Lesson 4: Underground Railroad

I. General Information:
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Discipline: Social Studies
Unit Topic: Slavery and the Underground Railroad
Time Frame: 45 Minutes (4 days)
Text: Slavery in the United States by Rebecca Rissman
Henrys Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Other Materials: Chart paper with KWL, Jig Saw organizer, Success Criteria
created by class, Pdf of Henrys Freedom Box, poster with collaborative discussion
questions, Reflection sheet for writing

II. Essential Questions

1. How does history shape the present?
2. How have various groups of people influenced the development of America?
3. What can we learn from analyzing major historical events?

Essential Understandings:
1. Slavery was an American cultural, political, and economic issue.
2. Slavery divided America both regionally (North and South) as well as
philosophically from the colonial period until the Civil War.

III. Standards/Indicators

Social Studies:

Standard 5.0 History

TOPIC A. INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES CHANGE OVER TIME

INDICATOR
4. Analyze how the institution of slavery impacted individuals and groups in Maryland.

OBJECTIVES:
a) Compare the lives of slave families and free blacks
b) Describe the anti-slavery movement in Maryland.
c) Describe the growth of the Underground Railroad

English Language Arts:

Reading:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.

Speaking & Listening:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas
and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw
on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under
discussion.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.B
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.C
Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make
comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.D
Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of
the discussion.

IV. Lesson Objectives

Students will learn about the life as a slave on the Underground Railroad.
Students will be able to use information gained from various sources to answer:
Why does Henry decide to risk his life for freedom?
Students will be able to successfully engage in a discussion centered around the
topic- Hernys Freedom Box.
Students will be able to support claims with text evidence.

V. Evaluation/Assessment:
Formal: Students will receive feedback from the discussion according to the
success criteria. Teacher will analyze students ability to provide text evidence to support
the discussion question. Students writing with text evidence.

Informal: Throughout the lesson, various informal assessments will be

administered to check for understanding before their formal assessment. Teacher will
ask questions during the lesson to prompt responses. Participation will be monitored.
The formative assessment strategy I would like to include in my unit is the collaborative
discussion. Students will need to provide text evidence to back up their responses.
Before the discussion begins, the students will create success criteria to set the
expectations for success in our collaborative discussion.

VI. Procedures:
Introduction
1. We will start this lesson out with a KWL on the Undergroud Railroad.
2. We will fill out the K and W on the chart.

Teaching/Activities
Day 1
1. Explain to the students today we will be looking into the Underground
Railroad.
2. Introduce JigSaw to the students.
3. Students will JigSaw Chapter 4.
4. Students will work in groups to read an assigned section of the chapter.
5. While students are reading the section, they will fill in the organizer.
 6. When we come back together I will explain how to take notes on what people
are giving during their Jig Saw presentation.
7. Students will come back together and share the information that they
discovered while reading their section.

Closure
Students will complete a video journal entry using SeeSaw talking about
what they learned today, anything interesting and why it was interesting to them.

Day 2
1. We will review the information from the previous day.
2. Students will listen to the author read the story Henrys Freedom Box.
3. While students are listening to the story, we will stop and ask questions about the
book to check for students comprehension.
4. Students will receive the question for discussion: Why does Henry decide to risk
his life for freedom?
5. Students will be able to use a pdf of the text to highlight or underline the evidence
in the text that supports the question.
6. Explain to the students that we will be doing a discussion using this question.
Students need to make sure that they have at least 2 pieces of text evidence to
support the question.
7. I will pull a group to work with me to help them find text evidence. Others will
work at their seat.

Closure
Students will complete a video journal entry using SeeSaw talking about what
they learned today, anything interesting and why it was interesting to them.

Day 3
1. Explain to the students that we will be having a collaborative discussion.
2. Students will be working in groups to answer questions on a poster. The questions
are:
1. What does the word collaborate mean? What makes a discussion
collaboartive?
2. What does it mean to build on others ideas?
3. What words or phrases can you use to link your ideas to your
classmates ideas in a collaborative discussion?
4. What are some positive ways to contribute to a meaningful
discussion?
3. As students are working, I will be walking around listening to students responses.
Sharing my thoughts and stepping in if students seemed to be confused or not on
the right path.
4. Introduce the students to the learning goal and success criteria.
Learning Goal: I understand that building on others ideas helps create
collaborative discussions.
Success Criteria: I can ask my classmates questions to better understand their
ideas.
I can link my ideas to my clasmates ideas in collaborative discussions.
I can use text evidence to support my response.
 5. Then students add on to the success criteria and we take a look at what it will
look like in our classroom.
6. List ways that we can create a collaborative discussion and students write on a
post it.

Closure
Share ideas with the class that are on the post its.

Day4
1. We will review the success criteria from the previous day.
2. Students will have 10-15 minutes to review their text evidence.
3. Go over expectation for Socratic Seminar. Students will be split into an inner and
outer circle. Inside circle will be engaging in the discussion. Outer circle will be
filling out an observation sheet on their discussion partner. The discussion will go
on for a set amount of time. Then we will switch roles.
4. Students will be plaed into groups.
5. Share the discussion question.
6. As students are discussing, teacher will record obervations according to the
success criteria.
7. Switch roles and repeart discussion question.
8. Discussion is over, students will come back together and meet with their
discussion partner and give feedback according to the success criteria.

Closure
Bring students back together to share their progress on collaborative
discussions. Then pass out reflection sheet. Students will fill out the sheet and
turn in for feedback.

Resources:

"Henry's Freedom Box Read Aloud with Ellen Levine." Scholastic. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr.
2017.

"Jigsaw Graphic Organizer." BetterLesson. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Teaching Channel (Producer). (2015, January 30). Formative Assessment: Collaborative

Discussions [Video File] Retrieved
from: http://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/formative-assessment-example-ela-sbac

"What Was the Underground Railroad?" Wonderopolis. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.