"Forward" to the Great Escape
In this lesson, the students will read a primary source document from Documenting the American South and examine a painting by Jacob Lawrence to illustrate the conditions of the underground railroad before the US Civil War. The students will create a painting and a narrative related to the underground railroad.
A lesson plan for grades 11–12 Social Studies
Learning outcomes
- Students will examine primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection.
- Students will read and analyze “The Autobiography of Henry Parker”.
- Students will look at “Forward” by Jacob Lawrence and examine its meaning as it relates to the underground railroad.
- Students will create a painting and a narrative about the underground railroad experience.
Teacher planning
Time required for lesson
90 minutes
Materials/resources
- Access to computers with the internet
- “Forward” painting by Jacob Lawrence
- “Autobiography of Henry Parker”
- Markers or color pencils
- Poster paper
- College-ruled paper and pencils
Technology resources
Access to computers with the internet
Pre-activities
Students should be familiar with the institution of slavery in the United States. They should also know how the enslaved Africans were able to resist the oppression of slavery.
Activities
- Students should be taken to the Documenting the American South website.
- Students should examine the following primary source document “Autobiography of Henry Parker”from the website.
- In three or more sentences, the students should answer the following question: Explain the conditions of the underground railroad based on the experiences of Mr. Parker.
- Students should also examine “Forward” by Jacob Lawrence.
- As the students look at the painting, have them write down what they believe to be going on in the painting. They should spend three minutes writing down their thoughts.
- The students should then draw a picture of what they think happened before the painting and then draw picture of what they think happened after the painting. (This should be done on either construction paper or poster board paper).
- After drawing the pictures, have the students write a story similar to the “Autobiography of Henry Parker”. The story should detail the life of one of the people in the painting. It needs to be at least three paragraphs in length.
Assessment
Pass: The students have drawn two pictures similar to the “Forward”. The students have written a three paragraph narrative about the life of one of the people in the painting.
Fail: the students did not draw two pictures from “Forward”. The students only wrote one or two paragraphs on the narrative about the persons in the painting.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (2003)
Grades 11–12 — African American Studies
- Goal 2: The learner will develop an understanding of the justifications and ramifications of slavery between 1619 and 1860.
- Objective 2.02: Discuss and evaluate the various ways Africans in America resisted slavery.



