Learn Together

Cultural awareness and tradition play important roles in helping young children develop a positive sense of identity and build self-esteem.

Materials

  • Computer, tablet, or phone to watch the video
  • A comfortable seat
  • A special object important to you or your family
  • Crayons
  • Markers
  • Pencil
  • Paper

Create Together

Enjoy a reading of This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson by our friends at Sankofa Read Aloud.

 

Learn the story of a family’s journey north during the Great Migration. The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million African Americans out of the Southern United States to the North between 1916 and 1970.

In the story, a little girl’s rope becomes part of her family’s history. The rope is passed down through the generations, used for everything from jumping rope to tying suitcases onto a car for a big move to New York City.

The rope became a very special object in a family’s history. Are there special objects in your family? Is there a picture, a dinner plate, a sculpture, or even a toy or stuffed animal that brings back important and beautiful memories?

  1. Find this object in your home. What family stories and memories can you share together about this object?
  2. Tell these stories together.
  3. On a piece of paper use markers, crayons, or a pencil to draw a picture of this object and write down the stories you shared together.
  4. Think about the journey of this object and make a family storybook all about your family’s journey.

Enjoy more stories with Sankofa Read Aloud. Sankofa Read Aloud believes that it is vital that our African American children are able to see themselves within the beautiful stories that they read.