The path to freedom: use these meaningful activities to help students begin to understand life on the Underground Railroad.

Do your students know that the Underground Railroad was not a railroad at all? Rather, it was a group of loosely organized paths and trails, used by enslaved African Americans traveling north. Slaves would travel these hidden routes hoping to reach northern states where they could gain their freedom. Along the way they hid indoors and out. Their "stations" were not only in basements, attics, hidden rooms, root cellars, and chimneys, but also in haystacks, caves, and empty barns. The Underground Railroad had no central leadership, but it functioned for almost 35 years. It stopped running in 1865, with the abolition of slavery.

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Using the Reproducible Sadly, many slaves never learned to read or write. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, is one of the few personal narratives available that details the courageous journey from slavery to freedom. Using the "My Escape From Slavery" Reproducible on page 60, have partners read excerpts of Harriet's story to each other. Preteach key vocabulary words from the passages, such as venomous, persecuted, and conveyed. After reading, encourage students to look up any other unfamiliar words. Talk through the discussion question. Then use this opportunity to introduce or reinforce a lesson on primary sources. What do we gain from hearing Harriet's story in her own words? To extend the activity, invite students to read the rest of the story or explore other personal narratives from the time period, such as those in Voices From Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives (Dover, 2000).

Codes and Quilts At stopping points along the Underground Railroad, known as stations, slaves could find food, shelter, or directions to their next destination. The men and women who ran these stations hung coded quilts that escaped slaves could use as guideposts. A quilt could mark a place to rest, a river crossing, or show which direction was north. Have students research these quilts at www.nsa.gov/docs/history/follow_the_drinking_gourd.htm Then invite them to design their own quilt squares. The squares can depict a coded message, a famous leader, or a scene from the Underground Railroad. Connect all of the squares to make a class quilt or bulletin board.

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Postage Stamp Honors Many leaders of the Underground Railroad are memorialized on United States postage stamps. Students may already know about "conductors" Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass, who all have their own stamps. Invite your students to research online (www.undergroundrailroad.org) to learn more about lesser-known figures such as Henry "Box" Brown, who had himself shipped from Richmond to Philadelphia in a packing crate. Encourage students to then design a postage stamp for one of these heroic men and women. As a follow-up activity, have each student write a letter to the Postal Service asking them to adopt the stamp. Their letters should explain why the stamp was created and what the pictures on it represent.

Follow the Drinking Gourd Play the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," found in many folk song collections, for your class. If the music is not available, share the lyrics with the class, which you can find on the Web at www.madison.k12.wi.us/planetarium/ftdg1.htm. Explain that slaves used songs to carry hidden messages about the Underground Railroad. A drinking gourd is a hollow gourd used to scoop water, but it is also a name for the dipper">Big Dipper constellation. Following the handle of the Big Dipper was an easy way to locate the North Star, Polaris. Escaping slaves used Polaris to guide them toward freedom. Hand out copies of the lyrics to "Follow the Drinking Gourd." Divide students into small groups. Have each group create their own translation of the song. What instructions are hidden in the lyrics? Next, have them create a star chart. Students should cut out and glue stars onto black construction paper. Have them make the Big Dipper and the North Star one color, and include other stars in different colors. On a clear night, students can try to find the North Star themselves.

Marking the Trail One of the most active conductors on the Underground Railroad was Levi Coffin. Coffin was a Quaker--he belonged to the religious sect also known as the Religious Society of Friends, which originated in England. Quakers believed that slavery should be abolished and they were among the first whites to help slaves escape to freedom. Have students create a historical marker for the Coffin home or for one of the other stations on the Underground Railroad. The marker should tell who lived there as well as how and when the station was used. The marker can be a plaque, a sculpture, or a small cardboard monument that explains the historical importance of the location chosen. Display the markers around your classroom. Then invite your student researchers to lead a virtual tour of the historical sites.

Freedom Skits Invite your students to celebrate the men and women of the Underground Railroad by performing skits based on their inspiring lives. First, have students research famous figures such as Nat Turner and Sojourner Truth, as well as lesser-known leaders like Josiah Henson and Tice Davids. They might want to use Virginia Hamilton's Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom (Knopf, 2002) as a resource. Then have small groups of students draw for roles as a runaway, conductor, guide, or abolitionist. Have each group look for additional information on the person they have drawn and create a short skit or dramatic monologue in which the figure describes his or her escape to freedom or how they helped others escape. Create the feeling of a journey by traveling from room to room to perform the skits.

Scatter Sheets When slavery was legal, abolitionists in the North wrote articles and pamphlets that spoke out against its evils. Some abolitionists handed out flyers, known as "scatter sheets," that publicized the successes of the Underground Railroad. Have your students go to www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam005.html to see anti-slavery posters and publications. Then invite them to create a scatter sheet with an image and slogan that speaks out against slavery or encourages support for the Underground Railroad. Remind students to create an eye-catching and effective message. Have students post their flyers around the classroom.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

* Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad By Joyce Hansen and Gary McGowan. Cricket, 2003 (Gr. 5-8). This book explains how artifacts from archaeological digs and archived information are used to investigate the Underground Railroad.

* Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad By Elvira Woodruff. Knopf, 2000 (Gr. 5-8). This fictional journal of two boys on the Underground Railroad is a good choice for lower-level readers.

* The Underground Railroad www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad At this interactive site, students can take a virtual journey from slavery to freedom.

* National Register of Historic Places www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel This site offers an online tour of historic sites related to the Underground Railroad--a good resource for Marking the Trail.

* The Life of Harriet Tubman www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman Explore the life of one of the Underground Railroad's most famous conductors at this excellent, in-depth site.

RELATED ARTICLE: INSTRUCTOR REPRODUCIBLE

MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY

Read the following excerpts from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs. When you are done, write a response to the question below. Use the back of this sheet, if needed.

                 "THE CONDUCTOR TOOK ME IN HIS BOAT, rowed out to a
                 vessel not far distant, and hoisted me on board ...
                 They said I was to remain on board till near dawn, and
                 then they would hide me in Snaky Swamp ... My fear of
                 snakes had been increased by the venomous bite I had
                 received, and I dreaded to enter this hiding place. But
                 I was in no situation to choose, and I gratefully
                 accepted the best that my poor, persecuted friends
                 could do for me."
                 "A SMALL SHED had been added to my grandmother's house
                 years ago. Boards were laid across the joists at the
                 top, and between these boards and the roof was a very
                 small garret, never occupied by anything but rats and
                 mice ... The garret was only nine feet long and seven
                 wide ... To this hole I was conveyed as soon as I
                 entered the house. The air was stifling; the darkness
                 total. A bed had been spread on the floor. I could
                 sleep quite comfortably on one side; but the slope was
                 so sudden that I could not turn on the other without
                 hitting the roof ... It seemed horrible to sit or lie
                 in a cramped position day after day, without one gleam
                 of light. Yet I would have chosen this, rather than my
                 lot as a slave...."

Question: Imagine that you are one of the few people permitted to speak with Harriet while she was hiding. What would you say or bring to her?

By Linda Scher and Nathan Katzin, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell