Slavery...Scars from the Past

DAY 1
Your journey begins on the Middle Passage.  The Middle Passage is the trip these slaves endured when taken from Africa and brought to the Americas.  This was a very rough trip- cramped quarters with little or no food.

1. Get into your small groups (2-3 people) and listen to the experiences these slaves had.
     (see resource #1)  Be sure to write in your diary when the video is finished. 

2. You also need to draw the route of this journey on the map provided (see resource #2). This map must be printed for each student. Place an X where the voyage began and where it ended in the United States.  The route must be drawn with RED.

DAY 2
Now you have reached the United States. Settle in for this long and hard life as a slave.

1. You will come back to the whole group and listen to a story about slavery.
       Teacher will read From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester.

2. After the story is finished, make another entry into your diary.  Provide a drawing of a plantation or the mansion that these slaves worked on.

The crops that the slaves harvested benefited the economy. 

3. List the crops that these plantations harvested along with how they had an impact on the economy.  Include pictures if you would like.

DAY 3
Many slaves tried and tried again to escape to freedom.  There was one person that is very famous for leading 100's of slaves to freedom.  Now you will take a trip on the road to freedom...The Underground Railroad. (see resource #3)

1. Get with your partner and take this trip together.  It is much safer.  You will read about this treacherous journey.
When the reading is finished, you will again record your thoughts and feelings in your diary. 

**It is important to include who the famous conductor was.  A picture must be printed of this famous conductor.
**What town in New York did you end up or did you travel on and if so to where?  Include the time of day you traveled and what parts were scary to you.

2. Sending secret messages was one way of communicating on the railroad.  While escaping, you wrote your own letter. Make your way through Plantation Life/Escape to Freedom website. Using (resource 4), under title 2 Escape, click on the paper and pencil symbol.  Here you will drag words from the right into your letter. Then print this letter.
     
3. You will also need to print out the map of the United States, tracing your journey. You must label each town in each state that you traveled through via the Underground Railroad on the National Geographic site provided. (1 map per group)(see resource 5 & 6)

DAY 4
Tensions are rising.  The United States are torn between 2 beliefs: pro-slavery and anti-slavery.  The North and South have separated.  Slavery had an major impact on the Civil War.  The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended in June 23, 1865.  This is when the majority of fighting ended.  There was an important document that ended the Civil War and freed slaves. 

1. Answer the following questions in your journal.  You will read some information along with a you-tube video about the Emancipation Proclamation. (resources 7, 8, 9)

     * What impact did slavery have on the Civil War?

     * What is the name of the important document?

     * Who was the President that signed this document?

     * Did this free all slaves?

     * What Amendment finally abolished slavery in the United States? 

DAY 5
The end is in sight!  The North won the Civil War and the 13th Amendment has been ratified.  You have reached the end of this journey. 

1. Create a poem with the handout provided about Freedom or slavery.  You need come up with phrases or words that begin with each letter of the words FREEDOM or SLAVERY.  Please print this out when you are finished and hand it in.  Feel free to decorate as you wish. 
(resources # 10 & 11)