Student Activities Page
Preliminary Instructions
Before the lst day's activity, divide yourselves into groups consisting of 2 or 3 people. Your group will be required to discover information about each person, or occupation, listed below. The info that is gathered will be used in an Underground Railroad Role-Play presentation on the 4th day of this module. It will also be used in the writing of an imaginative, factual Underground Railroad Journal entry that you'll read to the class on Day 5. On Day 4, (a) pre-determined member(s) of each group will assume the role of the person or occupation that was researched. The group's findings will be shared with the class in a 3-7 minute presentation. A related, attractive, colorful audio and/or visual is required.
Be sure to address each question or item listed for your person or occupation. However, if you discover something of interest that you'd like to share, please include that in your presentation. Use the Presentation Rubric link at the bottom of the page, to prepare your material and to as a means to know the activity's evaluation criteria.
RUNAWAY SLAVE or PASSENGER EXPLAIN REASONS FOR RUNNING AWAY-WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A "PASSENGER" ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD? WHERE DO YOU EXPECT TO GO NOW? WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS, FEARS? WHO HELPS YOU? DO YOU TRUST THEM? COULD YOU MAKE THE JOURNEY ON YOUR OWN? WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE CAUGHT? THEN LEAD THE GROUP ON THE JOURNEY TO FREEDOM BY INTRODUCING EACH OF THE PEOPLE (LISTED BELOW) WHO YOU ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE WAY TO FREEDOM.
SLAVE OWNER-YOU HAVE HIRED AN ATTORNIES, SLAVE CATCHERS AND NOTIFIED BOUNTY HUNTERS TO RECLAIM THE RUNAWAY. WHY? WHY DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO DO SO? WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SLAVES? ABOUT FREE BLACKS? WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?
CONDUCTOR-PROVIDE DETAILS OF YOUR JOB. WHAT OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE YOU MADE? DANGERS EXPERIENCED? WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO WORK IN THIS CAPACITY? WHAT IS YOUR SEX, RACE? NOTABLE PASSENGERS? WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE CAUGHT? HAVE YOU EVER LOST PASSENGERS? HOW? CONSEQUENCES OF THE LOSS FOR YOU, FOR YOUR PASSENGERS?
SAFE STATION or SAFE HOUSE OWNER-USE CONDUCTOR'S NOTES.
BOUNTY HUNTER and/or SLAVE CATCHER-PROVIDE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR JOB? WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO DO THIS KIND OF WORK? WHAT IS YOUR SEX, RACE? WHAT IS YOUR PAY? EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND? DO YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO "WORK" THROUGHOUT THE U.S.? CANADA/MEXICO (WHY/WHY NOT)? WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST CONCERNS/FEARS? WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT SLAVES? FREE BLACKS? WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY?
2 ATTORNIES -WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR SLAVERY IN THE U.S.? WAS IT LEGAL THROUGHOUT THE STATES?-EXPLAIN. BE SURE TO EXPLAIN THE LAWS LISTED IN THE GLOSSARY. WHAT LEGAL RIGHTS DO SLAVES HAVE (on the national level/in Southern states/Northern states)? LIST 4. IF RIGHTS WERE DENIED, TELL WHY.
CARPENTER-TELL ABOUT SOME OF THE CREATIVE ADAPTATIONS THAT YOU DEVELOPED TO HIDE AND TRANSPORT RUNAWAYS. TELL ABOUT 5 OF YOUR BEST CREATIONS AND THE PEOPLE WHO USED THEM.
MAROON-WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHY/HOW DID YOU SETTLE THERE? PROVIDE DETAILS ON YOUR LIFESTYLE AND WHERE YOU LIVE.
SONG WRITER-YOU HAVE WRITTEN THE SONGS, STEAL AWAY TO JESUS, SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT AND FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD. YOU MAY BRING IN RECORDINGS (OR SING THE SONGS) AND PROVIDE COPIES OF THE LYRICS, WHICH CLASSMATES COULD READ THE DAY BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION. AFTER YOUR CLASSMATES READ YOUR LYRICS, LEAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE "HIDDEN" MESSAGES. WHAT HIDDEN MESSAGE DOES EACH SONG CONVEY? WHAT CONSTELLATION IS REFERRED TO IN DRINKING GOURD? ARE TODAY'S SONGS CODED?-GIVE EXAMPLES FOR COMPARISON. WHEN, HOW, WHERE, WHY WOULD TODAY'S SONGS BE SUNG?
SEAMSTRESS-YOU HAVE CREATED QUILT PATTERNS THAT CONVEY MESSAGES TO ILLITERATE SLAVES. SHOW AND TELL ABOUT YOUR PATTERNS. WHAT ARE THE MESSAGES OF THE PATTERNS? HOW WERE THEY MADE AND DISPLAYED TO CONVEY MESSAGES? WHICH PATTERNS WERE MOST POPULAR? WHO FIRST THOUGHT OF USING PATTERNS TO CONVEY MESSAGES IN THIS WAY?
EXTRA CREDIT-5 points- Research the Northern or Southern point of view in regards to slavery in the U.S. during the mid 1800's. Offer (an) argument(s) reflecting the Northern point of view or Southern point of view in regards to slavery. . Did the UGRR contribute to the start of the Civil War? Provide details to support your point. Document your information. Limit-one page. DUE ON DAY 5.
GRADES FOR THIS MODULE
Each activity counts for 14% of the grade. Students involved in the UGRR role play presentation will earn an additonal 2 percentage points for their efforts.
SOURCES MUST BE CITED
Underground Railroad Lessons
Your teacher will ask a series of informal, generic questions to determine your knowledge of the Underground Railroad.
As part of the overview for the week's activities, terms and definitions from the Underground Railroad Glossary will be introduced by your teacher. At that time, you may incorporate the definitions in your notebook and/or write them at your convenience. You must have a working knowledge of the terms to safely travel the Underground Railroad by passing an online quiz and completing required assignments. The definitions should be completed and an online quiz will be given on Day 3. Both are to be included in your Underground Railroad Journal which will contain all assignments related to the Underground Railroad. View the Journal Rubric to understand the criteria for evaluation.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD GLOSSARY-Underground Railroad, runaway, passenger, conductor, Safe Station, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), abolitionist, extradite, Fugitive Slave Law 1793, Fugitive Slave Act 1850, emancipation, fugitive, clandestine, Vigilance Committees, Compromise of 1850, bondage, chattel, maroon colonies, overseer, patroller, signal songs, plantation, slave catcher
After the the teacher's introduction, you should visit the Slave Narratives site at:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/index.html
Read the introductory page to gather background information on the U. S. government's project which led to the compilation of the Slave Narratives and read the summaries of selected slaves' experiences. Decide which person you'd like to know more about. Read the personal account of the slave you selected and answer questions from the SLAVE NARRATIVES WORKSHEET about that individual. Each narrative contains different information so you may not find answers to all of the questions on the worksheet. Be prepared to discuss your findings and share your thoughts/feelings about the selection with the class tomorrow.
SLAVE NARRATIVES WORKSHEET
1. Slave's name _______________________________________________________
2. Slave's birthdate/age__________________________________________________
4. Parents ___________________________________________________________
3. Place of birth________________________________________________________
4. Where did the slave live at the time of the interview?__________________________
5. Was the slave separated from his/her parents and siblings at an early age? ___________If yes, were they ever reunited? ____________
6. During the time of enslavement, did the slave how more than one owner?__________
7. Did the slave ever runaway?_________ Captured?__________ Escaped? ________
8. What do you consider the worst aspect of slavery mentioned in your selection? Tell why you believe that to be the worst aspect. _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
10. Provide a one paragraph summary of the federal project that enabled the collection of the Slave Narratives.____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
BASED UPON YOUR SELECTION, COMPLETE THE CHART
What kind of work did the slave do? What were the working conditions, hours, pay, etc. Could the slave read and write? Was the slave allowed to live with spouse, children or other family members? Were there any special slave rights? List 3 Which laws provided the legal basis for slavery in the US? Outside research may be required. Describe the slave's living conditions? Was there leisure time? List one or two leisure activities. How were slaves generally treated by whites? What foods were part of a slave's diet? When and how did the slave become free? What thoughts did the slave have about freedom after being freed? What was your opinion/impression of the slave's experience or slavery in general?
Information from the Slave Narratives worksheets will be covered. Your teacher may use an overhead projector to list elicited information or a student volunteer could record responses about the site on the chalkboard. A discussion of common or unusual characteristics discovered at the site should follow. On the reverse side of the Slave Narrative Worksheet, make a copy of the list of responses and take notes on the discussion.
Using the worksheet, other written material will be generated and included in the Underground Railroad Journal. All written work related to the module should be put in the Journal. The Journal Rubric should be used as a guide in constructing the journal. It will be used in the evaluation process.
Homework: View the Underground Railroad route sites. On a map of North America, provided by the teacher, indicate directions, slave and free states and indicate at least 10 Underground Railroad "stations" between Mexico and Canada. Be sure to include 3 stations in, or near, Illinois. Establish a key for your map and a scale which could be used to calculate each route's distance.
Continue working on definitions and be reminded that items from the Glossary will be included in tomorrow's online quiz.
Visit the National Geographic Underground Railroad website at:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html and one other UGRR site to gather additional information about the UGRR.
Enter and follow the directions to ride the National Geographic's Underground Railroad. Keeping thoughts in mind from the Slave Narrative site, while navigating the site, consider which course of action you should take and be prepared to tell why. Make note of ALL (Yes/No) possible experiences along the way.
For your second site, you may view one of the UGRR sites listed in the reference section or you may conduct an independent search to find one of your own. You will need accurate information to take an online quiz about the UGRR experience. You MUST take the quiz, and pass with a minimum score of 80% before moving on to the next stop on your UGRR experience.
To take the online quiz, click here. A copy of successful results must be printed and turned in to the teacher who will record the grade and return the copy to you. The score sheet will be included in the Journal.
Your Journal must be submited tomorrow.
Take turns reading Journal entries to the class. Journals and Extra Credit will be collected today, evaluated, using the Rubric, and returned next week.
RUBRICS
You may find the following rubrics useful in preparing your journal and for your evaluation. Your teacher will use them as guides to evaluate your work.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD JOURNAL RUBRIC
Name_____________________________
Date______________________________
Project Description: 4=Great 3=Good 2=Okay 1=Fair 0=Poor (no itinerary submitted)
4...This journal is well organized, highly detailed and descriptive. The presentation of the material is dramatically appealing and enhances the reader's comprehension of the imaginary travel back in time. The use of at least four web sites evident. It includes an excellent representation of that time period. The project over all has a polished appearance. The journal showed clear knowledge of the module.
3...This journal is organized and descriptive. It is appealing and loosely keeps the reader's comprehension of their journey. The use of at least two web sites is
evident. It includes a few representations of that time period, however some crucial information of that time period is missing. The project's appearance needs improvement. The presentation showed some knowledge of the unit.
2... This journal shows some evidence of organization. But dates are missing/out of order.There are clear problems with the organization and insufficient description. There is little evidence of the use of web sites. The project was poorly organized.Very few representations of that time period. Missing too much information of that time period is missing.The project has an unfinished appearance. The presentation showed little knowledge of the unit.
1...This journal is poorly organized and not accurate. There is no evidence of the use of web based research tools. The journey back in time was not clearly stated. The presentation was poor with little effort put forth.
0...The student did not submit a journal.
REFERENCE
http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/contents.htm
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/map.htm
http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/images/map16.gif