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Requirements:
Harriet by Rae’s Creations
Flower – Do all starred.
Triangle – Do 6 requirements including starred.
Circle – Do 8 requirements including starred.
Rectangle – Do all requirements including starred.
Through learning about Harriet Tubman girls can explore what it means to have both “Character and Bravery”.
* 1. Girls should have basic knowledge of what slavery is and how the North and the South had extremely different views about slavery and the treatment of people of color.
Discussion Topics can should include:
The Civil War that raged across the United States from 1861 to 1865 was the violent conclusion to a long-standing controversy over slavery. Americans fought against Americans during this time.
The South wanted to have slaves but the north believed every person should be free. How do you think it felt to be a person of color on each side?
*2. Who was she and where did Harriet Tubman grow up?
Harriet Tubman was born a slave. Her parents were slaves on a plantation in Maryland (show them on a map if possible). Historians think she was born in 1820, or maybe 1821. No one really knows because birth records weren't kept by most slave owners. Her birth name was Araminta Ross, but she took the name of her mother, Harriet, when she was thirteen years old. Continue learning about her life and share what you have learned.
*3. Life as a Slave
Life as a slave was difficult. Harriet lived in a one-room cabin with her family that included eleven children as a child. They had no beds and would sleep on the floor. When she was only six years old, she was loaned out to another family and her job was to help take care of a baby. She was sometimes beaten, and often times all she got to eat was table scraps. Slaves were forced to do any work their owners told them to do. Even the small children had to work. Harriet did not get to play and have fun, she had to work as a child.
Talk about different jobs Harriet may have had to do starting at the time she was just three years old. (Examples: child care, farming, taking care of animals, working in the fields, cooking, cleaning, sewing, building things, taking care of the sick)
Imagine if you only had three apples and one piece of bread and that was dinner for your family of 11. This often happened to Harriet and her family. Divide up the apples and bread into 11 pieces and talk to the girls about how they would feel if this was their dinner tonight.
*4. The Underground Railroad and Secret Codes
During Harriet’s life there were states in the northern part of the United States where slavery was outlawed. Slaves would try to escape to the north using the Underground Railroad. This wasn't a real railroad. It was a number of safe homes (called stations) that hid slaves as they traveled north. The people that helped the slaves were called conductors. The slaves would move from station to station at night, hiding in the woods or sneaking onto trains until they finally reached the north and freedom. They called it the railroad as a “code”. This way their owners did not know they were trying to escape.
Learn about secret codes? Create a secret code and write a message or your name in code. Can you write your name in code? What about the name of your school?
In 1849 Harriet decided to escape. She was about 29 years old. She would use the Underground Railroad to escape. After a long and scary trip she made it all the way from Maryland to Pennsylvania and was finally free.
Show the girls the distance Harriet had to travel. Talk about how she mainly did this on foot.
Harriet hid in the forest. What are some skills she needed to survive?
6. Choosing to Lead Others to Freedom
In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. This meant that slaves could be taken from free states and returned to their owners. It was a very scary time for those that had escaped. In order to stay free, slaves now had to escape to Canada. Harriet wanted to help others, including her own family, get safely into Canada. She decided to join the Underground Railroad as a conductor. Now she was in charge of getting people to freedom.
Harriet became the most famous Underground Railroad Conductor. She led 19 different escapes and helped about 300 slaves escape and get their freedom. Harriet was very brave. She risked her life and freedom to help others every day. She also helped her family, including her own mother and father, to escape. She was never caught and never lost a slave, she made sure everyone made it to safety.
Make a map of how to get a group of girls from one place to another. Come up with a plan, directions and a set of warnings they might encounter as they navigate their escape. Then have them try it. You’ll work in teams to get the other groups to their goal. Make sure to include things like how many steps they should take, directions like right and left and when they should hide (example: hide behind the table and count to 20 silently). You can also create “clues” to their next destination in code.
7. A Journey with Harriet
Imagine you were traveling the underground railroad with Harriet as a child. What are some of the dangers you would have encountered? What would you eat in the forest? How many miles do you think you would have to walk in one day? What are some of the things you would feel? Remember in most cases you have only the clothes that you are wearing and maybe a small bag.
8. Always Wanting to Help
Harriet's brave desire to help others did not end with the Underground Railroad, she also helped during the Civil War. She learned skills to help injured soldiers, she served as a spy for the north, and even helped on military campaigns. One led to the rescue of over 750 slaves.
Discuss what skills Harriet may have had to have to help so many different people in so many different ways.
Harriet was good at planning. Have the girls plan something on paper. It could be your next meeting or camp out. What skills will they need to do all the things in the plan. What supplies will they need? You can also have girls write a plan for one of the following situations. What would they need, do and need to know?
There is no electricity in your home and it’s very cold outside. How will you eat, stay entertained, stay safe and warm?
You are going camping and expect rain? What should you have on hand to stay safe and have meals?
9. Discuss this quote by Harriet Tubman.
“I will not be paralyzed by fear! Too many before me have stopped when a tyrant came. I will look fear in the eye.”
How could you apply that to your everyday life? When has there been a time in your life when you were truly scared? What are things you can do when you are feeling scared or if you can’t do something?
10. Final Discussion
What was the underground railroad?
What caused the civil war?
Harriet was very brave! What are some of the things besides getting slaves to freedom did Harriet do? (examples of what they might say: helped injured soldiers, help feed soldiers, she was a spy for the military, she organized plans to free slaves, she taught others how to be a “conductor”.
How long was Harriet a slave? (Example of what they might say: birth to age 29)
