Planning an Escape
K-12 Objectives | Materials Needed | Procedures | Assessment | Standards
Discipline: U.S. History
Specific Lesson Topic: Planning an escape from slavery in 18th century America?
Methodology: Primary Sources
Teacher introduction: This lesson makes use of advertisements for slave runaways from the Virginia Runaway's Project. To prepare for this lesson, read the introduction to the Virginia Runaways Digital Project. It may also be helpful to read some of the background documents collected on runaways and the law. The purpose of the lesson is to give students an opportunity to devise a plan for running away. The purpose of this lesson is to give students an opportunity to think about what was involved in running away and why slaves ran away.
Step 1 - Have students select any 20 advertisements from the Virginia Runaways Digital Project.
Step 2 - Students should consider the following questions as they read the runaway slave advertisements.
Questions relating to specific runaway advertisements.
Have students write a short journal entry that describes a slave's plan to run away. This journal entry should include information about what a slave would need to be successful, such as: clothes, tools, skills, and language proficiency, or friends. In addition, the description should include an indication of the best time to run away and a general description of how a run away could travel from place to place. The description could take the form of a plan or an anecdote or could be more detached and general. Students' descriptions should be narrative and not a list.
National History Standards: Standards in Historical Thinking
2: Historical Comprehension
3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
4: Historical Research Capabilities
Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction
Virginia Standards of Learning
National Council for the Social Studies
II. Time, Continuity, and Change
V. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
This module created by John K. Lee of the University of Virginia.
© Cheryl L. Mason and William G. Thomas
All Rights Reserved, 1999