Slavery Projects for Middle School
Slavery existed in the United States for nearly 250 years and was a legal practice until the introduction of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. Middle school students can learn about the history of slavery, the conditions endured by the slaves and the risks they took to escape, through interactive in-class projects and activities.
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3D Exhibits
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Students create dioramas or scale models of slave ships, safe houses on the underground railway, slave auctions or plantation life. Using their research of the period to guide them, students work as individuals or in pairs to complete the projects. Children should be instructed to incorporate specific, accurate details into their models, and write a short essay describing their exhibit.
Spiritual Slave Songs
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Students listen to slave songs (sometimes known as Negro spirituals) and review the lyrics. Children learn the history behind the genre, including a discussion of coded songs such as 'The Drinking Gourd' which provided literal instructions and directions for escape. The song refers to the Big Dipper, which would guide the slaves toward the North on their dangerous journey to freedom, and refers to specific markings on trees and particular rivers the slaves had to cross to reach the safe houses on the underground railway. Students are tasked with composing their own coded slave song, including melody and lyrics in the traditional spiritual genre and style.
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Underground Railroad Web Quest
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Children complete a web quest based on the Underground Railroad. Through Internet research, students answer specific questions about the slaves' experiences, complete journal entries from the perspective of a slave and participate in web-based activities. This activity can be customized to a particular theme or lesson plan. For example, if the class is studying the abolition movement, the questions and Internet activities can be focused on prominent individuals from the movement.
Escape Routes
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Students review and research information about the underground railway, a network of safe houses that would guide the slaves to Canada. Students work individually or in pairs to plot their escape route. Children should consider what dangers they might encounter on the journey, what calculated risks they would take and who they would trust to help them. Class discussion after the activity should focus on the other aspect of the journey, those who risked their own freedom to help others. The class should consider the abolition movement, including individuals such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Children will discuss whether they would have actively participated in the movement, had they been alive during those times.
Skit
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Based on their research of the Underground Railway, students are grouped into small teams to compose a short skit about the experiences of an escaping slave. Children should keep the skit as realistic as possible, describing the events, surroundings and specific difficulties that the slaves might have encountered. Each group should assign a student to narrate the events as they unfold during the skit.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit plantation image by Christian De Brito from Fotolia.com
