Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

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Very small introduction to Underground Railroad – a system of paths, safe houses, secret codes, etc. to obtaining freedom across north America and beyond Product– Students will add a card to the Freedom Wall with a comment or word of their choice. This activity is meant to collect thoughts into one place, and get students to reflect on various aspects of social justice

use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes; Prior to this lesson students will have a base knowledge understanding of equity, freedom and slavery. This lesson will introduce the idea of escape and the underground railroad in North America for subsequent lessons to build upon

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Finish by having the students look at the Freedom Wall in a gallery walk and reflect alone or in a Think, Pair, Share

I may have a second set of volunteers come up and pretend to be Henry’s children or wife if time allows Student A – will sit next to peer models and be given copies of the text to help guide him. He will highlight text evidence that exhibits Henry’s bravery in his pursuit of freedom to help guide him compose a question I will providing prompting questions throughout the read aloud to encourage students to think about freedom, racism, prejudice and social justice, and slavery deeply A BIG box – minds on – to encourage students to think about the ways people were willing to go to obtain freedom

CRITICS HAVE SAID

Diagnostic– Getting an idea of what students think and how they see the world is incredibly important so that teachers can start to lay the foundation of a topic. The freedom wall will help inform me of various mindsets in my classroom. McCully, Emily Arnold. The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom. Farrar, 2007. ISBN-13: 9780374322250 Observation– I will observe my students and take Anecdotal notes to indicate who is a respectful listener, and is thoughtfully able to compose a question, as per the language curriculum. Strand(s): Oral Communication & Reading, Creating and Presenting & Reflecting, Responding, and Analyzing, & Understanding Context Anecdotal notes will be taken to indicate who is a respectful listener, and on the depth of student comments, questions and peer discussions. I will use this form of assessment to get an idea of what students think and how they see the world, and so that that I can start to lay the foundation of what this unit needs to touch on

view and compare their ideas and add to their perspectives through a gallery walk of a Freedom WallThe volunteer will take on the character of Henry. They will answer the audience’s questions by pretending to be the character and speak from his point of view We will share some written thoughts and ideas aloud on the carpet, and once shared aloud (and approved), we will have a discussion about its value to the Wall, and add the card to the Freedom Wall