1. Scholastic- The Underground Railroad, Escape from
Slavery.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/plantation.htm.
On this site here are five
different areas that the site covers. The areas are Beginning Journey, On the
Plantation, Escape, Reaching Safety, and Reaching Freedom. Each one of these
sections when clicked on follows the story of Walter who is a slave in Virginia.
When each section is selected, Walter reads his story out loud to the students.
There are pictures and important facts that can be clicked on to give more
information. There are sounds and pictures and in each section it tells the
story of how Walter escaped into slavery. It tells how he hid during the day,
how he received help, how he knew about safe houses, and what it was like for
him to receive slavery. While there is no evidence that the story is true, it
does provide a real life example for students.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
2. East Tennessee
PBS (2010). Slavery and the Making of America.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/teachers/virtual.html.
The
Students can create their own virtual museums exhibits for personal and
classroom use by using this site’s downloadable PowerPoint template. Students
and teachers can use the lesson plan What We Leave Behind for tips on how to
use the images already in the Virtual
Museum, find material
from local museums and communities, and add their own content creations.
Students create a virtual museum that can be use for presentations or study
guides that will provide important events and information related to slavery.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
3. University of Virginia (2008). American Slave
Narratives: An Online Anthology
http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHYPER/wpa/wpahome.html.
This
is a great representation of the real life stories from slaves. There is a
combination of slave narratives from actual slaves. Students can read the
narratives or a teacher can read them aloud. It is probably a good idea to read
them first because some of the can be graphic in details. The examples provided
give students a first hand look at the extreme conditions that slaves
experience while in America.
It helps students realize the severity of the issue.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
4.EdSITEment
(2009). Families in Bondage.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/families-bondage.
This
two-part lesson plan draws on letters written by African Americans in slavery
and by free blacks to loved ones still in bondage, singling out a few among the
many slave experiences to offer students a glimpse into slavery and its effects
on African American family life. In Part I, students examine the letters of
Hannah Valentine, an enslaved woman who lived on a Virginia plantation, drawing
information from them to diagram her own family circle and the network of
relationships to white society that defined her world. In part two, students
read letters from a fugitive slave to his wife who is still in slavery.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
5. National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center
http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/
During
the 1800s, estimates suggest that more than 100,000 enslaved people sought
freedom through the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is the
symbolic term given to the routes enslaved Black Americans took to gain their
freedom as they traveled, often as far as Canada
and Mexico.
Free Blacks, Whites, Native Americans and other slaves acted as conductors by
aiding fugitive slaves to their freedom. This 19th century freedom movement
challenged the way Americans viewed slavery and freedom. This site answers
questions and provides details that students would not learn through the
textbook.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
6.BrainPop on slavery
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/slavery/preview.weml
This
BrainPop is a great introduction to the issue of slavery. Tim and Moby will
help you understand the terrible institution of slavery from its beginnings in
ancient history up through the slavery of Africans in the United States.
You’ll learn about when the U.S.
slave trade started and why some colonies came to rely on slave labor. Find out
how the slave trade worked, what happened once slave ships landed in America
and the extent of suffering that slaves had to endure.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
7. BrainPop on the Underground Railroad.
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/undergroundrailroad/preview.weml
During
the years prior to the Civil War, tens of thousands of African-American slaves
won their freedom by heading north along the Underground Railroad. In this
BrainPop movie, Tim and Moby will tell you all about the treacherous journey
they took. You’ll learn the origin of the term Underground Railroad, and find
out why people called abolitionists risked jail time to help slaves escape.
You’ll learn about Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor in the history of
the railroad, and how something called the Fugitive Slave Law inflamed public
opinion against slavery.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
8.Nick
News - The Legacy of Slavery.
http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legacy-slavery-clip.html
This
25 minute video covers all ends of slavery in the United States. It talks about
important words such as the triangular trade route, conductors, safe house,
Underground Railroad, and the Civil War. It shows pictures and paintings that
have been created to depict the realism of slavery. Students will get a brief
and informative description of the reality that slaves lived them.
Age: Grade 2 and Up
9. History
Channel - Slavery and Civil War’s Greatest Myths.
http://www.history.com/topics/slavery/videos#civil-wars-greatest-myth
Slavery
and its legacy have shaped American history, from the Civil War to Reconstruction
in the 1860s and 1870s to the struggle over civil rights a century later. This
video covers when slavery begin to what slavery looks like today. It covers the
question of whether or not slavery still exists today. Students will get a
descriptive example of important events that shaped slavery. The myths of the
Civil War are covered from actual battles that defined slavery and whether or
not slaves could actually fight in the Civil War.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
10. History
Channel - Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
http://www.history.com/topics/slavery/videos#harriet-tubman-and-the-underground-railroad.
This
video from the History Channel covers the importance of Harriet Tubman and the
impact she had on the Underground Railroad. She led over 300 slaves to freedom
along the Underground Railroad. It covers how she escaped to slavery and how
she led family, friends, and strangers to freedom. It covers specific
strategies and secret communication strategies that were used in order to
remain in safety. There are specific examples from actual escaped slaves and
the journey they took to escape to freedom.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
11. Hamilton, V. Many
thousands gone: African Americans from slavery to freedom.
This book traces the history of
slavery in America. It tells the actual voices and stories of those who lived
it. The illustrations in the book are all black-and-white. It portrays the
stories’ power and makes the book a strong book to use in a classroom. There is
some graphic content in the book, but the material is suitable for 4th
grade. Students read real life examples of the struggle that slaves faced on a
daily basis. The combination of the reality and illustrations make this book
very powerful.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
12. Miller, W. Frederick Douglass: the last days of slavery.
This is a book based on the life of Frederick Douglass. It is
the beginning of Douglass's slave narrative. Reading this together with
students gives the teacher an opportunity to bring up the sensitive subject of
slavery and the language associated with it. It is a true story based on real
events that Douglass experienced. It would be helpful to show how a slave was
able to overcome slavery and become successful in life.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
13. Johnson, P. & Kamma, A. If
you lived when there was slavery in america
It is sometimes hard to imagine that a person in America could
be owned by another person. But from the time the colonies were settled in the
1600s until the end of the Civil War in 1865, millions of black people were
bought and sold like goods. The book answers a variety of different questions
that students may have concerning slavery. Where did the slaves come from?
Where did they live when they were brought to this country? What kind of work
did they do? With compassion and respect for the enslaved, this book answers
questions children might have about this era in American history.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
14. Turner, A. Nettie's Trip South
A big difference for this book is that it is a picture book, but
the content is geared towards intermediate grades. In a letter to her friend,
Nettie remembers her trip to the pre-Civil War South. The main idea that she
remembers in her letters is the slave auction where people were bought and sold
like sacks of flour. Nettie can't forget these images, and she can't help but
wonder what life would be like if she were a slave. A bonus of this book is that it is written from a child's perspective. Many of the readers'
observations may be similar to the characters' observations and the readers
connect with the characters and with the story.
Age: Grade 3 and Up
15. Nordan, R. The Secret Road.
This book is another book that is told
on the opposite side of slavery. Laura is a young girl who discovers her Quaker
aunt and uncle's home is a stop on the Underground Railroad. Along her journey
she charts a dangerous plan to accompany a pregnant slave to her husband and
freedom. This book is would be useful in the classroom because it is told from
a child’s perspective and covers the Underground Railroad. It shows how not all
white people were in support of slavery and there was help for the slaves.
Age: Grade 4 and Up
