Paired Texts > A Child Of Slavery Who Taught A Generation

by Karen Grigsby Bates 2015

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Learning to Read
Learning to Read
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

In "Learning to Read," a former slave describes what it was like to be prevented from obtaining an education and learning to read as an adult.

Pair “Learning to Read” with “A Child of Slavery who Taught a Generation” and ask students to discuss the importance of education, particularly in the lives of African-Americans.

5th Grade Poem 900L
Allegory of the Cave
Allegory of the Cave
Plato

Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a piece of philosophy explaining the importance of knowledge in society and for the human soul.

Pair “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation” with “Allegory of the Cave” and ask students to consider how Plato’s allegory on education can be applied to this historical figure.

11th Grade Allegory 1150L
Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois
Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois

These two excerpts capture the ideological debate about Black social mobility after the Civil War.

Pair “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation” with “Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois” and ask students whether Cooper would have sided with Washington or Du Bois. How much do their ideas apply to our modern society?

10th Grade Essay 1030L
Who Is Katherine Johnson?
Who Is Katherine Johnson?
NASA

Katherine Johnson was a trailblazing African American mathematician who worked for NASA during the Apollo space missions.

Pair “Who is Katherine Johnson?” with “A Child of Slavery Who Taught A Generation” and ask students to compare the progress made by the two women in the texts. How did the women face similar challenges in their professional lives? How might Anna J. Cooper have helped pave the way for Katherine Johnson?

7th Grade Biography 910L
"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass": Excerpt from Chapter 1
"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass": Excerpt from Chapter 1
Frederick Douglass

In this excerpt from Frederick Douglass' autobiography, Douglass describes the horrifying abuse of Aunt Hester by the slave master.

Pair "'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass': Excerpt from Chapter 1" with “A Child of Slavery who Taught a Generation” and ask students to discuss the importance of education, particularly in the lives of African-Americans.

9th Grade Autobiography 930L
How Malcolm Learned to Read
How Malcolm Learned to Read
Clint Smith

In "How Malcolm Learned to Read," a speaker describes how he and Malcolm X used the written word to transform themselves.

Pair “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation” with “How Malcolm Learned to Read” and ask students to reflect on Anna Cooper’s legacy. According to “A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation,” what did Cooper believe to be the relationship between education and progress for Black people in the United States? Explain her reasoning for siding with Booker T. Washington rather than W.E.B. Du Bois regarding education. How can Malcolm X and Clint Smith both be viewed as intellectual heirs to Anna Cooper’s legacy? Use details from both texts to support your answers.

10th Grade Poem