If You Traveled on The Underground Railroad

Author:  Ellen Levine                                                    
www.ellenlevineauthor.com/

Illustrator: Larry Johnson

About the Author:

Ellen Levine grew up and still lives in New York City.  She grew up in a house that was filled with books.  Her mother wrote reviews for books and theatre before she had children.  Her mother always took her to the library to pick out books to read.  She was always surrounded by literature and conversations with her parents about events happening around the world and home. 

Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade Level: 3-6

Synopsis:
This is a story about what the Underground Railroad was, and what is meant to be a slave.  What dangers slaves faced if they ran away, and what dangers there were if you helped a slave move through the Underground Railroad. 
The Underground Railroad was a system for runaway slaves to move from the South and slavery to the North and freedom.  It was a secret way to move North with special hiding places throughout the South and North.  People would help slaves with food, water, help with any medical issues and find hiding places until they could move on. 

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
What is a railroad used for?  What were slaves? What do you think an Underground Railroad was and what was it used for?

Activity:

Create a K-W-L chart with the class, what they know and want to know about an Underground Railroad

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

What was the Underground Railroad?  What did it mean to be a slave?  When did the Underground Railroad end and why? 

Activity:

Have students write two paragraphs describing if they were living in the north, would they have helped slaves through the underground railroad or not and why.  
  

Reflection:

I think this is a good book for teaching about slavery and how people tried to move away from the harsh conditions they were in.  It also is a book that could be used for teaching tolerance.  I think teachers can talk about how awful slavery was, but with this book can show what some people in the north did for people from the south, it shows compassion in people, and demonstrates tolerance and acceptance of differences in all people.