On November 4th, Haley Ullinger’s 9th grade Modern World History Honors class began constructing a textbook chapter on the Haitian Revolution, a current topic discussed during class.
The ultimate objective of this project is for students to create a visually engaging and informative product, formatted as a textbook while expanding their understanding of the Haitian Revolution.
“The aim is to help students understand the significance of this often-overlooked revolution and its causes, key events, and global impact,”9th grade Modern World History teacher, Ullinger said.
This project allows students to take on the role of historians and educators, making history accessible for future 9th graders.
Understanding this revolution provides valuable insights into the broader themes of liberty, equality and justice, and helps students appreciate its global repercussions.
“The Haitian Revolution is a pivotal event in world history, demonstrating how enslaved people successfully fought for their freedom and challenged colonial and racial hierarchies,” Ullinger explained.
This project is meant to bring more attention to lesser presented topics, more specifically, the racially related events in history.
“Textbooks tend to highlight white history and show less of black history, so it was important to create something close to a “textbook chapter” because of the lack of attention to it in most textbooks,” 9th grader Holly Folts said.
This project fits into the Modern World curriculum by linking directly to themes of revolution, social change and the Enlightenment’s influence. It complements studies of the French Revolution, providing a broader perspective on how revolutionary ideas spread and were adapted in different contexts.
The chapter starts off with a quick introduction on the Haitian Revolution. From there, the chapter begins to progress and talk more about the revolution. For example, a topic that has been covered in the chapter is the life of a slave.
The chapter also includes visuals, a map and a primary source along with questions and vocabulary words with definitions.
When asked what she hoped students would take away from this project, Ullinger confidently answered with this quote.
“I hope students will leave this project with a deeper appreciation for the Haitian Revolution’s complexity and importance, as well as the ability to communicate historical narratives creatively. Ultimately, I want students to feel empowered as storytellers and advocates for a more inclusive view of history,” Ullinger told The Prowl.
