Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

Product Information

Johnson, Dolores. Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family. Macmillan, 1993. ISBN-13: 9780027476996

McCully, Emily Arnold. The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom. Farrar, 2007. ISBN-13: 9780374322250 B2.1 express personal responses and make connections to characters, themes, and issues presented in their own and others’ drama works Diagnostic– Getting an idea of what students think and how they see the world is incredibly important so that teachers can start to lay the foundation of a topic. The freedom wall will help inform me of various mindsets in my classroom. B1.1 engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining issues and themes in fiction and non-fiction sources from diverse communities, times, and placesI will providing prompting questions throughout the read aloud to encourage students to think about freedom, racism, prejudice and social justice, and slavery deeply Observation– I will observe my students and take Anecdotal notes to indicate who is a respectful listener, and is thoughtfully able to compose a question, as per the language curriculum. demonstrate an understanding of appropriate listening behaviour by adapting active listening strategies to suit a range of situations, including work in groups Very small introduction to Underground Railroad – a system of paths, safe houses, secret codes, etc. to obtaining freedom across north America and beyond use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;

A BIG box – minds on – to encourage students to think about the ways people were willing to go to obtain freedom Tingle, Tim. Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom. Cinco Puntos, 2006. ISBN-13: 9780938317777 Literary Elements at Work: There are two important literary elements at work in this story: artistry and the straightforward narrative of Henry’s life and plea as representative of all life and everyone’s plea: I am a human being, and I long to be free. The paintings throughout this book are inspired by a mid-nineteenth century anti-slavery artist, Samuel Rowse. Mr. Rowse’s original paintings of Henry were used to raise funds for the abolitionist movement. Mr. Nelson uses crosshatch pencil lines, and layers of watercolor and oil paint for each painting, giving an aged, almost folk art feel to each scene. These paintings are visually stunning; this is a beautiful storybook. Mr. Nelson’s facial expressions, use of color, and scene context provide a thoughtful engagement with the emotion of Henry’s story as well as a thoughtful understanding and interpretation of the word story Ellen Levine tells. Ellen Levine tells the story of Henry’s life, from a young boy in his mother’s lap to his rending away and separation from his boyhood family when he is given to another master; and again in his later life, from his courtship and marriage to Nancy, resulting in three children, to his own family’s rending away and separation from him. Throughout Henry’s tale, Ellen Levine cleverly gives voice to many of the atrocities that all slaves faced: agelessness, slaves did not have birth dates; namelessness, slaves did not have ancestral or recorded names; disconnectedness, slaves’ marriages were not honored and families were separated; powerlessness, slaves had no human voice, no economic voice, no political voice, no social voice, and yet, in the midst of social, political, economic, and personal isolation, slaves scratched, clawed and created a cultural and spiritual identity and network that enabled some to escape to freedom. Interestingly, Henry gives himself a birth date when he arrives in Philadelphia. Henry’s freedom date becomes his birth date, giving Henry in particular, and therefore slaves in general, a beginning grounding point. Students will reflect on the fact that this is a true story with real life significance and consequencesFinish by having the students look at the Freedom Wall in a gallery walk and reflect alone or in a Think, Pair, Share iPad slide show with pictures of ways people tried to obtain freedom for visual reference (pews, boxes, etc.) LEARNING SKILLS AND WORK HABITS: Responsibility, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative, Self-Regulation FOR/AS Learning– this lesson is designed as the beginning of a deeper unit on social justice and literacy. Students will learn about social justice issues while instilling reading, listening and speaking strategies.

Ringgold, Faith. Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky. Crown, 1992. ISBN-13: 9780517885437 The volunteer will take on the character of Henry. They will answer the audience’s questions by pretending to be the character and speak from his point of view Conversation– I will assess the mindfulness of the questions asked, and the depth of the conversations between students’ groups. I will add details to my anecdotal notes.

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Prior to this lesson students will have a base knowledge understanding of equity, freedom and slavery. This lesson will introduce the idea of escape and the underground railroad in North America for subsequent lessons to build upon view and compare their ideas and add to their perspectives through a gallery walk of a Freedom Wall Self-Regulation – students can monitor, assess and control their own behaviours to suit the needs of the class and activities