved.

Students then analyse historical interpretations of the Middle Passage, including evidence about how enslaved people were crammed together and the treatment they endured during the voyage. They are challenged to consider what the evidence reveals about the human cost of the journey and how different interpretations have presented these experiences.

Students catalogue the conditions they discover in a structured grid, before taking on the role of advisers to a film director making a film about slavery. They must persuade the director that he has been misled about the journey, using historical evidence to challenge the advice he has received from slave ship owner Captain Thomas Tobin.

A series of differentiated key questions checks students’ understanding throughout the lesson and encourages them to explain, analyse and evaluate the evidence they have encountered.

Students finally prioritise the worst conditions faced by enslaved people during the Middle Passage and justify their choices in an extension activity. This provides an opportunity for students to reach a supported judgement about the human cost of the journey.

The lesson is fully enquiry-based, with a key question introduced using a lightbulb enquiry at the beginning and revisited at the end, allowing students to demonstrate how their thinking and understanding have developed.

Included in this lesson:
Fully editable PowerPoint
Conditions aboard slave ships
Historical source analysis & interpretations
Differentiated key questions
Prioritising the worst conditions
Extension and judgement activity
Retrieval practice activities
Suggested teaching and learning strategies
Differentiated materials

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