About this Pathfinder
This pathfinder was created to be used by a fourth grade class learning about the Underground Railroad. The class began their unit on the Underground Railroad by reading Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling, and completed their unit by viewing a live production based on the book Freedom Train.
Slavery is a large part of United States History, and students have a right to be exposed to all aspects of slavery, the Underground Railroad included. The Underground Railroad encompasses a great deal of information, and this pathfinder was created to help organize that material so as to make it easily available for students to access.
Why Electronic Materials?
The Underground Railroad is no longer present in the United States, but that does not mean that students should not have the right to experience it firsthand. Electronic materials, such as websites, interactives, and audio/video materials, will allow students to take a step back into the past to read about, see, listen to, and actively interact in the Underground Railroad.
Selection Critera
Materials in this pathfinder were selected for children ages 8-12 years old.
Google was used to locate websites, interactive materials and webisodes. From Google, websites were evaluated to make sure that all information was accurate and up-to-date. All websites used in this pathfinder were valid at the time they were added.
Audio and visual material, as well as the books, were selected from three main sources: Allen County Public Library catalog, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. These sources gave reviews of all materials from sources such as AudioFile, School Library Journal, All Movie Guide, and also customers of these sites. WorldCat, Inspire, and Wilson Web were used to locate reviews for materials used.
The books and DVDs that have been added to this pathfinder are just a small portion of these materials that are available to the public. They were chosen because of their topics, their notability, and their relationship to the focus of this pathfinder and the activities contained in this pathfinder.