Underground Railroad Integrative Unit
Social Studies and Language Arts
By Angie Vivatson
Objectives:
Students will participate in a number of written and oral classroom activities to
increase understanding of the Underground Railroad.
Students will complete at least three projects to demonstrate their understanding of
the Underground Railroad.
Standards: Minnesota English Language Proficiency Standards for English Language
Learners K-12:
Standard 1.2:The student will understand spoken English to participate in formal
(academic) contexts.
Standard 2.2: The student will produce spoken English appropriately to participate in
formal (academic) contexts.
Standard 3.2: The student will understand written English to participate in formal
(academic) contexts.
Standard 4.2: The student will produce written English appropriately to participate in
formal (academic) contexts.
Time Needed: Two weeks in both social studies and language arts classes.
Materials Needed:
UGRR Pre-test
UGRR KWL chart
America’s Story textbook
Ticket Out
“Follow the Drinking Gourd” in the High Point textbook, Level B
Additional print resources
Internet Access for research and “Virtual Underground Railroad”
Video: “Underground Railroad” produced by the History Channel
Video guide
“Virtual Underground Railroad” guide
US map, depicting states of the 1850s
Red and blue post it flags
Henry “Box” Brown and William and Ellen Craft escape stories
Fugitive Slave Law and Dred Scott decision information
UGRR Project Guide
UGRR Post-test
Day 1 Social Studies:
Pre-Assessment: Students will complete an Underground Railroad Pre-test.
Anticipatory Set: Students will complete the first two columns of the Underground
Railroad K-W-L chart by themselves, then share the information with two other
classmates, then share with the whole class to create a detailed K-W-L chart listing
what they already know and what they what to learn about the Underground Railroad.
Input: Students read information in the America’s Story textbook about slavery and the
Underground Railroad with a partner or small group.
Check for Understanding: Students complete a “ticket out” listing three things that
they read about that they would like to discuss in detail tomorrow.
Day 1 Language Arts:
Anticipatory Set and Input: Students will listen to a song called, “Follow the Drinking
Gourd” and read information about hidden messages that helped slaves escape to the
North and to freedom. The information is in the High Point textbook.
Check for Understanding: Teacher verbally asks the class what certain symbols
mean: Old Man, Drinking Gourd, etc. The class create a chart, or key with information.
Guided Practice: Teacher and students create a class song with a secret message.
Closure: Recite the song lyrics together
Independent Practice: Students are to write song lyrics with a secret message for
tomorrow.
Day 2 and 3 Social Studies:
Anticipatory Set: Students share their three items that they want to discuss. They will
try to identify one person who has at least one of the same topics that they do. Those
students will form a group.
Input: Students will use print resources in order to research the specific topic for each
group.
Modeling: Teacher will explain the task and give a short demonstration. Students will
gather information and compile at least ten facts that they learned about their specific
questions using the resources in class. Together, they will create a mini presentation to
share those ten facts with the rest of the class. The presentation should include visuals
for each fact.
Check for Understanding: Teacher will meet with each group to make sure that they
have identified a topic and that they have appropriate resources in order to find their
information.
Closure: Students will present their ten facts at the end of day 3.
Day 2 and 3 Language Arts:
Anticipatory Set: Students read their song lyrics and the other students try to guess
what the secret message of each song is.
Input: Students watch a video about the Underground Railroad highlighting important
people, places, and events.
Check for Understanding: Students fill out a video guide while watching the video.
Closure: Teacher and students go over the video guide together to check for
understanding of the information in the video.
Independent Practice: Students write a journal entry about how their lives would be
different if they were slaves in the 1830s – 1860s. They should include at least five
examples.
Day 4 Social Studies:
Anticipatory Set: Students are each given a red or blue Post-It flag. As a class, they
will look at a current US map and put small red flags on each state that was a slave
state and blue flags on each state that was a free state.
Input: Students use the maps in the text book as well as other resources to check their
answers and make any corrections.
Modeling: Teacher shows students examples of different maps, pointing out their map
keys. Using a blank US map, students will create a map key, identifying free states and
slave states. They will use the information in their text books, other resources, and the
map they just labeled as a class to each create their own version of that map, labeling
each state. Together, the teacher and students look at land features to decide the best
way for a slave to escape from the South.
Check for Understanding: Teacher gives each student the name of a city in the South
and asks students to add it to their maps, marking an escape route from their particular
cities. Teacher circulates around the room, looking at the maps that the students are
creating and offers help when needed.
Independent Practice: Students will complete the maps on their own for class
tomorrow and write a paragraph explaining how they escaped and why they chose the
route they did.
Day 4 Language Arts:
Anticipatory Set: Students share highlights from their journal entries.
Input: Students travel along the Virtual Underground Railroad in the computer lab.
Modeling: Teacher demonstrates how to find the correct web site, how to maneuver
around to each section, and how to fill in the corresponding worksheet.
Check for Understanding/ Independent Practice: Teacher circulates around the lab
while students are working to make sure they are on track.
Closure: Teacher asks students to share one thing that they learned today.
Day 5 Social Studies:
Anticipatory Set/ Check for Understanding: Students will share their maps and
escape routes in small groups, comparing their maps to other students’ maps. If they
feel they have everything correct, they turn them in. If they need to make corrections,
they do that and hand them in at the end of the hour.
Input/ Check for Understanding: Teacher and the students will discuss differences
between the North and the South in regards to slavery and the UGRR, creating a Venn
Diagram together.
Input: Students divide into four groups. Two groups read actual accounts of escaping
from slavery. One group will read about Henry “Box” Brown, and one will read about
William and Ellen Craft. The other two groups read about the Fugitive Slave Act and
the Dred Scott decision. Each group will interpret their documents in regards to slavery
and the UGRR.
Check for Understanding/ Group Practice: Teacher will circulate as students read.
Students will create a way to demonstrate their reading to the other groups. For
example, they could do a role play, they could draw pictures, or they could rewrite the
document into a form that’s easy to understand.
Closure: Students will present their information to the other group of students.
Day 5 Language Arts:
Anticipatory Set: Students read articles from the Liberator in groups and discuss what
the articles mean.
Input/ Check for Understanding: Teacher and students discuss the differences
between fact, fiction, and folklore, creating a T-chart with three columns. Students list
elements of the UGRR that they have learned about and decide if they are fact, fiction,
or folklore. Students brainstorm ideas about how to find out if information is fact, fiction,
or folklore.
Input: Teacher introduces the students to the final projects for the Underground
Railroad unit using the project guide.
Modeling: Teacher shows students examples of different projects and gives
expectations for each project. Teacher models how to find information for different
projects using the internet as well as print resources.
Check for Understanding: Teacher verbally asks students to repeat the information,
beginning with expectations and deadlines for projects, and going through research
procedures. Students write the deadlines in their planners.
Guided Practice: Teacher meets with students to help them select projects that they
would be interested in completing.
Days 6, 7, and 8 Social Studies and Language Arts:
Anticipatory Set: Teacher asks each student to share two projects that they will be
working on and how they will find the necessary information.
Independent Practice: Students will spend the two days researching information in
Language Arts in the media center and assembling their projects in Social Studies.
Day 9 Social Studies:
Checking for Understanding: Students take the Underground Railroad Post-test
Group project: Students create an area for the “Underground Railroad Museum”,
making a sign, and setting up display areas.
Day 9 Language Arts:
Presentations: Students will share two of their projects with the class. All projects will
be placed in the “Underground Railroad Museum” in the classroom. The projects will be
on display for a week.
Day 10 Social Studies:
Anticipatory Set: Students will be able to compare their pre-tests with their post-tests
to see how much they learned.
Checking for Understanding: As a class, we will fill in the final column of the K-W-L
chart to see if we answered all of our questions.
Day 10 Language Arts:
Browse the Museum: Students will have a chance to look at each of the projects in
detail and rate their favorite three projects. Teacher will have copies of crossword
puzzles for the students to try. They may also play the board games that their
classmates created.
Underground Railroad Pre-Test
Name
For each statement, circle yes or no. If you circle yes, fill in the blank with the
correct answer.
Statements Circle One
1. I know why it’s called the Underground Railroad. Yes or No
2. I can name at least three slave states. Yes or No
3. I can explain at least one method slaves used to help them escape. Yes or No
4. I know two ways that the UGRR was different in the North and the South.
Yes or No
5. I know what an abolitionist is. Yes or No
6. I know the name of at least one abolitionist. Yes or No
7. I know what could happen if slaves were caught escaping. Yes or No
8. I know where slaves could go for freedom and why that was safe. Yes or No
9. I know why slaves wanted to escape. Yes or No
10. I can name and explain at least one law that affected slavery. Yes or No
How many Yes? How many No?
Underground Railroad K-W-L Chart
What I already KNOW What I WANT to learn What I LEARNED
Your Lucky Ticket Your Lucky Ticket
Completing this information allows you to Completing this information allows you to
leave class and enjoy a homework-free leave class and enjoy a homework-free
evening: What are three things from evening: What are three things from
today’s lesson that you would like to discuss today’s lesson that you would like to discuss
in detail tomorrow? in detail tomorrow?
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
The Underground Railroad Video Guide
Name
1. The Underground Railroad was never really a railroad at all. Why then was it named
as such?
2. What is the symbolic meaning of its name?
3. Why is the Underground Railroad considered the first Civil Rights movement in
America?
4. Much of what people know about the Underground Railroad is a myth (not true).
What is the mythology of the Underground Railroad?
5. Why has its story evolved into mythology?
6. Why was it so much more difficult for female slaves to escape than male slaves?
7. Slaves knew the consequences of failing to escape, and the odds were against
them. Why were slaves so willing to risk their lives in escape attempts?
8. How and why did slavery become part of the American experience?
9. How was slavery an important part of American history?
10. In the early years of America, African-Americans who escaped were often helped by
Native Americans, and sometimes they became part of Native American society.
Why were Native Americans so willing to help African-Americans?
11. Recently, Fort Moosa, a long-lost, Free Black settlement was discovered. How do
historians know about Fort Moosa?
12. Slavery originally was legal in all thirteen colonies. Why did it become more popular
in the South than in the North?
13. Discuss the role of spiritual songs in African-American slave culture. How were
these spirituals much more than just songs?
14. Discuss some of the resources African-American slaves used to gain their freedom?
15. In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave act. What were the rules of this act?
16. How could this act hurt both escaped slaves and free Blacks?
17. What was one unplanned positive side effect of the Fugitive Slave Act?
18. Harriet Tubman, the woman famous for leading hundreds of slaves to freedom,
earned the name “Moses.” What is the symbolism of calling Harriet Tubman,
“Moses?”
19. In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Was Brown’s
raid a success? Why or why not?
Virtual Underground Railroad
Go to: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/ Name
The Journey: You are a slave!! Follow the Underground Railroad by reading each page
and making choices that would bring you closer to freedom. To begin, click on “Enter”.
1. What is Harriet Tubman’s nickname?
Follow Her!
2. What do you think the song, “Steal Away” really means?
Go to Camden, Delaware!
3. What does a lantern on a hitching post mean?
4. Will you approach the house? Yes or No (Circle one)
5. What happened because of your decision?
6. What is available to you at the safe station?
Go to Wilmington, Delaware!
7. Who do you meet in Wilmington?
8. What is special about him?
Go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!
9. Who do you meet in Philadelphia?
10. What is special about him?
Go to Rochester, New York!
11. How far have you traveled so far?
12. How does that make you feel?
Continue to Lake Erie!
13. What makes crossing Lake Erie difficult?
14. Will you cross? Yes or No (Circle one)
15. What happened?
16. How do you feel?
Go to the “Underground Railroad Contents” dropdown menu. Choose each of the
underlined topics and answer the questions using information from the pages.
Routes to Freedom: Answer the questions based on the information about the map.
1. How many miles would your trip be using today’s roads?
2. How long would that trip take a strong, healthy runaway?
3. How long could the trip have lasted for others?
Click on the red box to enlarge the map!
4. Write the names of four cities that the Underground Railroad passed through:
Timeline: Use the information listed on the timeline to answer the following questions.
1. Who first brought African slaves to the New World?
2. When did this happen?
3. What does Hereditary Slavery mean?
4. Who started the first abolitionist society?
5. When and where did it start?
6. Who proposed ending slavery in 1784?
7. What did the Fugitive Slave Act mean to runaway slaves?
8. What was banned in 1808?
9. What is the name of Frederick Douglass’s newspaper?
10. Why was that a good name for his newspaper?
11. When did Harriet Tubman escape from slavery?
12. What did the Dred Scott Decision mean for the future of blacks?
13. Who was president of the United States during the Civil War?
14. When did the Emancipation Proclamation begin and what did it mean for slaves?
15. Which amendment outlaws slavery in America?
Faces of Freedom: Click on four different faces of heroes of the Underground Railroad.
For each one, record information on the lines below:
1. Name: Born: Died:
Details about this person:
2. Name: Born: Died:
Details about this person:
3. Name: Born: Died:
Details about this person:
4. Name: Born: Died:
Details about this person:
Underground Railroad Projects
We learned about the Underground Railroad through songs,
stories, maps, a play, video clips, and internet exploration. We
studied Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and many others who
risked their lives for their own freedom as well as the freedom of
others. Now is your chance to show what you know!
Choose at least three (3) of the following projects to
demonstrate your knowledge of the Underground Railroad. Each
project has a possible point value. Your total points must add up
to at least 50.
*************************************************************************
1. Create a crossword puzzle using key vocabulary words. You must have at least
20 words with 20 clues to match. Please hand in a copy of the puzzle with the
clues as well as an answer key. 10 points
2. Create a timeline, listing at least 15 important events and the dates (years) of
each event, of one of the following: 20 points
a. Slavery b. Underground Railroad c. Harriet Tubman’s life
3. Research Vigilance Committees and describe what they did to help the UGRR in
a poster or PowerPoint presentation. 10 points
4. Write a poem or song that slaves could have sung that would give them clues
about how to escape to the North. You should make references to safe times,
places, and people. Also provide a key to the code words and phrases you used,
explaining what they meant. 20 points
5. Compare and contrast life in the North to life in the South during the time of
slavery using a graphic organizer, like a T-Chart, or Venn Diagram. 10 points
6. Have an imaginary interview with Harriet Tubman or another conductor on the
Underground Railroad. Write out at least 10 questions as well as what you think
she might answer. 10 points
7. Do a survey of at least 20 friends and/ or family members asking if they would
have tried to escape from slavery into freedom, given the dangers of getting
caught. You should give information about slavery as well as the dangers of
escaping, so they can make informed decisions. Record their answers and
present the information in a chart. 10 points
8. Map out a route from a southern city (with slavery) to a northern city (without
slavery). Figure out how many miles apart they are. Measure how far you can
walk in a certain amount of time and use that to calculate how long it would take
to walk the distance between the two cities. Explain your route, including
information about things that might cause difficulties, like crossing rivers,
finding safe places to sleep during the day, etc. 20 points
9. Research an element of the UGRR (songs, quilts, etc.) in order to determine if it
is fact, fiction, or folklore. Display your findings in a poster or PowerPoint
presentation. 20 points
10. Draw or paint a picture of a situation that you might have encountered on your
way North, escaping to freedom. Also include at least one paragraph explaining
your art work. 10 points
11. Make a pro/ con list for escaping to freedom. Your pro list would include good
reasons to escape. Your con list would include good reasons not to escape. At
the end, choose whether you would escape or not, based on your list. 10 points
12. Slaves weren’t allowed to read and write. Compare the importance of reading
and writing back then to the importance of reading and writing today. What are
some things that you wouldn’t be able to do because of your illiteracy in each
case? 10 points
13. Write at least five journal entries that Harriet Tubman might have written
during her time as a slave, as she escaped to the North, and throughout the
years that she was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Describe the
thoughts and feelings that she might have had at that time. 20 points
14. Write a play with at least two characters based on the Underground Railroad.
You should include dialogue about slavery and the Underground Railroad. The
characters can be based on real people, or they could be fictional. 20 points
15. Create a board game about the Underground Railroad. You will create the
board, and any pieces that you need to play the game. You will write clear
directions on how to play as well as the goal, or how a player would win, like
reaching the free states or Canada in the North. 20 points
16. Make an advertisement for the Underground Railroad. You should include
important information and use language and pictures that would be appealing to
a slave during that time, assuming they could read. 10 points
17. Create an abolitionist newspaper like the Liberator, including at least three
articles, at least two advertisements, and one letter to the editor. 20 points
18. Other: If you have another idea that you would like to use to express what you
learned about the Underground Railroad, contact your teacher to discuss your
options. Up to 20 points
I have chosen the following projects:
Project: Points
Project: Points
Project: Points
Project: Points
Project: Points
Total Points
I will choose my projects and Teacher’s signature:
discuss my plans with my teacher
by: Date:
These projects are due on
If you need any supplies or additional information in order to complete any project,
please contact your teacher as soon as possible.
Good Luck and Be Creative!!
Underground Railroad Post-Test
Name
For each statement, circle yes or no. If you circle yes, fill in the blank with the
correct answer.
Statements
1. I know why it’s called the Underground Railroad. Circle One
Yes or No
2. I can name at least three slave states.
Yes or No
3. I can explain at least one method slaves used to help them escape.
Yes or No
4. I know two ways that the UGRR was different in the North and the South.
Yes or No
5. I know what an abolitionist is.
Yes or No
6. I know the name of at least one abolitionist.
Yes or No
7. I know what could happen if slaves were caught escaping.
Yes or No
8. I know where slaves could go for freedom and why that was safe.
Yes or No
9. I know why slaves wanted to escape.
Yes or No
10. I can name and explain at least one law that affected slavery.
Yes or No
How many Yes? How many No?