Unit 3 of the Third Space English class provides instructors with two major writing projects from which to choose – (1) an individual project that challenges students to select an immigrant and/or underrepresented group, whose history is not well known; or (2) a group project that implores students to identify a local social justice concern to address. Students given option one will begin by learning about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, as an example of little-known history, then discover how facts about this historical event have been collected and the different ways that information has been presented. Students given option two will begin by learning about the shutdown of Linden-McKinley High School in 1971, then work in groups to identify an issue they can either raise awareness of, propose a new solution for, or share the history of how others have tried to tackle it. Both projects give students the opportunity to acquire skills finding credible sources, evaluating texts, synthesizing the information learned, and creating a text to share with others.
Special thanks to Dr. Simone C. Drake for permission to incorporate into this course the documentary of Shutdown, as well as the website, made in association with The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences.
