This lesson introduces students to the Underground Railroad. They'll learn about the dangers that escaping slaves faced and the things they used (e.g. songs and quilts) to help them find their way. They'll conclude by designing a class quilt showing things that slaves would have needed to know about to successfully make their way north.

geography, United States history

Standard 17: “How to apply geography to interpret the past”

four hours

• computer with Internet connection
• drawing materials

Students will:

• Listen to a story about the Underground Railroad and describe the difficulties the escaping slaves encountered
• Go through an online simulation of slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad and describe the dangers they faced
• Look at a map of Underground Railroad routes and explain how mountains and rivers might have added to the escaping slaves' difficulties
• View pictures of slave hiding places and explain why the slaves would have needed to hide
• Listen to the words of the “Drinking Gourd” song and explain how it might have helped slaves escape
• View pictures of quilt patterns and explain how quilts might have helped slaves escape
• Design quilt squares that show things the slaves would have needed to successfully escape

Introduce students to the Underground Railroad by reading them a story such as Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad (On My Own) (it is available for purchase at Amazon.com and other book retailers).

Show students the map of the Underground Railroad routes by selecting “Routes to Freedom” from the drop-down menu at the National Geographic Underground Railroad site. Explain that slaves trying to escape often had to find their own way north, eventually meeting Underground Railroad workers who helped them get to northern states or Canada. Even once they were there, though, they had to keep their former slave status secret or they might be caught and returned to their lives as slaves in the south.

Help students go through “The Journey” at the National Geographic Underground Railroad site. It would be ideal if you could project the screen for the entire class to see and have the class make group decisions about where to go in the simulation. Along the way, ask students to describe the dangers the escaping slaves faced.

Show students the Underground Railroad routes by selecting “Routes to Freedom” from the drop-down menu at the National Geographic Underground Railroad site. Ask them to look carefully at the map and to notice the locations of mountains and rivers. What difficulties do they think the escaping slaves would have faced, based on the physical features they see on this map? In addition to fearing slave catchers, what elements of the natural environment would they have been concerned about?

Select “For Kids” from the drop-down menu, and have students look at the pictures of the cupboard and Henry “Box” Brown. Why do they think escaping slaves needed to hide in these tight spaces?

Ask students how they think the escaping slaves would have known how to get to the North if they had never been away from the places they lived in the South. What signs would they look for? What would your students do if they wanted to start walking north?

Explain that since slaves didn’t have compasses, they needed another method of finding their way north. Ask students if they’ve ever seen the Big Dipper, which points to the North Star. They can look at the Big Dipper here. Point out that the two outer stars that form the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star, which is always in the north.

Read to the class, or have them read, the lyrics to “Follow the Drinking Gourd” here. Ask students if they have figured out what the drinking gourd is. How did it help slaves find their way north? Explain the background and importance of this song. (For your reference, read the “History of the Drinking Gourd” here.) Explain that, in addition to the drinking gourd song, it is likely that many slaves also relied on quilts to find their way north. These quilts were made in the South and contained special patterns that the slaves memorized. These patterns, or codes, helped them learn about the route to take in order to escape to the North. Students can see an example of some quilt patterns here (select “Quilts”).

Ask students to explain how songs and quilts would have been helpful for the slaves who were trying to escape. Besides helping them find their way, do students think these devices would have helped get the slaves excited about their planned escape?

Have students look at the Underground Railroad Virtual Quilt created by Oregon fourth and fifth graders. Give each student a blank piece of construction paper, and have them cut the pieces into squares. Have each student draw one square of the class quilt. The quilt should contain pictures of things the slaves would have needed to know about to successfully make their way north.

Locate a recording of someone singing “The Drinking Gourd,” and have students learn the song. Have them perform the song while showing different parts of their quilt to the audience. Or, have them design new illustrations to go directly with the song's lyrics.

Explanation of “Follow the Drinking Gourd”
History of “The Drinking Gourd”
National Geographic Underground Railroad
Our Virtual Underground Railroad Quilt