The little girl is currently doing a unit on the Civil War with her Thomas Jefferson Education group, The Liberty Belles. The book they are currently reading for the club is Runaway to Freedom by Barbara Smucker, which is out of print, but available used on Amazon.com. We are really enjoying the book, which I imagine may be out of print due it being "politically incorrect" in this day & age(mainly the derogatory term used by the white folks in the book). I definitely recommend the book if you're kids are ages 6-11 and are interested in learning about the slave experience with this age appropriate, fictional tale.
I've also accumulated a pretty nice list of web resources for studying the Underground Railroad, as I've coordinated a field trip on the URR for the last several years running. If you're in the Chicagoland area, I HIGHLY recommend this event, which takes place annually at Pilcher Park in Joliet. It's been a child and family favorite each time I've coordinated. Plan a field trip for your group next year, or attend the family event which takes place one weekend only. These events take place in January and February. You can check out ALL of Pilcher Park's field trip opportunities by clicking HERE
Anyhow...I thought I would list my resources here, for those of you who may be interested in learning more about the Underground Railroad this February, in honor of Black History Month. Enjoy!
Later this week I intend to post a list of our favorite books and music related to the URR and Black History, and hopefully a list of field trip opportunities in the Chicagoland area, too!
The Underground Railroad in Illinois
Freedom Trails to Legacies
Underground Railroad Paths & Trails, Illinois
Wikipedia list of Underground RR locations
National Geographic's
EXCELLENT interactive Underground RR site
PBS's African's In America, another EXCELLENT resource, including teacher guides
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center website - an extremely comprehensive resource site, also covers slavery today
State by state list of nationally registered URR sites includes one in nearby Ottawa Illinois
Scholastic's interactive Underground RR - love this one!
Comprehensive google book list
Smithsonian's amazing list of downloadable (FREE) lesson plans - this page has some slavery-undergroundRR items
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