The first 20 years of Douglass' life were lived as a slave. Have your students write a letter to Frederick Douglass when he was in slavery. Ask them to think about what message they would deliver from the future. Ideally, this should get students thinking about whether black equality has been fully achieved, or if there is still some way to go. Encourage students to deliver hopeful messages to Douglass about how far we have come over the last two centuries.
One way to teach students about Douglass' life is to put them in his shoes. Break the class into groups of four or five. Assign a short passage to each group from Douglass' autobiography. Ideally, each passage should involve narrative and illustrate some kind of scene. Have each group make a short play based on the scene. After each play, have the groups talk about what lessons they learned from their passage.
Douglass' life-long pursuit was the abolition of slavery and equality for blacks. Read a section of Douglass' autobiography out loud that describes slavery. Have students consider what life was like as a slave. Taking a cue from Douglass, students must write a short journal entry from the perspective of a slave. They should detail not only the harsh tasks they endure, but also their feelings and hopes for freedom.
Fun coloring activities can help students learn about Douglass by making them familiar with his face. Apples4theteacher.com has on online coloring activity that features Douglass' likeness. Students can color Douglass' hair, eyes, beard, skin and clothing using an online crayon and a variety of colors. Have students print out their Douglass pictures and paste them around the classroom.