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- The
Topic:
- Underground
Railroad
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- Easier - The
Underground Railroad was not a real railroad. It
was a network of houses and other buildings used to
help slaves escape to freedom in the Northern
states or Canada. The Underground Railroad operated
for many years before and during the Civil
War.
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- Harder - The
Underground Railroad was a network of escape routes
that were described using railroad terms.
'Passengers' were runaway slaves fleeing from the
South. Their guides were called 'conductors' and
they led them from one 'station' to another.
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- Escape routes stretched from the southern slave
states into the North and on to Canada. Fugitives
usually traveled secretly at night, and were hidden
in 'safe houses', barns, and haylofts in the day.
Thousands of antislavery campaigners, both black
and white, risked their lives to operate the
railway.
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- Freedom's
Trail: The Underground Railroad from The
Journal News
- http://www.nyjournalnews.com/blackhistory/main.html
- This special online newspaper section tells the
story of the Underground Railroad.
- Related Websites:
- 2) Underground Railroad http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASunderground.htm
- 3) Underground Railroad http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/contents.htm
- 4) Underground Railroad Routes http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/Map.htm
- 5) Underground Railroad Terms http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/AlongtheTracks/terms.html
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- History
of 'The Drinking Gourd' from NASA Quest
Learning Technologies Channel
- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk/gourd1.html
- At this location, you read an explanation
behind the significance of this song
- Identical Information at History of 'The
Drinking Gourd' http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/gourd1.html
- Related Websites:
- 2) Explanation of 'Follow the Drinking Gourd'
from NASA Quest http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk/gourd2.html
- 3) Follow the Drinking Gourd (Words to the
song) at Montogomery Co. Public Schools
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/grade5/Drinking_Gourd.html
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- Underground
Railroad and Quilt History
- http://www.antiquequiltdating.com/ugrr.html
- The underground railroad and the use of quilts
as messengers for fleeing slaves.
- Related Websites:
- 1) How quilting played a role.http://www.womenfolk.com/historyofquilts/abolitionist.htm
- 2) Quilts
http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/greenway/leahy/ugrr/
- 3) Slave quilts-Lesson Plan http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0120.html
- 4) Quilts and the Underground Railroad
http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/ugrr/jhlesson1.htm
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- Underground
Railroad at
National Geographic Online
- http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/
- This site lets you follow
the footsteps of Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds
of runaway slaves to freedom. The site includes a
short interactive journey, maps, a timeline, and
more.
- Related
Websites:
- 2) Underground
Railroad at Africans in America
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html
- 3) Underground Railroad
from The History Channel
- http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/undergroundrr/index_a.html
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- After exploring several of the
websites below, select one or more of the
following Underground Railroad
activities:
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- Plan An Escape Route. Pretend
that you're a runaway slave in pre-Civil
War times. Now pick a slave state location
from which you have just escaped. Decide
when you will travel, day or night. Will
you use a disguise? How fast can you walk?
Figure out the average miles that you're
going to be able to cover each day.
Remember that if you're going to have to
walk at night, you will probably slow down
a bit. Visit sites like Aboard
the Underground Railroad, History
and Geography of the Underground
Railroad, and Underground
Railroad Routes because water can help
hide your scent from the bounty hunters
dogs. Plan your route; sketch a map
showing your travel. What time of the year
will you journey? Make a timeline. Put
together your best escape plan.
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- Make A Decision -
Stationmaster? Imagine that you have
family and a comfortable home. You are a
shop owner; you have a small but growing
business. It is 1850 and you live in a
small town in a 'border' state. Early in
the morning before dawn, a runaway slave
has come to your door seeking food and
shelter until the following night. What
would you do? . . . Before your final
decision, list out your options and the
consequences for each. Think about the
slave and what will likely happen to them
if they are caught. Also consider yourself
and your family and what would happen to
you if people in your community discovered
what you have done. Now write a paper
explaining your decision, a paper to be
sealed and opened in the 21st
century.
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- Be An Underground Railroad
Conductor. Visit (1) Underground
Railroad Code Words and Phrases, (2)
Underground
Railroad Code Words and Phrases, (3)
Code
Words in the Underground Railroad, (4)
Codes
and Phrases, and (5) Underground
Railroad Code Words to see some of the
coded messages that were used. Then
pretend that you are a 'conductor' for a
section of the Underground Railroad. But
you have learned that bounty hunters are
aware of the codes and signals that have
been used. Devise new codes and signals
that can replace them. Explain how and
where each should be employed.
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- Is This A Safe Place? The past
two nights have been rough, grueling
travel. It rained hard during the day, you
hid in a wet haystack, and your group is
tired, damp, and starving. You've come
upon a house with a lantern, but how do
you know for sure that this house is safe?
What if it's a trap? Decide what you're
going to do to test the safety of the
house. Then write a journal entry about
what happened and how you felt.
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- Write a Song. Listen to the
music at On
An Underground Railroad. Write your
own song about the underground
railroad.
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- Be a Reader. Read books about
the underground railroad. Use Themes
& Literature Circles: Underground
Railroad for ideas.
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- Complete An Underground Railroad
WebQuest. Follow or adapt the
procedures found at one of the following
webQuest sites:
- 1) All Aboard (Grade 8) by K. Harris
http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/webquest/harris/
- 2) Exploring the Underground Railroad
(Grade 5-6)
- http://students.itec.sfsu.edu/itec815_s99/jdetweiler/student.html
- 3) Harriet Tubman and the Underground
Railroad by N. Mosteller and G.
Nikirk
- http://www.wcboe.k12.md.us/mainfold/technolog/techsat/Mosteller/harriettubman/HTquest.htm
- 4) Slaves and Conductors of the
Underground Railroad (Grade 4-6) by B.
Sears and C. Hopp
- http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq92/
- 5) Underground Railroad (Grade 6-8) by
S.G. Barhan & E.J.Williams http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq50/ugrrwbst.htm
- 6) Underground Railroad by L.K.
Matteucci http://php.iupui.edu/~lakoeken/Ugrr.html
- 7) Underground Railroad (Grade 5) by
K. Beaty, S. DeMaris, and M. Kusbel
- http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/suzquest/main.html
- 8)Underground Railroad http://www.msu.edu/~keenanm3/underground/underground.htm
- 9)Underground Railroad: Conductors and
Travelers by M. Carter, C. Shelton, J.
Hiatt, & B.
- Alexander http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/webquests/undrgdrr/undrgdrr.htm
- 10)Underground Railroad: Stairway to
Freedom by N.R. Hardin, B. Kiker, &
J.M. Ortega
- http://www.esc20.net/etprojects/formats/webquests/summer2000/ollu/rr/default.html
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- Websites By Kids For Kids
- Freedom
Train
- http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~educ/historyweb/maintrain.html
- This after-school project site tells about
people and places associated with the Freedom
Train.
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- Harriet
Tubman and The Underground Railroad
- (2nd grade class at Pocantico Hills
School in Sleepy Hollow, New York)
- http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/tubman.html
- You can learn about Harriet Tubman's life from
the character sketches, timeline, photos, and quiz
provided at this website.
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- Our
Virtual Underground Railroad Quilt
- http://www.beavton.k12.or.us/greenway/leahy/ugrr/
- Click on a quilt block to learn more about the
Underground Railroad.
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- Path
To Freedom- History of the Underground
Railroad (1999 ThinkQuest Junior
Project)
- http://tqjunior.advanced.org/5703/
- This website focuses on two Underground
Railroad sites: the Rankin House and the Parker
House.
- Similar Website:
- 2) Road to Freedom (1999 ThinkQuest
Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5643/
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- Underground
Railroad from Germantown Elementary
School
- http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/RAILROAD.html
- This school project site explains the about
secret pathway organized by abolitionists--many of
them free blacks and Quakers.
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- Underground
Railroad at House of Compassion (1999
ThinkQuest Internet Challenge)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/26073/
- Learn about the Underground Railroad, a network
of safehouses and waypoints used to free slaves
from the South and convey them to freedom in the
North of the pre-Civil War United States.
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- Threads
of Freedom (2001 ThinkQuest Junior
Project)
- http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112604/
- Have you ever wondered how the slaves
communicated and shared secret messages about the
Underground Railroad?
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- A Bunch More of Underground Railroad
Websites
- Aboard
the Underground Railroad (National
Register Travel Itinerary)
- http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/
- Here you can read about the history of the
Underground Railroad and locate sites along the
routes. (See other National Park Service sites
below)
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- History
and Geography of the Underground
Railroad
- http://afgen.com/underground_railroad.html
- This site provides information on the
organization and operations of the Underground
Railroad
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- National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center
- http://www.undergroundrailroad.com/
- You can find historical accounts of the
Underground Railroad here at the website of the
national museum slated to open in Cincinnati, Ohio
in 2003.
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- On
An Underground Railroad from History
Happens (Lyrics and music by Kinny
Landrum)
- http://www.ushistory.com/railr.htm
- View the lyrics. Read the background. Look at
the mural. See and hear the music video. Here is a
'hip-hop' song to kick-off investigations into the
Underground Railroad.
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- Researching
and Interpreting the Underground
Railroad
- (Advanced level materials at Exploring a
Common Past)
- http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/ugrr/exuggr1.htm
- This online booklet includes a brief statement
about North American slavery, a review of
historical scholarship about the Underground
Railroad and related topics, suggestions for using
a variety of sources to construct responsible and
meaningful interpretations, and examples of how to
use these sources and to document and interpret
specific cases of Underground Railroad
activity.
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- Retracing
the Route to Freedom
- http://www.npca.org/walk.html
- A great-grandson of a slave follows the route
of fugitive slaves used 130 years ago.
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- Underground
Railroad - 1850
- http://www.project21.org/UndergroundRailroad.html
- Explore information about Levi Coffin who was a
leader on the Underground Railroad.
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- Underground
Railroad Project from Vermont Historical
Society
- http://www.state.vt.us/vhs/educate/ugrr.htm
- The website contains lots of educational
materials on the Underground Railroad including a
case study, a guide for debating issues, and some
primary
documents (letters, news clippings, and a
poem).
- Related Websites:
- 2) Underground Railroad
- http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/contents.htm
- 3) Underground Railroad at North Carolina
Discoveries
- http://www.nando.net/ncd/week5/free4.html
- 4) Underground Railroad in New York State
http://www.nyhistory.com/ugrr/
- 5) Underground Railroad in Rochester, New
York
- http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/ugrr/HOME.htm
- 6) Underground Railroad Ran Both Ways in
Southern Illinois from The Daily
Register
- http://www.dailyregister.com/archive1997/news/ugrrinsi050297.html
- 7) Underground Railroad in Southern Ohio
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/chillicothe/ugrr.html
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- Underground
Railroad Summary
- http://www.nps.gov/boaf/urrsum~1.htm
- This site provides a brief summary of
information from the Underground Railroad Special
Resource Study by the National Park Service in
September 1995.
- Related National Park Service
Websites:
- 2) Taking the Train to Freedom (Underground
Railroad Special Resource Study) http://www.nps.gov/undergroundrr/
- 3) Underground Railroad http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/underground/under.htm
- 4) Underground Railroad Resources in the US
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/thhome.htm
- 5) Underground Railroad Parks- A Shared History
(Requires pdf reader) http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/20-2/20-2-7.pdf
- 6) The Underground Railroad - A Study in
Heroism (Requires pdf reader) http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/19-2/19-2-6.pdf
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- Underground
Railroad . . . Then What Happened? from
Southern Poverty Law Center
- http://www.splcenter.org/cgi-bin/goframe.pl?dirname=/teachingtolerance&pagename=tt-60.html
- This article examines the Canadian connection
to the Underground Railroad.
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- Websites for Teachers
- Aunt
Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
(Grade1) from AskERIC
- http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/crossroads/sec3/k2/unit6/u6g1l2.htm
- (Grades 4-5) http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/MBD/Aunt_Harriet2.html
- These lesson plans accompany the book of the
same name involves the study of simile.
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- Climb
Aboard the Underground Railroad T.O.U.R!
from Education World
- http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr195.shtml
- Here you find the details of an online
curriculum project involving teachers and students
studying the Underground Railroad.
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- Educator's
Guide to...'Follow the Drinking Gourd'
- http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/planetarium/ftdg1.htm
- 'Follow the Drinking Gourd' is a coded song
that gives the route for an escape from Alabama and
Mississippi. Of all the routes out of the Deep
South, this is the only one for which the details
survive. The route instructions were given to
slaves by an old man named Peg Leg Joe.
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- Underground
Railroad Project from Vermont Historical
Society
- http://www.state.vt.us/vhs/educate/ugrrteac.htm
- This series of web pages are part of a
published document packet containing materials for
studying the underground railroad; includes
historical essays, primary source documents, a case
study, and lots of teaching suggestions.
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- With
Miles To Go Before I Sleep . . .
(Grades 5-8)
- http://www.co-nect.com/Schools/Railroad/
- This web-based simulation starts with: The year
is 1850. The Fugitive Slave Law has just passed --
bad news for you and your small group who have just
managed a narrow escape from slavery landing in
Ripley, OH. Alas, you thought your adventure was
over.
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- Created by
Annette
Lamb and
Larry
Johnson
1/99, Update 1/02.
Update by Nancy
Smith
9/02
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