Freedom with Harriet: Life on the Underground Railroad

This lesson for grades 6–8 will help students understand the experiences of slaves in the South who sought freedom via the Underground Railroad. Students will analyze a painting and create a living tableau that reflects the issues and emotions the painting evokes.

A lesson plan for grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Dianne Harlow

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Related pages

• Plantation life in the 1840s: A slave's description: This lesson introduces students to a description of life on the plantation and the cultivation of cotton from the perspective of a slave. It focuses on the use of slave narratives made available by the Documenting the American South collection.
• Underground Railroad quilts: Fact or folklore?: In this lesson, students explore the controversy surrounding a book entitled Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, which was published as a non-fiction account of fugitive slaves sending coded messages through quilt patterns. Students evaluate numerous sources and assess the validity of each in an attempt to determine if the quilt codes are fact or folklore.
• An American hero: Harriet Tubman: In this lesson, the school librarian and classroom teacher should work together to teach students about the life of Harriet Tubman in recognition of African-American History and Cultural Heritage Month.

Related topics

• Learn more about Harriet Tubman, Jacob Lawrence, Underground Railroad, history, paintings, slavery, social studies, tableaux interpretation, and visual literacy.

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In this lesson students will investigate the dangers and emotions experienced by escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad. By utilizing drama and written work they will consider how they would have felt during an escape. Students will write a narrative journaling their journey from slavery to freedom, using Jacob Lawrence’s painting Forward to provide them with a starting point for their writing.

Learning outcomes

• Students will use a work of art to enhance their understanding and interpretation of the experiences of those involved in the Underground Railroad and the quest for freedom of slaves during that time.
• Students will increase their knowledge of the reasons behind the desire of slaves to escape and the implications of slavery in the south.
• Students will work from a painting and prior knowledge to create a narrative of an escaping slave.
• Students will work collaboratively in groups to create a living tableau of the painting on which they are working, respecting the views and ideas of others.

Teacher planning

Materials needed

• Image of the painting Forward by Jacob Lawrence from the Arts NC website, projected as a computer image or prepared as an overhead projector transparency.
• Computer and LCD projector to display image, or overhead projector.
• Classroom arranged for group interaction — groups of five where possible.

Time required for lesson

One to two 90-minute periods

Pre-activities

This lesson builds on previous knowledge of the Underground Railroad and the role Harriet Tubman played in leading the slaves to safety. It may be useful to conduct a brief review of this topic before beginning the lesson. Brainstorm with students what they already know about Harriet Tubman so that they can call on previous knowledge and an ability to relate to emotions and experiences. General background information on Harriet Tubman can be found on the PBS website and on the New York History Net website.

Activities

1. Display the painting Forward by Jacob Lawrence. Give students time to reflect on the image.
2. Open the discussion. Ask the students what they see, and guide them towards gleaning the following facts:
   • What does this picture show? (Harriet leading slaves to safety)
   • What is she holding? (A gun)
   • Why? (Safety from bounty hunters, robbers etc.)
   • How does the artist make the gun stand out? (The white background of the clothes)
   • What parts of the painting does the artist draw our eyes to? (The baby, Harriet’s skirt and the gun, and a bright spot at the top of the hills).
   • What emotions do we see in the faces? (Fear? Regret?)
   • What is the emotion of this painting? (Open answers)
   • Ask for other comments on what they see or feel when viewing this painting.
3. Split the class into groups of five where possible and ask them to recreate the painting. Explain that they will each take the role of either a slave or Harriet Tubman, and that they will put dialogue to the picture and present their tableau to their peers. Give guidance on what you expect to see — appropriate conversation, strong emotions, and dialogue describing the feeling of the scene in the painting. Each group will present for a maximum of 5 minutes.
4. Give each group 10-15 mins to work on their tableau. Circulate around the room keeping students focused on the task. Keep the time short so that the dialogue is kept short and appropriate.
5. Allow each group to present their living painting. Each group will begin in the same positions as the painting and when the teacher says “action,” the painting will come to life with dialogue and movement. At the end of 5 minutes call “cut” to end the scene.
6. Allow time for feedback to each group both from teacher and peers.
7. Recap what has been covered in the group work and in the initial painting observation.
8. Direct students to their individual tasks. Each student will take the role of one of the slaves and write a narrative on their journey with Harriet Tubman. Guide them to remember the emotions on the faces of the people in the painting and the dialogues worked on earlier.

Modifications

Modifications for this activity will be by outcome — the participation in the group work and the amount of writing completed can be modified according to needs and abilities. Picture narratives can be used for students with limited writing ability.

Assessment

Oral assessment and observation will be used for the first part of this activity:

• Are the students making informed observations of the painting?
• Do they feel the mood of the setting and the emotions on the faces of the slaves?
• During the living tableaus and the rehearsals, are the dialogues appropriate?
• Is the mood conveyed by the words?
• Does each student involve him or herself in the group work?
• Are the group dynamics effective?

For the written task an effective, informed, and descriptive narrative should be expected and graded appropriately.

Alternative assessments

Alternative assessments can be used if any of the modifications were used and should pertain to any IEP’s in place within your class.

Comments

I have carried out similar lessons with my students, using artwork to create a living tableau. I have found that students of all ages react well to the “action” and “cut” directions of the movie world and it definitely keeps the time for each group tight and well maintained. This is certainly something you could recreate with other artworks or photographs depicting other historical events.

Supplemental information

• The NC Arts website includes links to teacher questions and comments and a brief background about the painting Forward and the artist Jacob Lawrence.
• Further information about the Undergound Railroad can be found on the National Geographic website.
• Further information about Harriet Tubman can be found on the PBS website and the New York History Net website.

Critical vocabulary

• Harriet Tubman
• “Moses of Her People”
• Underground Railroad
• Slavery
• Freedom
• Emancipation
• Bounty hunters
• Persecution
• Art terms (light, dark, composition, positioning)