Sample Lessons & Strategies

Below are ways to incorporate the Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon into your classroom. Check out the full overview of suggested curriculum ideas.

Note: these are templates for teaching with transcription activities. For more tailored suggestions and resources, please make sure to see our extensive Douglass Day 2024 Curriculum page.

Transcribe in Class

Consider dedicating at least one hour in your class for students to hold a transcribe-a-thon. We find that the activities can range in time, but it is usually best to reserve at least an hour in total.

Transcribing a full page usually takes 20-30 minutes. We highly recommend saving some time at the end of the activities for students to share their experiences. 

Sample Discussion Questions

1. What did you find in the documents? 
2. What did you find surprising or challenging? 
3. If you worked on multiple documents, did you notice any recurring patterns or themes? 
4. What do you feel you learned about the processes of digitization, transcription, and preservation of Black histories? 
5. How would you encourage other people to try out these activities?
6. How do these materials relate to our current moment?

Transcribe in Pairs

We recommend having students transcribe in pairs. Working in pairs will make the experience more collaborative and interactive. Students can support each other in the process of deciphering the historical documents, and that process often leads to rich discussions during the process. (This strategy is especially useful if students are less comfortable with manuscripts and cursive handwriting.)

Transcribe Outside of Class

If you don’t have time to transcribe together in class, we find that transcribing can be an engaging assignment outside of class. Ask students to transcribe a single page, and then respond to some of the questions above. 

If students create an account on the transcription platform, they will be able to see the activity logs for their accounts. After they complete a page or two, they can take a screenshot and send it to you for credit. (Please note that the platform managers are often unable to access that private/personal data so you will need to ask students to self-report.)