Skylar Linnett

EDUC 228 History-Geography Lesson Plan

Grade: 4th
Subject: History Historical Event/Person
Topic: People of the Underground Railroad
Objective: Given the appropriate materials and information, the students will be able to learn
about specific people from the Underground Railroad and then devise a poster presentation as a
group, using posters and pictures, while working effectively and constructively together and be
able to get the most important facts onto their poster.
NCSS Standard: Strand 2: Time, Continuity, and Change: this lesson allows the students to dive
into the past and reconstruct the past in order to determine the information and make sense of the
lessons on the Underground Railroad. This lesson allows the students to find out what happened
in the past and how it came to be. Strand 3: People, Places and Environments: this lesson allows
the students to study people from the past and allows them to discover how those people
interacted with history and the world. It also lets the students develop a sense of where these
famous people were located and how that caused a reaction with the Underground Railroad.
Prerequisite Skills: Students must have a general understanding of the Underground Railroad
from previous lessons, students must be able to create a poster with markers and other utensils in
an effective manner, and students must also be able to work together in a group.
Materials Needed: Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter, short biographies on Harriet
Tubman, Thomas Garrett, John Fairfield, Frederick Douglass, William Still and Samuel Burris,
presentation papers, writing utensils, other research and readings used previously in class
concerning the Underground Railroad, white board for brainstorming, internet for further
research (optional). Glue, scissors, construction paper, markers and tape, examples of posters,
and an ELMO.
Grouping: In order to quickly group the students together, the students will count off 1-5 in
order to determine who will be in each group. Using this method allows for the quick formation
of student groups in order to get started quickly enough to be able to finish poster within one
social studies lesson time period.

Introduction: (As a whole group) I am going to start todays lesson with a read aloud, Follow
the Drinking Gourd, in order to get our minds back on track and transition back into Social
Studies with our learning about the Underground Railroad. (Start reading Follow the

Drinking Gourd aloud and ask for connections to previous lessons throughout the book.
Use think aloud in order to start connections if the students are struggling and also remind
students of previous lessons in class.)
As we all know, we have been learning about the Underground Railroad the last couple
of lessons, and we keep hearing some of the same names throughout all of our reading and
research! I dont know about you, but I am having trouble keeping all of the names organized in
my own head. What do you think we could do in order to help us remember all of these names
and what exactly they did that contributed to the Underground Railroad? (Give students time
to think about what the class could do and offer suggestions; write those suggestions on the
board.) These are all great ideas, I think we are on to something with the idea about posting
pictures of the people by their names. For todays lesson, I think we should make poster
biographies of the names we keep hearing about with pictures and quick details that we can look
at on a poster, so we can refer back to the posters every time we hear a name. Lets quickly
brainstorm some of the names we have been reading about. (Start writing the names on the
whiteboard in a list.) What a great list of names we have! I think it would be great if we could
make a poster for all of these names on the board then we for sure will have a better time
remembering each person and how they helped with the Underground Railroad.(At this point,
decide on how the groups will be split up using knowledge of your students, pick a
method; in this lesson, we are counting off 1-5.) In order for us to get the posters of people
done within one lesson, we should probably use groups and split up the names. Now we need to
count off into groups using 1-5 and then find your other group members and sit with them. I will
give you a minute or two to do so. (Give students enough time to count off and find their
corresponding groups.)
Lesson Procedure: Now that we are in our groups, each group will need to pick one name off
of the list we just created on the board and find the corresponding reading materials and
research about that person. We must all work together within our groups, using respectful
language and attitudes while doing so. (Give groups a minute or two to decide which person
they would like to select and then allow them another minute or so to grab the short
biography books and materials related to their person and presentation materials such as
poster paper and writing utensils.) Now that we all have selected our people and the
materials we need, each group will need to draw or cut out and paste a picture of their person on
the presentation paper. Then each group will need to write down as many facts about that person
as they can fit onto their paper that will allow us to use these posters around the classroom while
we continue learning about the Underground Railroad for a sort of quick glance and reminder
on who each of these people are! (Have the students start working on their poster
presentations, after a couple minutes start listing some ideas they might want to include on
their poster.) Some important aspects that you might want to include on your posters might be
the name of your person, the birth and death years, where they were located within the US, what
they actually did for the Underground Railroad, or other random important facts about each
person. (While giving suggestions to the entire class, put example picture on the ELMO for
all the student groups to see.) Here is an example for you to take a peek at and gather some

ideas on how you might want to create your poster. (While the groups are working on each
of their posters, walk around the classroom offering advice and answering any questions
the groups may have concerning this lesson. Use this time to observe which students are
participating and which are hanging out in the background. If some of the students arent
pulling their own weight, offer words of encouragement and suggestions on how they can
get involved with their poster presentation.) If your group would like to add pictures printed
from the internet, have one member of the group go to the computer stations to find a picture or
two and print it off. I will be around that station in order to help students find the pictures they
need. (Allow students to print off a picture or two to add into their posters, but be near the
station in order to make sure the students are staying on task while at the computer
station.) As we start to finish our posters, be thinking about who in your group will be sharing
what from the posters and what information you are going to share with the class. Each person
in the group must share a bit from the poster. Each group will present their poster and person
and give us some information they included on their poster and why. (Have the students stay
in their groups until they finish their poster.)
Assessment: After the groups have finished their posters, have each group take turns presenting
their poster and person, reading the facts and information on their poster and sharing what they
learned about each of the people from the Underground Railroad. The groups should have split
up the poster in terms of which person will describe each piece of the poster and the information
that goes along with it. The groups will come to the front of the classroom in order to share their
posters and discuss their information.
Observational: During the lesson, be sure to walk around the classroom and visit with each
groups in order to observe which members are working and which are struggling to find their
place within the group. Take the work time to determine which groups are on track and getting
their poster finished and which groups are not on task.
Formal: Using the Rubric below to formally assess each groups poster and presentation.

Content

Teamwork

3
The poster included
many facts and pieces
of information about
the person, including
all suggested in class.

Each member of the

team worked
efficiently on the
poster together, took
turns and respected

2
The poster included
some facts and pieces
of information about
the person, including
some of the
suggestions from
class.
Most of the members
of each group worked
on the poster together
and respected ideas

1
The poster included
few facts and pieces
of information about
the person and very
little from the
suggestions in class.
Only a couple
members of each
group worked on the
poster.

Delivery of
Presentation

Creative Poster

ideas and opinions of

others.
All members shared
information about
their poster and facts
about the person.
The poster uses
visual aids, colorful
writing and is
organized neatly.

and opinions of
others.
Most of the members
shared information
from the poster and
facts about the
person.
The poster uses some
visual aids, slightly
colorful and mostly
organized.

Only one or two

people from the
group shared the
information about the
poster.
The poster doesnt
use any visual aids,
or colorful writing
and does not look
organized.

Modifications:
Grouping: If needed, the method of deciding groups can be changed to fit each classroom
and the students involved. Group numbers can be taken out of a pile of numbers, groups can be
self-assigned, or groups could be picked depending on the person from the Underground
Railroad; each student that wanted to learn more about a certain person could go to that group.
Struggling Learners: For the students that might be struggling with this poster, while
walking around the classroom, offer them suggestions on where they might be able to start, or
where they might be able to find the information they are looking for. Be sure to answer
questions while the groups are working in order to aid that struggling student. You can also offer
advice and ideas to the struggling learners in order to aid them on finding facts and information.
If possible, allow struggling students more time to complete their poster before sharing.
Gifted Learners: Ask the gifted learners to dive more in-depth in their research of the
person their group has selected. Ask questions in order to lead their inquiries more in-depth and
have them start thinking deeper about what their person did in order to help the Underground
Railroad. The gifted learners can also find connections between their person and previous lessons
in order to share those connections with the class. They could also find the information on what
their person did after the Underground Railroad.
Example of Informational Poster:

References:
Winter, J. (1988). Follow the Drinking Gourd. New York: Knopf.
Rubric adapted from:
http://www.education.txstate.edu/ci/faculty/dickinson/PBI/Tony07Projects/ecosystem/Content/Pi
cture%202.png
Poster Example from: http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/1979