june 6 - 1856 - tf B.L. BOSTON.
Project Scenario: The wanted poster shown above is already being distributed on the streets, nailed to trees along the roadways and posted in towns throughout the South notifying the country of your escape. You left in the middle of the night. Your only plan was to follow the North Star. A Quaker who lived near the plantation gave you directions to a safe house or "station" on the mysterious Underground Railroad. After traveling all night through the woods, you reached the house. A candle in the window was your signal that it was safe to approach the house. The Quaker family hid you in a fake closet in their kitchen.
You are afraid to continue but terrified to go back. Where will you go on the underground railroad? What dangers might you face? Who is traveling with you? How will you know where to go? Who will help you? How will you know if it is safe to move on? Now, your journey begins.
Project Goals: Students will research the Underground Railroad and develop a route that could have taken a runaway to freedom in Canada. Students will build background knowledge using the biography Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad , a variety of folktales dealing with escape and the novels True North, The Safe House, and Slave Dancer. Students will create maps of their escape routes, and they will write diary entries recording their experiences during their journeys. The project will be evaluated using a rubric developed by the class.
- Pick a place of origin.
- Investigate how runaways traveled North on the Underground Railroad. Use all possible resources (books, articles, magazines, newspapers, internet)
- Develop your escape route to the North. Include at least 6 stops on your journey.
- Create a map tracking your journey North to Canada.
- Write a diary describing your adventures. Include at least 6 entries. In each entry describe specific events, people you meet, places you travel to and thoughts and feelings you have about your experiences.
A Place to Start:
Books
The Underground Railroad by Raymond Bial
Many Thousand Gone by Virginia Hamilton
The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton
Get on Board!: The Story of the Underground Railroad by Jim Haskins
Barefoot Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeannette Winter
Underground Railroad Records by William Still
Web Sites
General Reading
North Star - Walk to Canada to Anthony's walk
Underground Railroad National Register- intro., maps
the journey - a brief tripSite Locations and background information
The Underground Railroad sites in different states
Slavery's Past - local stories
Slave Narratives
American Memory Collection - slave narratives
Historical sites - sites in different states
Underground Railroad - intro., narratives, literature, music, maps
The Underground Railroad in Rochester, New York
Milton House Wisconsin
Levi Coffin House Indiana
Carneal House Northern Kentucky
Sites in Connecticut
Sites in New York
Sites in Delaware
Thomas Garrett abolotionist from Delaware
Sites in North Carolina
Sites in Canada
Sites in Vermont
Directory with the names of operators by state
Old Slave House Illinois
Routes in Northeastern New York
Sites in Southeastern Ohio
Sites in New York