Curated OER
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself
Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...
University of North Carolina
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
After reading excerpts from Frederick Douglass' autobiography, pupils will draw on what they've learned about the cruelty of slavery to write and present an anti-slavery speech or editorial.
K20 LEARN
Between The Lines: Inferences In The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass Excerpt
Good literature can be much like an iceberg requiring readers to presume that the bulk of the meaning may be inferred to be found below the surface. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to conduct a close reading of passages from The...
Curated OER
Heroes in Art
Students examine the life, portraits and speeches of Frederick Douglass. They consider what made his speeches effective and why he is regarded as a national hero. They write an original speech.
EngageNY
Introducing Historical Context: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Is it possible to judge a book by its cover? Scholars analyze and make predictions using various cover images of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. They then discuss the difference between autobiographies and biographies....
Curated OER
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...
EngageNY
Introducing the Process for Close Reading: Meeting Frederick Douglass
To learn more about Frederick Douglass, class members complete close reads of excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. They complete a close reading guide and questions for each excerpt. Pupils then add to the...
Curated OER
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dou
Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights lesson, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Frederick Douglass’s Narrative: Myth of the Happy Slave
The firsthand accounts of what it was like to be an enslaved person in the mid-1800s riveted a nation and the issue ultimately led to civil war. Using excerpts from Frederick Douglass's autobiography, budding historians examine what it...
Curated OER
Perspective on the Slave Narrative
Students examine narratives of two slaves: iam W. Brown and Frederick Douglas. They produce an essay explaining how Brown's narrative challenged the prejudices of readers in his own time and how it challenges prejudices today.
EngageNY
Why Did Douglass Write the Narrative?
Readers take another look at Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass to determine the purpose of the text. They use Frederick Douglass’s Purpose: Text and Questions handout and a close reading guide to direct their thinking. To...
EngageNY
Poetic Tools in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Scholars listen to a reading and answer probing questions about If We Must Die by Claude McKay. Readers annotate their personal copies of the poem as they discuss its figurative language, vocabulary, and meaning. They then transfer their...
EngageNY
Introducing the Performance Task: The Children’s Book
Using a Venn diagram, class members generate similarities and differences between narratives and summaries. Next, pupils co-create an anchor chart to capture their thinking about how an author zooms in on a particular part of a story.
EngageNY
Introducing the Narrative Arc: The Last Day of Slavery
Fix your mistakes. Scholars look over their end-of-unit assessments while the teacher focuses on common mistakes made among the class. Learners then make predictions about their next text, Frederick Douglass: The Last Day of Slavery, by...
EngageNY
Reflecting on Douglass’s Narrative
The conclusion of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass comes to life in a reader's theater. The class discusses the use of quotation marks in the text and then divides parts among the groups. After the performances, groups...
EngageNY
Discussing and Identifying Themes: What Makes a Good Children’s Book?
Working in small groups, scholars look closely at a children's book to evaluate narrative techniques. Next, they complete a Children's Book Scavenger Hunt worksheet to analyze the literary elements of their selected stories.
Curated OER
Exploring the Narrative of an Enslaved African
Students evaluate the role of slave narratives as primary source documents and analyze the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass for revelations about the lives of enslaved Africans during chattel slavery. They examine the role of...
Curated OER
Dedication to Douglass
Students study the controversy surrounding the proposed Frederick Douglass Circle monument in Central Park. They review the notion of historical inaccuracy by reading and discussing the article, "In Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and...
EngageNY
Analyzing Douglass’s Purpose: An Escape Attempt
Time for more team work! Class members work in a team once again to complete Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Excerpt 5 Analysis note catcher. Before beginning, teams review the Group Work anchor chart and roles. After group...
EngageNY
Analyzing Douglass’s Purpose: Learning to Read
Three for three. Groups of three complete Analysis note catchers that cover excerpt three of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Before beginning, learners discuss group work by looking at the excerpt analysis role document and...
Curated OER
Exploring the Life of a Slave
Eleventh graders explore importance of abolitionists who worked to advance freedoms of black Americans prior to/during Reconstruction era, read and identify key concepts in Frederick Douglass's narrative, recognize how Douglass's slave...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom
Learners analyze Frederick Douglass' narrative about Christianity and slavery. In this Frederick Douglass lesson, young scholars read his slave narrative and analyze its word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals. Learners...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: Slavery's Dehumanizing Effects
Learners analyze slavery and its effects on humanity using Frederick Douglass' autobiography. In this slavery instructional activity, students analyze instances of reality and romanticized myth using a slave narrative. Learners explore...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: The Reality behind the Song
Students study how Frederick Douglass uses language to describe a realistic picture of slavery in his writings which are primary source documents. They examine his use of word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals and use slave...