Students study the history of railroads and depots in Arkansas using websites and memoirs. They complete activities that explain how and why the railroads were built, and the different ways people used them.

Students research in books and on the Internet on the Underground Railroad. They work on a constructivist project to promote both group collaboration and individual creativity. Students are given an authentic task: to create a museum...

Students explore quilting. They read and discuss the book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. They research African American quilting traditions on the Internet and name three common qualities in quilts. They create a quilt block...

Fourth graders use an Indiana map to explain why Indiana's geographic location was important to its role in the UGR. They experience personal stories and feelings of the people involved in UGR through role-play and literature.

Students use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.

Students draw conclusions about historical changes in Boston by comparing and contrasting the features and details on Boston maps. In this Boston history and geography lesson, students view several sets of dated maps chronologically and...

Eleventh graders, in groups, design a self-sufficient community. Groups present the communities they've designed. They compare and contrast the communities presented. They research the theories of Johann Heinrich von Thunen online and...

Young scholars, after assessing a valuable history lesson, create an amazing and very personalized quilt. They explore how individuals helping the slaves escape to freedom, hung a quilt on their front porch to let the slaves know that...

Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...

Third graders discuss the frustrations of navigating the Underground Railroad and list the symbols and signs used to communicate on the Underground Railroad.

Fourth graders examine the significance in the Negro spirituals concerning the Underground Railroad. They explore the cultural, geographical, historical, physical, and Psychological aspects involved in the Underground Railroad

Students are introduced to new vocabulary associated with the Underground Railroad. Using primary sources, they evaluate the railroad's impact on society in the past and today. They also make a judgment about the morality of the railroad...

Third graders are introduced to new vocabulary associated with slavery and the Underground Railroad. In groups, they use the vocabulary to identify the various ranges of freedom and create their own vocabulary webs. To end the lesson,...

Third graders examine what it was like for a child traveling in the Underground Railroad.

Students investigate the historical underground railroad. They also access technology to conduct research and write stories with the railroad as part of the historical fiction. The cumulative assessment is the creation of a book that...

Eighth graders create a quilt based on the Underground Railroad quilt code from the book Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad.

Fourth graders describe the life of Harriet Tubman. They define opportunity cost. Students identify the opportunity cost of each of several choices made by Harriet Tubman. They are explained that Harriet Tubman was the first African...

Sixth graders investigate John Brown's fight to end slavery. In this slavery lesson, 6th graders read Harpers Ferry, The Story of John Brown's Raid and then research his life as well as the life of slave Osbourne Perry Anderson. Students...

Students participate in a unit that focuses on the Underground Railroad of the Civil War Period of History. The intent of the unit is realized in the culminating activity of going to many different stations to interact for different...

Fourth graders analyze the book Train to Midnight, based on the Underground Railroad. They compose and perform a puppet play based on the book. Students perform and videotape their puppet plays.

Students find how freedom quilts helped free slaves.  In this American History lesson, students read the story Sweet Clara and The Freedom Quilt and discuss the Underground Railroad.  They use their map skills to locate...

The Iron Horse encroached upon the land while conflicts escalated between Native Americans and the settlers. Sophomores study the print, American Progress then discuss how American progress affected Native Americans. They will study the...

Students design a train route using a topographical map. In this historical and spatial thinking lesson plan, students must plan a route through the Sierra Nevada mountains that a train could physically travel. Links to printable student...

Youngsters should have fun learning about and making a train. The children will learn that some trains carry people and some carry goods, identify different railroad cars, and understand that trains need tracks that are in good condition...