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Voyage to Freedom - What Does It Mean?
Fifth graders investigate the Underground Railroad by creating a quilt. Â In this U.S. History lesson, 5th graders discuss the history of slavery through a class "word splash" and by reading an Underground Railroad map online. Â Students...
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Mapping the Many Underground Railroads
Students plot the migration route of one of the runaway slaves named in a narrative and add it to a map of the United States in 1850. This is an excellent instructional activity on the Underground Railroad!
Historica-Dominion Institute
Underground Railroad - Secondary
This is a one-day activity to explore the Underground Railroad and its impact on Canadian immigration. Class members explore the government's immigration policies in the past and present. It requires viewing a short video clip and...
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Journey on the Underground Railroad
Students use Indiana and Michigan state road maps to trace a route to Canada from Madison, IN. with the many possible stops along the way. They make a picture book that depicts a runaway slave's journey on UCR.
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Signs in the Stitching
Young scholars exercise their creativity by designing an original quilt and a written explanation of its meaning. They use primary sources to develop an understanding of Underground Railroad routes through Indiana.
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Literature Focus Unit: Civil War
Fourth graders complete a two-week unit on the U.S. Civil War and the Underground Railroad. They read the books "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Pink and Say," complete story maps, and dramatize a scene from "Follow the Drinking Gourd."...
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The House of Dies Drear
Students read The House of Dies Drear and understand how he filled a need and helped people. In this philanthropy lesson students understand how the people who helped on the "Underground Railroad" filled a need and helped others....
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The Underground Railroad
First graders read a book about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. In this underground railroad activity, 1st graders learn songs and code words that the slaves used to communicate with one another. Students discuss how all...
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Finding Your Way: The Underground Railroad
Students describe the difficulties faced when tying to escape using the underground railroad. Participating in an online simulation, students attempt to escape using the underground railroad. They view maps of the routes taken by the...
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Traveling Along the Indiana Underground Railroad
Learners develop a deeper understanding of the role that Indiana played in the Underground Railroad while exploring Indiana Geography.
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Underground Railroad
Students research the underground railroad and create a journal as if you were either a slave running away or the "railroad operator". They then draw a map detailing the escape routes and stops of African-American slaves on the...
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The Underground Railroad
Eleventh graders work in teams to play a game that is based on the Underground Railroad in Delaware.
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Slavery and the Underground Railroad
Fourth graders examine the experiences of the slaves on the Underground Railroad. They analyze maps depicting slaves' routes, calculate the mileage travelled, and write an essay and create an illustration about the Underground Railroad.
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Follow the Drinking Gourd
Students listen to the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and repeat what they have heard. They discuss the significance of the story and how it relates to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. They observe a map of areas in the...
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People and Places in Indiana's Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use an Indiana map to explain why Indiana's geographic location was important to its role in the UGR. They experience personal stories and feelings of the people involved in UGR through role-play and literature.
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Spirituals
Fourth graders realize the significance in the Negro spirituals concerning the Underground Railroad. They choose a position, either for helping slaves or ignoring the slaves. They describe, in a paragraph, their position.
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The Role of the Connecticut Abolitionists with the Amistad Case
Tenth graders compare the activities of the Underground Railroad with the Amistad Case. In this slavery lesson plan, 10th graders research primary and secondary sources to discover information about Connecticut abolitionists. Students...
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How Far to Freedom?
Students research the life of William Parker to learn about the Underground Railroad. For this US history lesson, students research William Parker and the Underground Railroad. Students research the Christiana Resistance and map routes...
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Follow the Drinking Gourd: Creative Writing
Students conduct Internet research to identify the conflicts and positions of slaves, slaveholders, and members of the Underground Railroad network in the time preceding the Civil War. Students write an essay about their findings written...
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The Patchwork Path
Fourth graders investigate slavery by reading a book with their classmates. In this abolitionist movement instructional activity, 4th graders read the story The Patchwork Path, and discuss the creation of the Underground Railroad....
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Slavery
Students trace the routes of escaping slaves on their journey north by calculating the mileage each one walked and define and use accurately the term Underground Railroad. They read The Drinking Gourd by Jeanetter Winter.
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All Aboard the Freedom Train!
Young historians identify Harriet Tubman, her character traits, and role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. They create an escape map using map legends and the Cardinal directions. This plan utilizes one of my favorite video...
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Underground Travelers
Young scholars are introduced to new vocabulary associated with the Underground Railroad. Using primary sources, they evaluate the railroad's impact on society in the past and today. They also make a judgment about the morality of the...
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Follow the Drinking Gourd
Learners create an art project based on "Follow the Drinking Gourd," a song used to guide slaves to freedom during the Civil War. They read a picture book to learn the story of how Harriet Tubman and Peg Leg Joe led slaves to freedom.