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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MANY REASONS TO LEAVE

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, how slavery hindered the emergence of capitalist institutions and values, and slavery both prior to and after the Civil War.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Life of Frederick Douglass

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discuss the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society. They study the significance of the contributions of Frederick Douglass to America. They compare the effects of political, economic, and social factors on...
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Lesson Plan
Crafting Freedom

The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
After reading Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, one of the most famous slave narratives of all time, learners imagine what it would have been like to experience the small dimensions of her hiding space. They then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Steps to Freedom

For Teachers K - 4th
Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history lesson, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a reading...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freedom Quilts

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders create a Freedom Quilt and learn how many African Americans escaped to freedom.  In this Underground Railroad lesson, 5th graders complete a KWL chart on the Underground Railroad, read a book about the Underground Railroad...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Minty

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young scholars investigate, read, and discuss about other famous Afro-American leaders. Students compare/contrast slaves home, activities, etc. with that of Afro- Americans today. Young scholars create a time line to post on the wall of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

North and South - Impact of the Abolitionist Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners examine history of slavery in United States, discuss abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass who worked to end slavery, listen to excerpts from Douglass' autobiography, and visit interactive Underground Railroad web site.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine Harriet Tubman's contribution to the Underground Railroad. They read and discuss an excerpt from the book "The Tamarack Tree," listen to the CD for the book "Follow the Drinking Gourd," and write a journal response from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jacob Lawrence's Freedom Trail

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students read excerpts of autobiographies from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. After listening to excerpts of an oral reading of Frederick Douglass' book, they discuss the ways African Americans were treated on plantations. ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Underground Railroad

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students role-play as escaped slaves making their way from North Carolina to Canada, stopping in Indiana. They track their journeys on maps and include a stop at Harriet Tubman's. Students write three paragraphs about how Tubman aids...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

INTRODUCTION AND WEEK ONE

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders use a variety of resources to research and compile information on the Underground Railroad. They work in small groups and individually, to discuss and exchange ideas as they construct the exhibit that they display in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Levi Coffin on Trial

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students are introduced to Quaker beliefs about slavery and actual statements of conviction about slavery by Levi Coffin. They explore the federal laws about returning escaped slaves, specifically the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the Underground Railroad routes. In this map skills and Civil War lesson, students use map and globe reading vocabulary and skills to track the routes the slaves followed from the Bahamas to the United States and from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

SLAVE TRADING AND SMALL TOWNS

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, the different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, and how the Atlantic slave trade finally ended.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

RAW HISTORY: USING PRIMARY SOURCES

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, how slaves forged their own culture in the face of oppression; and the role of the plantation system in shaping slaveholders and the enslaved.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unsung Military Heroes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this lesson, students are introduced to the contributions made by African-American soldiers that have been excluded from traditional textbooks. To gain an appreciation for these unsung heroes, students engage in research to ultimately...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilts and the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the use of freedom quilts in helping slaves escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. They review the various quilt blocks that were used to give directions on the Underground Railroad. Students create their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Patchwork Path

For Teachers 4th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uncle Tom's Cabin

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars read the novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and explain public attitudes towards slavery in 19th century America.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: A Compare and Contrast Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Two great men, one time period, and one purpose; it sounds like a movie trailer, but it's not. It's a very good comparative analysis lesson focused on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Learners will research and read informational...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Many Underground Railroads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine the beginning and the end points of the enslaved person's journey to freedom, noting landmarks mentioned along the way such as cities, towns, rivers, mountains, and other geographic features.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slave Narratives

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students use a database to find and read examples of slave narratives. In groups, they read the various narratives and discuss their feelings about them. They also research the time period in which the narratives were written to end...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aftermath for the Freedom Seekers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research Black organizations the existed during the first half of the 20th Century, including the Negro Leagues baseball. They create a brochure that provides information about one of the organizations.