Teacher materials needed:
 *Copy of Sheridan Ford’s story (available on the web at http://education.ucdavis.edu/new/stc/lesson/socstud/railroad/Ford.htm)
  *Small star stickers and markers
  *Student materials
 

Student materials needed:
  *Map of the United States
  *A computer with Internet access
  *Research organizer
  *A partner!

My goals for this lesson:
  *For students to understand the trials and tribulations that slaves experienced over the decision to flee and the
    conflicts they experienced during their journey to freedom.
  *To help students become familiar with the geography of the Underground Railroad.
  *To allow students to practice navigating the web.
  *To help students find useful information on the web.
  *To compare and contrast their findings with the events that occur in the book, Bright Freedom’s Song by Gloria    Houston

Related NC Standard Course of Study Goals/Objectives:
1.1 Identify, locate, and describe major groups of people, past and present, in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
2.3 Analyze economic, social, and political situations, which involve ethical and    moral dilemmas.
3.2 Analyze the impact of the absolute and relative location of places on ways of living in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
6.1 Analyze the movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among the countries of the United States, Canada, and Latin America and between the Western
Hemisphere and other places.
12.1 Identify people, symbols, and events associated with the heritage of the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
12.2 Associate an event or phenomenon in the history of the United States, Canada, and Latin America with a current situation or practice.
12.3 Trace an economic, political, or social development through the history of the United States, Canada, or Latin America and judge its impact on society.
 

Launch
Begin by reviewing what is occurring in the book, Bright Freedom’s Song by Gloria Houston. What do we know about slaves so far? How did they live? How do we know? How did they travel on the Underground Railroad? Where did they go? Write ideas and answers on the board. Read Sheridan Ford’s story of escaping on the Underground Railroad. What are some of the events that would happen to you if you were a slave on the Underground Railroad? What states would you travel through? Explain to students that they are going to take the journey! Partner the students or allow them to choose their own partner. Each pair needs a map of the United States, access to an atlas, a computer with Internet access, and a journal sheet. Instruct students to find a computer and access the following website: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html. (To save time, the page could be pre-loaded.)

Explore
Students should begin the journey on National Geographic’s web page and write down the information that they encounter along the way using their map and journal sheet. Encourage students to look closely at all of the pictures, go back and make the opposite decision, and think about why they would make the decision that they did. Partners should discuss their findings together, but both should write their results on their journal sheet. Use star stickers and markers to trace their path along the Underground Railroad. Encourage students to explore the various links that the site has and record their findings on their journal sheet.

Summarize
With the entire class, discuss what the students found. Some questions may include:
  *What route did you take?
  *What were some problems that you came across?
  *Who helped you?
  *What would be the hardest part of escaping? Escaping from your master? Getting from safe haven to safe
    haven?
  *What were some of the ways that slaves traveled from place to place?
  *Do you think slaves were completely free once they reached Canada? Why or why not?
  *How did you find this information on your “journey”?
  *What information did you find that was similar to the events in Bright Freedom’s Song? Why? What information
    was different? Why?
  *Did you find anything else on the web that was helpful?
  *Did working in pairs help in your journey to freedom?
 
 
 

Assessment

During their virtual “journey”, I will look for:
  *The ability to navigate the web
  *Individual ideas about important decisions regarding the journey to freedom
  *Problem solving strategies
  *The ability to find useful information on the web

As part of their assessment, students will be asked to write a journal entry from a runaway slave’s point-of-view using the information that they found on the web. Students must be able to support their journal entries with the information that t
 
 

Name______________
Partner______________

Screen                                 Where are you?         Who is there?         What happened?         Other Important Stuff
1. You are a slave
 
 

2. Moses is Coming
 
 

3. Stealing Away
 
 

4. Fearful Choice
 
 

5. Safe Station
 
 

6. Strange New World
 
 

7. Breathing Free
 
 

8. Near the Border
 
 

9. Frightening Frontier
 
 

10. The Promised Land