African American Studies

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.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 and 11–12 Information Skills and Social Studies)

By Abby Stotsenberg.

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.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

By John Schaefer and Victoria Schaefer.

Lunsford Lane: A slave in North Carolina who buys his freedom

In this lesson plan, students read a primary source document to learn about the life of Lunsford Lane, a slave who worked in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. Students answer questions about Lane based on his memoir to help them understand the details of his life.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

By John Schaefer and Victoria Schaefer.

Resources on the web

Spirituals

This lesson plan introduces students to the role that spirituals have played in African American history and religion. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Music Education and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities