WCNY-TV
National Teacher Training Institute 2002-03
“ Harriet Tubman - An American Hero”
Author: Todd Bourcey
Grade Level : 5-7
Subject Matter : English/Language Arts, Social Studies
Time Allotment : Two 45-minute class periods
Overview : The life of Harriet Tubman spans the years from circa 1820 to 1913. In those 93 years, she managed to free herself from the shackles of slavery, and go on to free hundreds of her brethren as well, through the use of the Underground Railroad. Her efforts made her widely known as the “Moses” of her people. Throughout her life she faced tremendous obstacles and hardships but still maintained a strong desire to learn, to become free, and to help establish basic civil rights for all.
Through the activities presented in this lesson, students will become familiar with Harriet Tubman and the role the Underground Railroad played in helping enslaved people find freedom in the north. Through the use of websites, a video and hands-on activities, students will gain a strong respect and admiration for one of our nation's greatest heroines. The lesson begins with an anticipatory set using cooperative groups called ‘graffitti', and ends with a culminating activity using a cereal box containing information students learned about Harriet Tubman.
Standards
From the United States History Standards, available online at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/era4-5-12.html :
Standard 4
• Explain the fundamental beliefs of abolitionism
• Analyze the activities of women of different racial and social groups in the reform m ovements for education and abolition…
Standard 1 A:
• Explain the causes of the Civil War and evaluate the importance of slavery as a principal cause of the conflict. [Compare competing historical narratives]
From the New York State Learning Standards for English Language Arts, available online at http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/standards.html :
Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.
From the New York State Learning Standards for Social Studies, , available online at http://www.nysatl.nysed.gov/standards.html :
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.
http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm
This Web site examines the life of Harriet Tubman and explores her journeys through life and the Underground Railroad. Included are her life in slavery, her escape to freedom in Canada, her role in the Underground Railroad and her life in Auburn, New York.
This Web site explores Tubman's life as a slave and through her 19 trips along the Underground Railroad. It includes details about the approximately 300 people she helped lead to freedom. Also included are descriptions of her role as a spy for the Union Army in the Civil War, as well as her later life in upstate New York.
http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/
This Web site is a dedication to the Harriet Tubman Home. The history of the home is explored in depth, as well as information on tours and events held there now. Also found is information on how you can help as a volunteer and contribute in the Home's many programs, as well as links to related sites and tours.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/tubman
The Web site, “America's Story,” from the Library of Congress contains a timeline
of information on Harriet Tubman's life. Included are stories on her escape to
freedom as well as links to related sites.
For each student :
Paper and pencil
For each group of 4 – 5 students :
5 different colored markers
5 large sheets of poster board or construction paper
Prior to teaching this lesson, bookmark the Web sites that you plan to reference during the lesson. This can be done on each computer in the classroom, or if you plan to show it through the television for whole group instruction, on a teacher station.
Prepare for the anticipatory set by:
• Gathering 5 large sheets of poster board or construction paper. (Preferably white) These should be hung around the room with sufficient room for a group to gather and discuss.
• Have 5 markers of different colors ready
Step 1. Introduce your students to the anticipatory activity of Graffiti. You will need to break your class up into 5 cooperative learning groups. Each group will be given a different colored marker to write their responses or thoughts to five different posters displayed throughout the classroom. Listed on each poster will be a vocabulary word or a personal characteristic from the video (listed above) to follow. They include Strength, Courage, Freedom, Determination, Slavery.
Step 2. Each group will begin at a different poster, and have one minute to write down whatever word(s) or phrase comes to mind when they read the term on the poster. Each member in the group should participate by sharing his/her thoughts and ideas. One person will be the ‘recorder' at each station and will be responsible for writing down the group's word or idea.
Step 3. The teacher should keep track of the time and when one minute is up, the groups will collectively move on to the next poster in the classroom. Again, each group will be writing with a different colored marker. This will continue until the cooperative groups are back at the poster in which they began.
Step 4. Once there, they will read not only their original recording, but those of their classmates as well. As a group they will discuss the comments or words written down by all the groups, and come up with a sentence or two that effectively summarizes the thoughts and opinions of the entire class on each poster.
Step 5. To close the activity, have members from each group read aloud the 5 responses from each group, along with the collective summary. Allow sufficient time for discussion and closing thoughts on the activity, focusing on the five words used in this lesson. Ask your students if they know whom Harriet Tubman was, and what she is famous for. Lead a general discussion on her life without going into much detail. This may include information such as her leading many slaves along the underground railroad (and their thoughts and opinions on what the railroad actually was), her role as an abolitionist, and what she meant and still means to civil rights in the United States.
Step 6. Log on, or ask your students to log on, to the Web site http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/tubman . Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to study the timeline, noting dates and familiar events. Have someone tell you when and where Harriet Tubman was born. When and where did she die? How old was she when she died?
(The timeline includes and provides dates for Trail of Tears – 1820, California Gold Rush – 1840, Civil War begins – 1860, Spanish-American War – 1880, US enters WWI – 1900, and the Stock Market Crash of 1920. Harriet Tubman was born c. 1820 – you may also want to discuss the abbreviation c. and its meaning. She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland and died in 1913 in Auburn, New York. She was 93 years old when she died. )
Step 1. Quickly review with the class what the Underground Railroad was and how it was used. This can simply be a brief recap from the closing of the anticipatory activity.
Step 2. Insert “Harriet Tubman – Animated Hero Classics” . Provide your students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to pay close attention to the setting, climate, the type of clothes worn, types of jobs they see, and interactions between the different people. START the tape at the beginning and STOP the tape when the screen shows a young woman and an older man hugging and the man says, “Moss always grows on the north side of the tree. If the moon don't shine, always follow the moss.”
Check for comprehension. (Most will probably say, the setting was on a large farm or plantation, probably in the south. Looked like it was really warm, (slaves) people were planting crops, splitting and stacking wood. The slaves wore old and tattered clothing, and the white men did not treat them very nicely).
Step 3. Ask students to make a prediction. What dangers do you think Harriet will encounter on her journey? What obstacles? Would there be any help for her along the way? What would happen to her family back on the plantation? (Answers will vary) Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to check their predictions against the facts in the next video segment. PLAY the tape from its previous pause point until you see the setting change and “Philadelphia, Pennsylvania” appears on the screen. STOP the tape. Check for student comprehension; were their predictions true?
Step 4. Provide your students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to pay close attention to the next video segment and try to list two reasons why Harriet initially decided to go back and help others escape . PLAY the tape from its previous stop point until you hear Harriet say, “I'm getting my family out,” and the picture shows a man chopping wood. STOP the tape.
Check for student comprehension. (She learned that there were many different paths or ways to escape the south, her sister's family was about to be broken up and sold, and she realized that she would never truly be free until all her family is free).
Step 5. FAST FORWARD the tape until you see Harriet leading a horse and carriage with her parents riding in the back. The wagon stops at a sign, which reads, “Pennsylvania.” Divide your class into groups of 4 or 5. Provide your students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to pay very close attention to the final segment in the video. Assign each group one of the following questions, and have them record their thoughts on a piece of paper. How many times did Harriet Tubman go back to the south to help free slaves? How many slaves did she help? What was her role in the Civil War? What did she do after the war? How old was she when she died? STOP the tape with the portrait of Harriet Tubman fading out.
Check for comprehension. (Answers will vary. Some might say that she went on 17 different missions to help free over 300 enslaved people. During the Civil War she served as a spy for the Union Army as well as a nurse. Following the war, she turned her home into a refuge for the sick and homeless. She died at the age of 93.)
Teacher Preparation – Ahead of time, ask each student to bring in an empty cereal box for use in this final activity. This may be done using small groups, or individually. For this age group, they should do very well on their own. You will need sheets of construction paper, (or even printing paper) glue or tape, and scissors.
Step 1. Students will tape or glue sheets of paper to completely cover all sides of the box, and affix them using either tape or glue. On the front, students will draw a picture of Harriet Tubman, and give the top front of their box a creative title.
Step 2. On one of the sides, students can write about the time period (perhaps an abbreviated timeline, as well as the setting(s) throughout Harriet Tubman's life.
Step 3. On the other side students can utilize the internet sites previously listed to answer the following questions and write their responses (this will end up looking like a Harriet Tubman ‘fact' card) on the box.
• When was Harriet Tubman Born? When did she die?
• How did she work as a spy for the Union Army?
• How was her home in Auburn, New York used in helping the less fortunate around her?
• Using information from these sites, write down your favorite fact, or memory from the life of Harriet Tubman.
Step 4. On the back of the cereal box, students can create a map of one of the slave routes that Harriet Tubman used for the Underground Railroad.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Students can write journal entries on what it must have been like for Harriet Tubman. Write from her perspective a daily journal entry. Think about the sites, the sounds, the feeling (scared, excited, etc). Would you have done anything different? Would you have the courage to do the same?
MATHEMATICS
By using atlases or a map in the classroom, students can calculate the distance that Harriet had to travel each time. How many miles did she travel total? Instead of measuring to Pennsylvania, measure from your home state, or county. What is the average number of slaves she brought back with her?
TECHNOLOGY/SOCIAL STUDIES
• The impact of the Underground Railroad on slavery. Who were some other “conductors” along the Railroad?
Community Connections