PROJECT: LIVING HISTORY: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

TEACHER: DAPHNE VICKNAIR

SCHOOL: EAST THIBODAUX MIDDLE SCHOOL

CONTENT: American History and Movement

GRADE LEVELS: 7th (adaptable to many grade levels)

OBJECTIVES:

The learner will:

• Research an pre-Civil War African-American slave spiritual and write a report on the hidden meaning of the lyrics as related to the underground railroad movement.
• Present the information to the class as either:
  a. A series of creative movements that accompany the music; or
  b. An historical skit on the Underground Railroad.

TIME: Three to four 45-minute class periods

MATERIALS:

1. List of pre-Civil War African-American slave spirituals
2. Access to internet and library
3. Props and costumes
4. Imagination!

INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:

Background: This project was designed to be done during or after a study of slavery and causes of the Civil War. It may also be tied into Black History Month in February.
Students should have a basic understanding of society in the U.S. right before the Civil War. This can be used as a cross-curricular activity, integrating Language Arts, specifically drama and writing

Task Focus: Teacher will play songs (slave spirituals). Teacher and students will discuss familiar ones.

ACTIVITY:

Lesson Presentation: Teacher will guide discussion of slavery and the Underground Railroad.

Guided Practice: Teacher and students will listen to songs and discuss literal, historical and coded meanings contained in the songs. Student ideas will be recorded on a chart throughout the discussion.

Independent Practice: student groups will begin working on presentations. (See attached student handout.) Teacher will monitor and support as needed.

Review: Teacher-guided question and answer session.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:

Students will present to the class. A rubric will be used to assess presentations and participation. Written work will be evaluated by the Language Arts teacher(s).

LESSON VOCABULARY:
Slave: person who is owned by another and is subject to their will.
Master: person who owns another and forces his/her will upon them.
Plantation: an estate, typically associated with agricultural activity
Code: system of secret meanings
Freedom: ability to control one’s life
Freedman: legally freed slave

RESOURCES:
Guy Carawan and Candie Carawan, Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs, Bethlehem, PA: Sing Out Corp., 1990
Bernice Johnson Reagon, If You Don’t Go, Don’t Hinder Me: The African American Sacred Song Tradition, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001
Jon Michael Spencer, Protest and Praise: Sacred Music of Black Religion, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990
Wyatt Tee Walker, Somebody’s Calling My Name: Black Sacred Music and Social Change, Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1979
Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs (sound recording), Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian/Folkways, 1990
Voices of the Civil Rights Movement

GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Louisiana 7th Grade Social Studies GLEs:

Click Here to Download the Lesson Plan Guide for this project ( in Microsoft Word Format )

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