Two Week Curriculum on Underground Railroad

    The curriculum I developed for my two week takeover centered around the idea of the Underground Railroad and communication. The curriculum was designed to give students the chance to explore what interested them about the Underground Railroad. Our first lesson was an introduction to the Underground Railroad. Students helped construct a class KWL chart (pictured below). The students spent 15 minutes offering up questions and things that they “wondered” about the Underground Railroad. As it happened a lot of the questions my students had about the Underground Railroad were topics I had already planned to cover. The lesson was a success because it set the tone for the rest of the unit that I was interested in knowing what they wanted to learn and would listen to them. Many of the social studies lessons followed the pattern of informal assessment discussed earlier in this portfolio.

Similarly, the lesson featured below was a culminating activity of the unit. After several classes discussing the many ways in which abolitionists worked to help end slavery the students were then asked, “If you were an abolitionist what would YOU do to help end slavery?” The students brainstormed together as a class some general ideas of actions they would have taken to help bring an end to slavery. The students had amazing and thoughtful ideas that showed their commitment to social justice issues and taking a stand. 

Class developed list of ideas to end slavery.

An example of one student's action plan.

Once the students brainstormed a list of possible options they were then sent to work in groups of four to pick an “action item” from our class list and develop a step-by-step plan. We discussed the concept that these big ideas were great in theory, but it takes a lot of work to actually set a plan in motion. Students then worked out a plan, discussed and debated with their table members on the best steps to take. This activity truly required students to be involved in what Johnston refers to as a “Democratic Learning Environment”. (Johnston, 2004) The students had to learn how to truly work together as a group. There were some issues of arguing that occurred while the students devised their plans, however the students were forced to come to an agreement (or make a compromise) and work towards a common goal. In business school we learn that one of the most important tools to have is knowing how develop as a group and go through the four stages of forming, norming, storming and finally performing. The same goes for students learning to work in groups in a learning environment. Once the groups had all finished devising a plan they presented their work to the class. As a whole class we discussed each plan and the positives and negatives we saw in each plan. Finally, the class voted on what plan they would have invested in as a member of an anti-slavery organization. This project required the students to involve themselves in the time period and take on the role of those they had been studying. It also gave the students opportunities to engage in debate with their classmates. After instruction from me (the teacher) the students then took on the active role of having a voice and using it to make a difference. 

For the last day of the unit the students visited the historic Johnson House in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. One of the things I learned from my Neighborhood Study was that local resources can often be your greatest tool. The students love when they realize that history happened just around the corner! The house was a stop on the Underground Railroad and housed a meeting space for the Anti-Slavery Association and people such as the “father of the Underground Railroad” William Still. This trip was meant to show students that the Underground Railroad is not just some topic we learn about from a history textbook, but is a living, breathing part of Philadelphia history. Sometimes students learn about historic events that seem so distant and remote from their own lives that it is important to remind students that history surrounds us. The docent pictured here was impressed with how much history of the Underground Railroad we had covered for students so young. Every single hand shot up in the air every time a question was posed and the students were eager to share what they knew.