What Was the Underground Railroad?

Name______Period______

Task #1-

What Was the Underground Railroad?

We are going to follow a journey on the Underground Railroad. Within your clusters, as a group, discuss and create a Google Doc/quick answer sheet to the following questions recording what you all “think” is the correct answers to the questions without outside knowledge.

The following questions could help spark discussion:

·  What was the Underground Railroad?

·  Who traveled on the Underground Railroad?

·  Where did people travel from and to on the Underground Railroad?

·  When did people travel on the Underground Railroad? Why did it end?

·  Why do you think it was called the "Underground Railroad"?

TASK # 2- Understand What the Underground Railroad Was & Take a Trip On the Underground Railroad

It is important to understand that the Underground Railroad was neither underground nor was it a real railroad. Instead, it was a loose network of routes, hiding places, and people who helped enslaved African Americans escape to from southern states to freedom. Some slaves settled in the northern "free" states, but many kept traveling north to Canada. It was in "operation" through the 1800s until the end of the Civil War in 1865 when slavery was abolished. The term "underground" refers to the secret nature of the network, since anyone caught escaping or helping runaways was in great danger. The system was called a "railroad" because many railroads were spreading across the nation during this period.

BEFORE YOUR JOURNEY:

What do you think would be the hardest part of being on the Underground Railroad?

Task #3- Virtual Tour:

In groups of two or three (depending on how many devices we have), get an iPad or Laptop. As a group you will be tracing the footsteps of someone on the Underground Railroad on their quest for freedom.

IMPORTANT- If you have an iPad you must use PUFFIN

Website:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/Bhistory/underground_railroad/plantation.htm

There will be FOUR stages of the journey:

1-  On the Plantation

2-  Escape

3-  Reaching Safety

4-  Reaching Freedom

Part 1- For each phase you are going to click on all of information stations and listen to the story/information with visuals being shared.

Part 2- Written Activity- click on the paper/pen icon and complete the written activity for each stage of the journey. This can be done collaboratively BUT everyone must write out there responses themselves and hand them in.

Task #4- Tell Your Story- Reflection Journal

You are going to become the runaway slave that gained his/her freedom on the Underground Railroad. Use “Tell the Story” as you do this as a resource, but do not only add in the points in this prompt….if you have other ideas and details please include them in your assignment. The format of this writing assignment will be a Journal….you will need at least THREE entries spanning across your long journey. Each entry should be three paragraphs. Use the grading rubric as a guide as you are writing your reflection journal. Create your written entries on a Google Doc and submit it to the Google Assignment Folder for 8th grade social studies that was shared with you.