Underground Railroad

Here is a list of books and websites that are good to use when teaching or learning about the Underground Railroad!

1. If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America by Anne Kamma and Pamela Johnson
This book would be for readers 3rd to 5th grades. There are many questions about what slavery was about and what it was like for the slaves to go through. Students can read this if they are interested in the living conditions and what the children did as slaves for fun, if anything at all.

2. Free!: Great Escapes from Slavery on the Underground Railroad by Lorene Cary
This book should be read by grades 5th or 6th. Given are accounts of slaves who decided they would no longer stand for the terrible state that they lived and chose to take part in the escape to the north and begin a passage on the Underground Railroad. The stories are based on newspaper articles, diaries, and even stories told down.

3. My America: Freedom's Wings: Corey's Underground Railroad Diary, Book One by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
For students who are in 4th to 6th grade, this story is about a slave named Corey, who follows his dad North to freedom. He keeps a diary hidden while he lives on the farm, as he secretly learned how to read and write, then he continues his writing as he travels the Underground Railroad. Very good book for students to read from a slave’s point of view traveling on the Underground Railroad.

4. Escape From Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom by Doreen Rappaport
This book would be good for readers in 5th or 6th grade. There are five stories of slaves who find their way North to freedom by very different ways. Although the stories have been rewritten, they are all based on actual accounts of slaves who followed the Underground Railroad. Good source to use for primary source reading.

5. Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Harriet Tubman
This book is based on the research done about Harriet Tubman, who was a very courageous leader of the Underground Railroad. This book would be for 5th or 6th graders who want to read about a famous individual who was a leader and ran the Underground Railroad.

6. http://www.the-ugrr.org/index.asp
This site was very informative and I found myself lost for a long time reading through all of the sources. This would be great for kids to look at with their parents, as there are three different paths that you can follow and read about.

7. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/j2.html
This website is very cool. As you read the first page, you begin a journey as a fugitive slave seeking freedom in the North! You travel through the east coast states and see bigger cities every time you stop. It is very dangerous, but you are forced to decide whether or not you trust a safe house or want to cross a river. Students will have to see if they would have made the right decisions. This site is not too complex, but still an engaging, short activity for them.

8. http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/undergroundrailroad.html
This site is a good source for me as a teacher, as it lists many good activities do with students during black history month or while teaching the Underground Railroad. There are also lesson plans available here to get ideas. The video clips and pictures may come in handy at times.

9. By Freedom’s Light by Elizabeth O’Maley
This book brings about a very important part of the slavery time period. The decision to become an active abolitionist was very difficult, for the consequences of being caught helping slaves were severe. This book goes through a 13 year old girl’s decision making of whether she wants to change her views on slavery when she befriends a slave.

Family Artifacts

How many times have you really sat down to think about what you have? Or maybe what kinds of things you would choose to represent you, your family, your values. It is hard to find objects, at times, to really show the love or caring that is important in your life. For our E325, we were asked to find 5 objects to represent us in these ways. I know that personally, there were a few items that were easy for me to want to bring to represent myself, but what about representing love, or friendship, or how to trully represent your religion, or culture. Our teacher was nice enough to take pictures of all the objects that we brought in to class. Looking over these objects, you can tell a lot about a person, but what is more intriguing is looking at the objects and wondering what story they might have. I suggest that this is a very good activity to do to learn more about your studetns, but also a way for them to find some identity. Thank you Mrs. Bontrager for this great lesson!