Underground Railroad Exhibit: Teacher Resources - Lesson Plan Five
Welcome to Next Stop Freedom! An exhibit on the story of the Underground Railroad.
Canadian Teachers Guide
Lesson Plan Five: Secret Songs and Words of the Underground Railroad
Grade Level: 7
Subjects: Social Studies (History), Music
Overview: Students will learn how free Blacks, fugitive slaves and those who assisted them in their escape used secret words and songs to communicate important messages. The lesson includes an interpretation exercise on a UGRR song titled "Follow the Drinking Gourd".
The tradition of forwarding important information through song can be traced from Africa and it remained an important means of communication during the Underground Railroad period. As slaves carried out their work, secret messages would be passed from slave to slave through the use of song. One of the most famous of these code songs, "Follow the Drinking Gourd", gives the escape route from Alabama and Mississippi. The drinking gourd are code words for the Big Dipper.
Purpose: Students will appreciate that the importance of secrecy was often a matter of life and death. They will understand how these musical codes, set in their traditional song, guided escapees through the treacherous route to freedom.
Objectives:
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To gain an understanding of how the coded songs and words used during the Underground Railroad period helped refugee slaves escape to freedom.
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To be exposed to the musical and oral traditions that were an integral part of the culture of the African-American Slave.
Activities:
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Teacher begins class by asking students if modern songs contain secret or coded messages.
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Teacher introduces UGRR secret words and songs.
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Students are provided with a copy of " Follow the Drinking Gourd".
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Students are asked to provide their interpretation of this song orally.
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Students then search for web sites for information on the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd".
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Class discusses song text and trace route on map
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Students are asked to complete the Code Word "Mix ... Match".
The correct definition is provided below.
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Code Words:
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Definitions:
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Baggage -
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escaping slave
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Conductor -
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coordinator, plotting escape course
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Drinking Gourd -
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the Big Dipper which includes the North Star
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Forwarding -
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taking refugee slaves from station to station
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Freedom train -
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the Underground Railroad
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Heaven or promised
land -
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Canada, the northern states
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Load of
potatoes -
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escaping slaves hidden under the farm supplies
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Preachers -
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leaders
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Shepherds -
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people who escorted slaves
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Stockholder -
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supporters of the Underground Railroad
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Resource Materials:
Duration: One class period of 45 minutes.
Expectations:
( Refer to Ontario Ministry of Education and Training document. Social Studies 1-6 History and Geography 7-8. Ontario Curriculum - The Arts - 1-8)
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History
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explain Canada's involvement in the Underground Railroad
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Music
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identify and perform music of a variety of cultures and periods
Go to:
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