Anne McDonald
EDP 621-Summer I 2002
The Underground Road Collaborative Learning
Project
Goal:
Students
will gain an appreciation for this important event in American history. Through class discussion, collaborative
learning and independent work the students will learn what the Underground
Railroad was, how slaves escaped to freedom and who some of the key figures of
the time were.
Abstract:
The
Underground Railroad was important for slaves from the South who sought to
escape to freedom in the North.
Getting to the North was not an easy task though; it could be a
terrifying and dangerous experience for slaves who often had to undertake the
task alone. In this lesson
students will become knowledgeable on some of the resources that slaves relied
on to get them to the North.
Together they will learn about how the song “Follow the Drinking
Gourd” helped them with the journey, the routes that the slaves took, and
the key historical figures that were involved in The Underground Railroad.
Materials:
·
“Barefoot: Escape on the Underground
Railroad” or any other age appropriate book that describes the event.
·
A
map of the routes used by the escaping slaves
·
Lyrics
to the song, “Follow the
Drinking Gourd”
·
A
picture of the Big Dipper
·
Construction
paper
·
Markers,
colored pencils, etc.
Students
will be introduced to the Underground Railroad by reading to them or having
them read some background text on the subject. One example would be the book,
“
Barefoot:
Escape on the Underground Railroad”. After the students have an understanding for the history of
the event, the teacher should show them a map of The Underground Railroad
routes and explain how slaves often were forced to find their own way to the
North. Once in the North they
would meet people working on The Underground Railroad who helped them get to
Canada. Despite the fact that they
were in the North they still had to remain in secrecy because they could be
caught and taken back to the South.
Introduce the problem of how escaping slaves would
have known to get to the North.
Ask them how they would get to a new place if they had never been there
before. At this point,
provide a picture of the Big Dipper for students to look at. Explain how Polaris, the North Star,
always points North and thus provided a guide for the slaves
At this point divide the class into five
heterogeneous groups and have group members take turns reading the lyrics to
“Follow the Drinking Gourd:” Propose questions to the groups
addressing:
What is
the Drinking Gourd?
How did it help slaves find their way to the North?
Give
the groups about 10 minutes to discuss the lyrics among themselves. At this point come back to a large
group setting and have a student from each group share their thoughts. Share with the class exactly what the
drinking gourd refers to as well as the meaning to the other lyrics.
Ask the students to return to their groups and
explain that they are to pretend that they are living back in the time of
slavery and want to help slaves reach the North. Assign each group one verse of “Follow the
Drinking Gourd”. Have each
group illustrate the lyrics to the verse on a piece of construction paper. Encourage them to draw the picture to
make it easy for the slaves to understand where they need to go. Each student should contribute at least
one idea for the poster. Students
who do not draw a part of the poster should be the members who come to the
front and explain the poster.
Another group member could recite the verse.
An additional component of the project would be for
students to brainstorm in their groups on the components that make a hero and a
friend. Have them discuss if they
believe there were many heroes involved in The Underground Railroad. Did these people have any special
qualities that allowed them to do this very important job?
Next discuss with the class how important some of
these heroes were to helping the slaves complete their journey. Explain the risks that they took by performing
this important job. Have students
reconvene in their groups. List
the names of some of the helpers such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas,
Susan B. Anthony. Introduce these
heroes and then assign one to each group. Provide resources and guidance for
the students so they can gather addition information about the lives of these
individuals.
Principles of Cooperative Learning
·
Heterogeneous
Grouping allows students to learn from one another. Shapon-Shevin (1999) states that less advanced students can
benefit from the skills of the more advanced group members. Also, students learn to work with
others who are different from them.
This lesson uses a heterogeneous grouping approach, which should be
predetermined by the teacher before beginning the lesson.
·
Shared
Goals are an additional benefit of a cooperative learning format. Instead of students working against
each other they are working together for a common goal of a final product that
they are proud of. It would be
easy for the teacher to assign each student to independently research one of
the historical figures or to individually write about the meaning of
“Follow the Drinking Gourd”.
But, the quality of the what one student produces is likely to be less
than that of what an entire group can produce. In this format, students are able to benefit from each
other’s individual skills.
·
Task
interdependence means that each member of the group is needed in order for the
task to be accomplished. It is
cooperation in which members rely on each other’s individual skills.
While some students may be better artists, others may be very creative with
generating ideas for the poster.
Others may be confident at speaking to a group and could take on that
task easily.
·
Personal
accountability suggests that each person’s contribution is important to
the group’s success. This is achieved in the activity where student
groups research different aspects of the lives of famous people from the
Underground Railroad. Each student
is responsible for learning something slightly different from the other. They then bring it all together to
create a final product in the form of a presentation about that individual.
·
Collaborative
skills needed for cooperative learning to be successful take time. The teacher should not expect that the
first time she/he tries a cooperative lesson that it will work
beautifully. Students have to
learn how to
work cooperatively using social skills.
The structure of the collaborative projects in this lesson is laid out
so that the initial work that groups do is less demanding. By the time students begin to work on
their investigation of heroes of the Underground Railroad they will be familiar
with each other. They will know
and be respectful of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
This lesson on the
Underground Railroad can serve as a natural lead-in to a discussion and
activities on the importance of giving and getting support, discussed by
Sapon-Shevin. At the beginning of
the lesson, the teacher might open it by asking students to provide examples of
times when they received help from a peer. The discussion can also include experiences the
children have had with providing assistance to another person. An activity like the Classroom Yellow
Pages where students list things they can teach or share with others would be
an excellent follow up activity.
In addition, an activity like the Good Deed Tree could be used. This involves students writing down
instances where they see others doing something good or helpful.
It is also important to note
some of the comments that the Schmuck’s provide about group
development. First, for
cooperative learning groups to be successful the classroom needs a
participative teacher who can provide guidance in an informal, relaxed manner
and who can allow students to make decisions for themselves. Also, the importance of transactional
communication between group members can not be understated as well as how to
give constructive feedback.
Sapon-Shevin,
M. (1999). Because We Can Change the World.
Allyn & Bacon: Needham
Heights, MA.
Schmuck, R.A. & P.A. Schmuck. Group Processes in the Classroom. McGraw-Hill:
Boston.