Routes to Freedom

Grade Level

4th Grade

Duration

60 minutes

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Unit Context

Unit 1 of 6: Journey to Freedom: The Underground Railroad
Lesson 3: Routes to Freedom: Mapping the Journey

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Common Core Standards Alignment

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5
Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

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Learning Objective

I can map the routes of the Underground Railroad.

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Success Criteria

• I can identify at least three routes taken by escaping slaves.
• I can locate and label safe houses on my map.
• I can explain why safe houses and routes were important to freedom seekers.

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Materials Needed

• Printed U.S. outline maps (blank or pre-drawn for differentiated groups)
• Colored pencils, markers
• Tactile materials (string/yarn, foam shapes, textured stickers) for dyslexia-friendly options
• Research brief handouts about Underground Railroad routes and safe houses (simplified text)
• Projector or chart paper to display routes and safe houses
• Clay or modeling materials for optional 3D safe house model extension

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Lesson Steps

1. Activate Prior Knowledge & Introduce (10 minutes)

• Ask: "What do we remember about the Underground Railroad?" (Brief student sharing)
• Briefly review previous lessons: the meaning of the Underground Railroad as secret routes and safe places to help enslaved people escape.
• Show a large projected map of the U.S. illustrating the general routes of the Underground Railroad, explaining safety, secrecy, and direction north.
• Ask students to listen carefully for the names of important routes and safe houses.

2. Guided Mapping Activity (20 minutes)

• Distribute blank or pre-drawn maps depending on student needs.
• Read a short descriptive passage aloud about three main routes and several known safe houses from the handout.
• Model with the class how to draw a route: use a colored line with tactile yarn for hands-on learners.
• Students trace or draw at least three routes on their maps and label at least three safe houses.
• Circulate and assist individual students, offering tactile materials and pre-drawn maps as needed.

3. Partner Discussion and Share (10 minutes)

• Students pair up to explain their maps to each other, using the success criteria as a checklist:
  • "Can your partner name three routes?"
  • "Can your partner point to at least three safe houses?"
• Encourage students to ask questions and offer positive feedback.

4. Class Presentation & Reflection (10 minutes)

• Select 3-4 volunteers to share their maps with the class, explaining one route and a safe house.
• Highlight how these routes helped people escape to freedom, emphasizing courage and community support.
• Classroom discussion: "Why do you think it was important to have many different routes and safe houses?"

5. Extension / Home Connection (5 minutes)

• Introduce extension activity: Create a 3D model of a safe house using clay, shoeboxes, or other materials at home or in the next lesson.
• Explain that this helps us understand what a safe house might have looked like and how secret it needed to be.

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Differentiation Strategies

• For students needing support: Provide pre-drawn maps with routes outlined. Use tactile yarn for tracing routes and textured stickers for safe houses.
• For advanced learners: Encourage detailed labeling, including rivers, distances, or other landmarks on routes. Ask them to research an additional safe house to add.
• Dyslexia-Friendly Options: Use tactile materials to represent routes and safe houses. Provide audio recordings of the reading passage. Use large, clear fonts on handouts.

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Assessment

• Formative: Observations during mapping activity and partner discussion.
• Summative: Completed route maps meeting success criteria (3 routes, 3 safe houses correctly labeled).
• Oral sharing assessment during class presentations.

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Reflection for Teachers

• Monitor student understanding of routes and significance of safe houses.
• Adjust pacing for students needing more time with tactile materials.
• Collect maps to inform lesson 4 planning about people who helped on the Underground Railroad.

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This lesson encourages spatial reasoning, historical empathy, and collaboration, all woven into Common Core-aligned literacy and communication standards. Using tactile materials and multi-modal learning supports inclusion and dyslexia-friendly instruction.