Online Learning Activities
Myths of the Underground Railroad: An Underground Railroad Activity
Scholastic debunks 13 common myths related to the Underground Railroad, including that all slaves escaped to the North.
- Grades: 3–5, 6–8
In the “Myths of the Underground Railroad” reading activity, Scholastic first explains the difference between history and myths, such as the tale of our first president chopping down a cherry tree as a boy – there’s no evidence to prove this. It’s just a story, not history.
Similarly, Scholastic shares the truth behind 13 myths related to the Underground Railroad, including:
Myth: The first “stops” along the Underground Railroad were found in the South.
Truth: The Underground Railroad did not exist as an organization in the south. Slaves rarely received any help until they reached a free, Northern State. They had to reach freedom on their own, which they usually did by foot.
Myth: All slaves who escaped went to the North.
Truth: While many slaves ventured for free northern states and Canada, some escaped to places like Florida to rural, isolated communities of blacks in the South.
Learning Objectives
Social Studies (NCSS)
- People, Places, and Environments: Students analyze human behavior in relation to its physical and cultural environment.
- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Students know how institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, how they control and influence individuals and culture, and how institutions can be maintained or changed.
- Power, Authority, and Government: Students develop an understanding of how groups and nations attempt to resolve conflicts and seek to establish order and security; study the dynamic relationships among individual rights and responsibilities, the needs of social groups, and concepts of a just society
English (NCTE and IRA)
- Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world.
- Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (libraries, databases, computer networks) to gather and synthesize information in order to create and communicate knowledge.
Geography (NCGE)
- How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.
Related Resources
With this interactive slideshow, students follow the path of a slave in 1860 as he travels the Underground Railroad to freedom.
- Subjects:Slavery, Underground Railroad, Abolition
