The underground railroad was a secret network of safe houses and people who helped slaves to freedom. Essay on the underground railroad 1801 words bartleby. Critical reading, writing historical fiction, decodingword identification, for a wealth of student activities and resources about the underground railroad, see. One church in new york city was a famous stop on the underground railroad with its many secret tunnels. Presented from a firstperson perspective, the learning experience immerses students in the action as they escape from a southern plantation and head north toward freedom.
The story of the secret quilt code began with a book called hidden in plain view. Book fairs scholastic education classroom magazines. It is similarly difficult to determine just how many americans participated in the underground railroad. The underground railroad was what many slaves used to escape slavery.
If you lived when there was slavery in america by anne kamma, published by scholastic inc. Follow a slave named walter on his quest for freedom along the underground railroad. The underground railroad is a great story in american history. Use the scope article escape from slavery about harriet tubman as a model. In this book, the underground railroad is just that. All activities underground railroad student activity.
Navigate the journey from slavery to freedom with 25 projects build it yourself. Curriculum connections for the resources and activities on this page include. The underground railroad provided hiding places, food, and often transportation for the fugitives who were trying to escape slavery. The underground railroad includes miles of real stories of passengers, conductors, and abolitionistswellknown and unknownthat traveled on the slavery escape route known as the underground railroad. Use this minibook about a family escaping from slavery to introduce the genre of historical fiction to your classroom. Worse, her own brother, bert, and a childhood friend, have become conductors, helping slaves escape into canada. But he failed to take into account the large numbers of. This teaching guide supports the underground railroad. It was known as a railroad by way of the use of rail terminology in the code. The underground railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, and assistance provided by abolitionist sympathizers.
Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Born a slave, douglass wants to learn to read more than anything. An easytoread, pageturning account of harriet tubmans life, from her childhood in slavery to her years as a conductor on the underground railroad to her later work as a suffragette and as a spy in the civil war. But its focus is on the early experiences that made frederick douglass into a great american hero. In the myths of the underground railroad reading activity, scholastic first explains the difference between. This play tells the story of frederick douglasss childhood, and his eventual escape from slavery to freedom. Underground railroad traces the terrible wounds of slavery.
Using this online interactivity, step back to 1860 and experience life as a young slave as he flees a kentucky plantation for a long and dangerous journey to canada. Students will travel back to the year 1860 and follow a young. The escape network was not underground, nor was it a railroad. Underground railroad traces the terrible wounds of slavery the underground railroad is a literal train running underground in colson whiteheads new novel, which follows escaped slave cora. Escape from slavery excellent interactive story with audio option for the younger kids. Harriet tubman led more than 300 people from slavery to freedom in the mid1800s. They are nearly caught by a group of white hog hunters. Great for social studies unit or black history month. Below are some learning resources to discover more on this period teach your kids about the underground railroad read more. Plus, in each book, an american girl historical character shares a bit of her own fictional story. The underground railroad was an informal network of aide and assistance for those who would escape the bondage of slavery and seek freedom. This webpage provides an explanation to words and terms used during the. Critical reading, writing historical fiction, decodingword identification.
In fact, most people who helped escaping slaves were free blacks or escaped slaves. Escape from slavery narrative nonfiction scholastic. The underground railroad is an american masterpiece, as much a searing document of a cruel history as a uniquely brilliant work of fiction. Background builder on the underground railroad grade 2. Its first historian, wilbur siebert, in his seminal 1898 work the underground railroad from slavery to freedom, identified some 3,000 individuals by name, nearly all of them white men. The underground railroad tells a disturbingly real story. The underground railroad tells a disturbingly real story of slavery novelist colson whitehead depicts the perversions and horrors of slavery in 19thcentury america through the story of the. Underground railroad operator sydney howard gays meticulous guestbook reveals how and why enslaved men and women risked everything to escape north. Includes teachers guides, curriculum connections, and classroom activities. This book tells you what it was like to be a slave trying to escape to freedom on the underground railroad. It operated before the civil war 18611865 ended slavery in the united states.
Underground railroad civil war on the western border. She returned two years later to help some of her relatives escape. Write a work of narrative nonfiction about that person. Dive into the latest pick for oprahs book club with these questions about colson whiteheads breathtaking novel. The interactive slideshow with audio lets students read a short article at each stop. Activities for teachers underground railroad terminology. My daddy slip and get a webster book and then he take it out in the field and he learn to read. Slavery, underground railroad, abolitionists and harriet tubman, civil war. The white folks afraid to let the children learn anything. The escape of the slaves from the southern states was a dangerous journey as they headed north on the underground railroad a secret network of people who opposed slavery and helped the fugitives make their way to canada, where they could live free. The underground railroad is a choose your own learning experience that allows students to make a series of choices that affect their journey along the underground railroad.
This story follows one familys escape from slavery along the underground railroad, and is based on the classic american folk song of the same name. Even so, she will not waver from her belief that anyone. Throughout the 1850s she made at least a dozen journeys back to the south and helped at least 150 slaves escape. It was not an actual railroad, although it could easily be compared to one. Life on the plantation underground railroad student. Born a slave in maryland, tubman escaped captivity at the age of 25. The underground railroad teaching guide scholastic. Lovey is captured, and cora kills a white boy in order to escape. Then slavery became illegal everywhere in the united states. Besides the underground railroad made famous by american history, other such systems have offered similar services.
A prominent figure associated with the underground railroad was harriet tubman, who escaped from slavery in maryland in the late 1840s. Slideshows of important themes in american history with images and audio. After you and your students read this gripping article, your students can further explore the history of slavery in the united states, the life of harriet tubman, and the underground railroad through the resources weve curated below. Today many places that were stops on the underground railroad still exist. Pathways to freedom about the underground railroad. The underground railroad was a secret network organized by people who helped men, women, and children escape from slavery to freedom. Scopes february nonfiction feature escape from slavery tells the incredible true story of harriet tubman. Includes posting on a bulletin board, writing a secret letter, a harriet tubman web hunt, and a mapping activity. Follow a runaway slave to freedom along the underground railroad in 1860. It illustrates how those escaping to freedom would follow natural signs like constellations to find their way to the north.
This interactive photo slideshow includes images and audio to follow along in the classroom. The escape network was not literally underground nor a railroad. This remarkable true story brings to life one of americas greatest female role models. The underground railroad essential civil war curriculum. Escape in the night printable minibooks scholastic. Escape from slavery online activity presents an accurate and personal view of the brutal practice of slavery, a concept that may be difficult for young students.
Escape from slavery activity grades 412, students travel back to 1860 to follow a young slave as he flees a kentucky plantation for canada along the underground railroad. Students explore the history behind slavery in america and learn what life was like for people living without freedom. She returned to the south 19 times to help other slaves flee to the north. How did she discourage slaves who wanted to turn back. For other resources and activities on the underground railroad, see all. Freedom crossing by margaret goff clark scholastic. This book explains what the underground railroad was, what it was like to be a slave, and describes the hardships faced by slaves. Research another person who worked on the underground railroad. Meet fannie moore, who was born a slave in south carolina in 1849. Visit scholastic, the worlds largest childrens book publisher. With this interactive slideshow, students follow the path of a slave in 1860 as he travels the underground railroad to freedom. This free selfpaced middlegrade webquest accompanies scholastic s wonderful interactive website simulation the underground railroad.
The underground railroad was a network of people, african american as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves from the south. The questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of the underground railroad, a triumph of a novel by colson whitehead. Continue reading walters story on the left, but dont forget to push the down arrow to read it all. Kindergarten 3rd grade readers the underground railroad. By including students in a hands up if you agree this is true format, students will be interested in checking to see if what they think they kn. She has become the most famous conductor of the underground railroad. Now that everyone was free, people didnt need to use the underground railroad anymore. Michael schaub, npr far and away the most anticipated literary novel of the year, the underground railroad marks a new triumph for whiteheada book that resonates with deep emotional timbre.
The two run away in the middle of the night and are unexpectedly joined by a young girl named lovey. None of the slaves have any learning, was never allowed to as much as pick up a piece of paper. Whether you need a classic kids book or classroomproven teaching materials, discover it at scholastic. Do a thinkfinity search for lessons related to this book. Learn about slavery and the underground railroad with homeschool curriculum, books, and resources to help you teach history effectively and in a way students will enjoy. This fantastic interactive from scholastic will allow your child to travel back to 1860 and follow a young slave as he flees a kentucky plantation for canada along the underground railroad.
It was a route, with safe houses and many other hiding spots for the slaves to use. The rr is a secret network of hiding places and brave people. Although scholastic offers teacher resources on the web. Those involved in the underground railroad used code words to maintain anonymity. The total number of runaways who used the underground railroad to escape to freedom is not known, but some estimates exceed 100,000 freed slaves during the antebellum period.
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