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Grade Level: Grade 4
Click Here to see the NC Competency Goals that this WebQuest covered.
Abstract: This lesson is intended to get students thinking about the issue of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Law and the people affected by slavery, and this law Students will participate in a WebQuest to decide if they would become a conductor on the Underground Railroad. This lesson will take approximately five one hour class periods to complete.
Teachers/Facilitators need to group students into groups of three to four students, and introduce them to the WebQuest (optional). After individual web investigations and completion of diary entries, students will work in "family" groups of three to four students,based on the characters chosen (slave, abolitionist, slave owner, or politician) to design their PowerPoint presentations. All materials needed for this activity are in the classroon, online and linked from the WebQuest page.
Key Concepts: The key concepts of this lesson are the Abolition Movement, The Underground Railroad, Slavery, and The Fugitive Slave (Act).
Instructional Resources: There is a book that goes along with this
in addition to the wealth of resources on line (see resources below). The book is to be used at the teachers/facilitators discretion. Teachers and students will need access to at least one computer per group. The computers need to have access to the Internet. All resources are linked from this page and the WebQuest page.
Sequence of Activities: This activity will take approximately five one hour class periods to complete. Days 1-3 will be used for research and designing the diary. Day four can be used for subgroup work and day five, presentations.
During the web investigation teachers need to assist students when needed.
Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be assessed using criteria listed with the task and process.
Application Beyond School: This lesson will help students to recognize that inquiry based instruction is a crucial component of effective decision-making. Investigating problems of importance to society past and present has value. If we are to make sound decisions in efforts to solve social problems, we must learn how to pursue data, think critically, and communicate their findings in a way that will be effective and useful. These are skills that are important in all areas of our lives!
Connections: This lesson could be linked to a Language Arts Unit on writing and technology
Resources That Were Helpful In Preparing This WebQuest
North Carolina Standard Course of Study
Confronting History: The Fugitive Slave Law Dandy Lion Press
Other sources noted on the pages
Discusses the efforts of abolitionists in the decades before the Civil War.
A young boy and his father help a family of slaves escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad.
Five accounts of slaves who escaped to freedom before the Civil war.