Who is Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley? 

In this activity, your primary students will learn about the highest-ranking Black female officer to serve in World War II while simultaneously combating segregation in the US Army.

Through shared reading, students will follow along with the presentation and make logical inferences. They will cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the text. 

Shared Reading Activity How-To

Use this teaching presentation in a guided reading group or whole-class setting. Students can follow along on their own devices or using your smartboard or other projection devices.

Read the text aloud, stopping to ask the sample questions we have included in the notes section of each slide. Then, reread the text, allowing your students to join in with the reading. 

After completing the reading component, independently or as a group, students will use the information gathered to describe how they speak up when something isn’t right and draw a picture of their actions. 

A complete set of instructions on using this shared reading and activity is included.

Scaffolding + Extension Suggestions

Use this primary-level reading exercise during Black History Month in February or when students are working on activities or classwork that has to do with:

• World War II
• Women’s History Month
• American history
• Biographies & historical figures

And more! 

Ensure your students understand LTC Earley’s achievements with activities like these: 

🧠 Pre-Lesson Activity

Assign this presentation as independent reading at home or before starting the lesson as a class. Ask students to make notes about what they learned, words they don’t know, or topics that need clarification. 

🗣️ Turn & Talk

As they read, ask students to write questions on a separate sheet of paper during shared reading time. Then put students into groups of 3 or 4 to help each other answer their questions.

🧑‍🏫 Be the Teacher

As a post-lesson activity, ask students what they would put on a quiz if they were the teacher. Challenge students to write a 5-question quiz using the information in the presentation. Then, have them trade papers with another student to take the quiz.

Preparing This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between this resource’s PowerPoint or PDF version. Share the presentation with your students from a smartboard or other projection devices.

How to Convert PDFs to Google Slides (For Google Classroom and More) »

Learn about more African American history-makers with additional Black History Month teaching resources: 

[resource:4535846]   [resource:3886022]   [resource:4559690]