Teaching W.E.B. Du Bois and Philadelphia's Seventh Ward

This article is a collaboration among three Philadelphia public school teachers who wrote curriculum units based on their new learning and research of W.E.B. Du Bois' groundbreaking book, "The Philadelphia Negro" (1899) of the Seventh Ward. Du Bois' book was the first major race study of an African-American urban community ever published in the United States. Teachers Holloway, Moon, and Yau utilize the past and current history of the Seventh Ward being in Philadelphia to give their students the first hand experience of Du Bois' scholarly work. Tyriese James (TJ) Holloway, an 11th and 12th grade teacher from Overbrook High School begins his session with a personal narrative about the complex meanings of "home" and shares his class assignments and examples of student works. Similarly, Jeannette Moon, a 7th and 8th Grade Teacher from Penn Alexander School designs her curriculum unit to focus students with the essential question: "What is home?" with mapping, reading of primary sources as well as fictional works of Du Bois. Lisa Yuk Kuen Yau, a 5th Grade Teacher from Francis Scott Key School finds it crucial to introduce students at a young age to the race issue by having them create accordion books, data portraits, and community spaces inspired by Du Bois' scholar works.