TOPIC 3.8: Lifting as We Climb

Nannie Helen Burroughs: “How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping”

& Making Thematic Connections Across Course Units

Students will analyze Nannie Helen Burroughs’s ‘uplift strategy’ and make connections to legacies of four centuries of Black women.

EK 3.8.A.3 Educators and activists called for women’s education and suffrage to promote greater inclusion of Black women in American society. Nannie Helen Burroughs, an educator, suffragist, church leader, and the daughter of enslaved people, helped establish the National Association of Colored Women (1896) and founded a school for women and girls in Washington, D.C. (1909).

Objective 1: Students will interpret primary sources to identify how Nannie Helen Burroughs fought for the uplift of African American women and Black communities.

Objective 2: Students will make connections between the legacies of Black women across four centuries and demonstrate their knowledge through the use of specific evidence in a written response.

“Young people, there is no force on earth, no handicap, no barrier on earth that can stay any race or individual who organizes its courage, its faith, its hopes, its industry, and its indomitable will. You can’t defeat it. You may delay it, or place a barrier around; you may block up the stream, but it will swing around the dam and join the current and continue on its way to the great ocean beyond.”  - Nannie Helen Burroughs

NOTES

This lesson takes one day (55-minute class period). Nannie Helen Burroughs serves as an inspiration for teachers and students alike. The lesson was inspired by a deep dive into the Chief Reader’s Report on the 2024 “pilot year” FRQs. The lesson aims to highlight the legacy of Nannie Helen Burroughs while addressing two key areas identified as needing improvement in the Chief Reader’s Report:

  • Students often wrote vague overgeneralizations rather than using specific evidence.

  • Students struggled with periodization.

Lesson Plan

Part 1: Do Now (4 mins) – Slides #1-4

  • Ask students to discuss which SAQ topic they feel most confident in answering.

  • Explain that these four topics appeared on the 2024 AP exam. In my class, student confidence in each topic has often aligned with national success rates.

  • Introduce the lesson’s purpose: “Today, we’ll examine the life and work of Nannie Helen Burroughs—a hero of democracy and American history—while also strengthening key AP skills that will help you succeed on the exam.”

Part 2: Introduction to Nannie Helen Burroughs (4 mins) : Display Slides #5-8 Ask students to take out their Must-Know Vocabulary lists and provide a brief background on Burroughs, emphasizing key points they should write down from the slides. I have students take notes right on their vocabulary hand out.

Part 3: N.H. Burroughs Primary Sources (12 mins) Distribute the primary source handout.

  1. Instruct students to read the three sources and identify key challenges Black women faced at the turn of the 20th century using specific phrases or examples from the documents, then ask for a few volunteers to share their findings.

  2. Conclude with additional context: Share a brief story from the National Parks Service about Burroughs’ ability to fundraise within the Black community for a women’s school even though Booker T. Washington skeptical about if she had a chance at success.

Part 4: Course Thematic Synthesis Activity (25 mins)

  • Place students into small groups (3-4 per group).

  • Provide each group with a large sheet of paper and markers.

A. Creating a Historical Grid

  • Display Slide #17: Students draw three lines to form a simple grid.

  • Display Slide #18: Add column titles.

  • Ask: “What key date divides Unit 2 and Unit 3?” (Answer: 1865, marking the end of the Civil War and the 13th Amendment)

  • Explain that periodization is a challenge noted in the AP Chief Reader’s Report, and this activity will help them recognize continuity and change over time.

B. Unit 3 Column (Post-1865: Reconstruction - Nadir)

  • Display Slide #21: Show two prompts.

  • Groups brainstorm and list everything they remember from the Burroughs sources and prior knowledge related to this period.

  • Allow 4 minutes to complete.

  • Display Slide #25 (sample answer key) for comparison.

C. Writing Tip: Analyzing Strong vs. Weak SAQ Responses

  • Display Slides #22-24: Show a sample SAQ prompt with two responses.

  • “This or That?” Ask students: “Which response is stronger? Why?”

  • Emphasize key takeaways: Avoid vague generalizations and ensure responses reflect correct periodization.

D. Unit 1 Column (Pre-1600, African Context)

  • Display Slide #26: Students brainstorm what they remember about women’s roles in Africa before European contact.

  • Give 8 minutes, encouraging them to find and use old notes and resources.

  • Display Slide #27 (sample answer key) after groups share.

E. Unit 2 Column (1607-1865, Enslavement & Resistance Era)

  • Display Slide #29: Groups repeat the process, focusing on the experiences of Black women during slavery.

  • Give 6-8 minutes for group investigation, discussion and listing evidence.

  • Display Slide #30 (sample answer key).

F . Making Connections Across Time Periods

  • Encourage students to use different colors to draw connections between periods.

  • After 5 minutes, have groups share insights about continuity and change in Black women’s roles and resistance.

Part 4: Exit Ticket and Mini SAQ

  1. Students take out a scrap sheet of paper (no names).

  2. Respond to a half-SAQ based on the lesson’s themes and wording from the 2024 FRQ (The prompt is on the back of the Nannie Helen Burroughs document handout.)

  3. Collect responses at the door as students leave.

The FollowING Day Warm-Up Activity

Part 1: Memory Recall Chart: Distribute blank charts mirroring the previous day’s grid. (5-8 mins)

  • Students fill in as much as they can from memory.

  • Bonus challenge! An additional category based on the 2024 FRQ: Faith Traditions

    • (Sample answer key) Unit 1: Islam/Christianity / Unit 2: Voodoo / Unit 3: Burroughs organizing church women’s groups for anti-lynching and suffrage campaign.

Part 2: Memory Recall Chart: Randomly distribute the unnamed exit tickets from the previous day. (5-8 mins)

  • Students read and evaluate based on two criteria:

    • Does the response include specific historical evidence?

    • Does it reflect correct periodization?

  • Instruct them to underline strong examples and suggest one additional detail that could improve each response.

Final Thoughts

My students did well with this and it was a nice break from the normal routine. It’s always good to review! By making thematic connections across different time periods, students develop a deeper historical understanding and improve their ability to craft strong SAQ responses!