Subjects
Grade
Brief Description
This lesson includes an Internet scavenger hunt, a brief read-aloud story, and a handful of additional activities.
Objectives
Students will (depending on their grade level)Keywords
Underground Railroad, Black History, abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, slavery
The Lesson
The following resources are among those I have used to teach students about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.
The short reading below is one I created for students; it emphasizes things Harriet learned as a young girl that served her well in later life. Share this brief story with students; use it as a listening exercise or discussion starter.
You might follow-up the reading by having each student write a brief essay about something he or she has learned from an adult that will serve them well when they become adults.
What Harriet Learned from Her Pa
     Harriet Tubman, who was born Araminta Ross, had a very strong spirit. Her pa, Ben, felt that Harriet's spirit would eventually lead his daughter to freedom and away from life as a slave. Little did he know that the lessons he taught little Araminta would one day lead her to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
     As a young girl, Harriet's mother and father told her many stories. They told her stories of Moses and how he led his people to the Promised Land. They also whispered stories about a special train without tracks, an "underground railroad" that could help her get to freedom.
     Pa felt that if his young daughter did eventually escape, she would need to know things that would help her escape successfully. Together, Harriet and her father practiced how to move about in the brush without making any noise. Her pa also taught her which plants and berries in the woods could be eaten safely. He showed Harriet how the water lily, the leaf of a crane's bill plant, and the back of hemlock could be used as medicine if she got sick or injured along the way. Her dad also taught Harriet to learn from nature such things as what sounds birds make when disturbed, which side of a tree that mold grows on, and how to tell the direction of the wind by licking her finger and sticking it up into the air.
     Probably the most important lesson Pa taught Harriet, however, was how to identify the only star that remains constant in the night sky -- the North Star. Pa told Harriet that the North Star would guide her to the North and to safety.
     Harriet was a good student. She used her dad's teachings to successfully make 19 trips to the South, bringing approximately 300 slaves -- including her mother and father, her sister, and her sister's family -- to freedom.
Harriet Tubman Cyberhunt
More Activities
Great Reading Resources About Harriet Tubman
More Web Sites of Note
The Internet African American History Challenge
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
The Underground Railroad
Assessment Submitted By Gail Hennessey, GailHennessey.com and Harpursville Middle School in Harpursville, New York
Education World®
Have students complete the following cyberhunt, either in a computer lab setting or as a learning activity in your classroom computer center. Students will use each Web resource listed below to answer the question(s) that appears immediately below it.
/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/tubman/youth_1
What was Harriet Tubman's given name?
How many brothers and sisters did she have?
What happened to cause Harriet to suffer seizures for the rest of her life?
What different things did Harriet Tubman do during the Civil War?
Answers: Harriet was born Araminta Ross. She was one of 11 children. (She had 10 brothers and sisters.) Her overseer threw a heavy iron weight at another slave; he hit Harriet instead. Harriet worked as a Union cook, spy, scout, and nurse.
What made Harriet decide to leave the Brodas plantation and seek her freedom?
Who is the only person she told about her plans?
Answers: Harriet learned many slaves were to be sold and that she was one of them. She told her sister.
To whom did Harriet proudly say that in all her journeys she "never lost a single passenger"?
When Harriet gained her freedom, which city did she settle in?
Who were Harriet's first passengers on the "underground railroad"?
At one time, what was the reward for the capture of Harriet Tubman?
Answers: Frederick Douglass. She settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On her first trip, she returned with her sister and her family. There was a $40,000 reward for her capture.
What were two important things that kept Harriet Tubman going?
Answer: Harriet always carried a pistol and had faith in God.
tlp/biographies/tubman/tubman_bio.html
Study the timeline to learn the answers to the following questions:
In 1858, who did Harriet Tubman help to plan the attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia?
In which year did Harriet make the first of 19 trips to the South to help bring slaves to freedom?
Answers: Although she was unable to participate that day, she worked with abolitionist John Brown. Harriet make her first trip in 1850.
How many people did Harriet Tubman bring to freedom?
Harriet brought 300 people to freedom.
Following are some of the possible stories that might be included in response to that last question:
Famous black Americans of the 19th century.
A great Web site/interactive activity from National Geographic.
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Last updated 12/31/2009
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