PBS
Hidden Messages in Spirituals
Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...
Curated OER
Sing Out Loud: The Slave Spirituals Historical and Cultural Implications during Reconstruction
Young scholars identify, summarize and present facts about cultural, educational and political inequalities of Reconstruction, explain hidden codes of slave spirituals and their importance in slaves' communication, and create poetry...
Curated OER
Art -- The Secret to Freedom
Fourth graders create a coded message in a quilt. In this art activity students demonstrate the communication used by the Underground Railroad. Students work in a group to make a quilt with a code in it.
Curated OER
Music: Follow the Drinking Gourd
Fourth graders use movement to express a concept. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, 4th graders listen to the book, Follow the Drinking Gourd, which demonstrates the types of 'communication' used by slaves traveling the...
Curated OER
Music-Follow the Drinking Gourd
Fourth graders study the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd." In this dance lesson, 4th graders listen to the book by the same name, listen to the music, and in small groups create a short dance illustrating a stanza from the song.
Curated OER
Mississippi Delta Blues Moves: Second in a Series of Three with Barb Hoffman and Steve Hoskins, MGM
Students complete a graphic organizer reviewing Barb Hoffman's prior lesson," Slave Songs (1840-1876)" as well as listen to and discuss Delta Blues music samples. Students research one Delta Blues singer and write a "color coded"...
Curated OER
Master Spy
Students explain that a code is a system of symbols, letters, words, or signals that are used instead of ordinary words and numbers to send messages or to store information. They practice deciphering a variety of secret codes used in...
Curated OER
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...