Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad as an Act of Civil Disobedience

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students write an essay from rough draft to final copy about the Underground Railroad. Civil disobedience is researched from a variety of sources. There is a prewriting exercise that is included in the lesson. The whole writing process...
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Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read about Harriet Tubman and develop vocabulary lists.  For this Underground Railroad lesson, 4th graders find similarities and differences in primary and secondary sources, create a timeline and recognize important...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Landmarks of the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore Civil Rights by reading several books in class. For this Underground Railroad lesson, students discuss The Story of Henry Box Brown and identify the location and functionality of the Underground Railroad. Students answer...
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Landmarks of the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore Louisville, KY area Underground Railroad museums. In this Underground Railroad instructional activity, 8th graders read Day of Tears by Julius Lester as well as other listed articles. Students discover how the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in a literature circle after reading a book about the Underground Railroad. They discuss their selected book with their literature circle group, and complete a handout about their role in the circle. Students...
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Quilts of the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders work as a class to create a quilt mapping a route on the underground railroad. Each student create one quilt block using quilt symbols to contribute to the quilt.
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Journey on the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
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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Literature Focus Unit: Civil War

For Teachers 4th
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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Curated OER

Making the Connection With Quilts

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders engage in a lesson which integrates the study of the Underground Railroad in Indiana with a Language Arts unit on quilts. They write a book report on one of the quilt books read in class and design a quilt block for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman: An Informative and Impressionistic Look

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine artwork depicting Harriet Tubman. In this Harriet Tubman lesson, students review her life and how she impacted the Underground Railroad. Learners view impressionistic artwork showing her life. Students then create their...
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Look for Patterns: Quilts in Two Faith Ringgold Stories

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Author Faith Ringgold uses quilts to illustrate her books Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad. In this integrated trio of activities, young scholars read stories, identify and create patterns, and design quilt squares of...
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Curated OER

Quilting: The Story of the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore quilting. They read and discuss the book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. They research African American quilting traditions on the Internet and name three common qualities in quilts. They create a quilt...
Lesson Plan
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Spirituals

For Teachers 4th
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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Music: Follow the Drinking Gourd

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use movement to express a concept. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 4th graders listen to the book, Follow the Drinking Gourd, which demonstrates the types of 'communication' used by slaves traveling the Underground...
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Hidden in Plain View: History Standard Two and the Underground

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders create a quilt based on the Underground Railroad quilt code from the book Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad.
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Scrapbook of Freedom

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create a scrapbook using personal narratives and samples of artifacts to connect to maps of geographical locations of the Underground Rail Road. they describe at least one of the feelings a child slave might have had...
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Silent Signals

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discuss the frustrations of navigating the Underground Railroad and list the symbols and signs used to communicate on the Underground Railroad.
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Spirituals

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the significance in the Negro spirituals concerning the Underground Railroad. They explore the cultural, geographical, historical, physical, and Psychological aspects involved in the Underground Railroad
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Hidin' Out

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders draw three major Underground Railroad routes crossing Indiana on an outline map and include habitats and towns. They produce an oral history involving at least three natural habitats and one human habitat.
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Scrapbook of Freedom

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine what it was like for a child traveling in the Underground Railroad.
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There Were Many Paths to Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore the Underground Railroad in the history of Pennsylvania.
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Choose Your Own Adventure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate the historical underground railroad. They also access technology to conduct research and write stories with the railroad as part of the historical fiction. The cumulative assessment is the creation of a book that...
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Curated OER

Civil War: Women

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine the role of women during the Civil War investigating their roles as spies, soldiers, and nurses.
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Music-Follow the Drinking Gourd

For Teachers 4th
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.