When teaching about the Underground Railroad, have children compose journals pretending to be slaves. After discussing the conditions of the Underground Railroad, encourage children to assume the role of a slave who is using the escape system. Instruct them to write journal entries to illustrate their experiences on their journey to freedom. Prompt children to use jargon that was associated with the Underground Railroad, such as conductors, stations and agents. Have children assemble their entries and bind them with a cover or a stapler to form them into journals; they can even age them with steeped tea bags to give them a more authentic look.
To gain an understanding of the magnitude of this escape system, have children map the routes of the Underground Railroad. Provide children with black-line printouts of 19th century U.S. maps. Offer children books that illustrate the routes along the Underground Railroad and have them use markers to chart the routes on their black-line maps. Prompt students to include the names of the states on their maps and have them differentiate between free states and slave states by outlining them with different colors; red for slave states and blue for free states, perhaps.
The night sky and the constellations played a large role in the operation of the Underground Railroad. Since a lot of the traveling was done under the cover of night, the stars and other celestial objects were used as guides that directed slaves to the north. Discuss with children the importance of the night sky for the operation of the Underground Railroad. Have children chart key stars and constellations, such as the North Star and the Big Dipper. Cast a constellation projector on a ceiling in a dark room, or take children outside at night to observe the different stars and help them locate stars and constellations.
Have children compare and contrast the differences between the North and South during the time of the Underground Railroad. Provide them with books that offer information about the economy, lifestyle and other pertinent information regarding the different regions in the United States at that time. After comparing and contrasting, ask students where they would have preferred to live during this time in U.S. history. Ask them if they had been a slave would they think it would be beneficial to risk traveling along the Underground Railroad to reach the North.