Published on AASL Learning4Life Lesson Plan Database
Shhh! We're Taking a Trip on the Underground
Railroad!
Created by: Elisabeth Carter
Title/Role: MLIS Degree Student
Organization/School Name: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Location: North Carolina
Grade Level: 2
Type of Lesson: Stand-alone lesson
Type of Schedule: Fixed
Collaboration Continuum: Limited
Content Area:
Social studies
Content Topic: Underground Railroad - Participating in a Democratic Society
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and
solve problems.
2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that
express new understandings.
Dispositions Indicator(s):
3.2.2 Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations and by
contributing questions and ideas during group discussions.
Responsibilities Indicator(s):
3.3.5 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within and beyond the learning community.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product.
3.4.3 Assess own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and
demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints.
Scenario: This SL created lesson is designed to lead 2nd grade students to utilize information they have
learned in a classroom Underground Railroad unit, collaboration proficiencies, and creative writing skills to
generate a class writing product. The SL will activate prior knowledge and then model a historically
accurate thinking and writing process which corresponds with the wordless book, Unspoken, by Henry
Cole. The SL will also review collaboration expectations by reading through and discussing a collaboration
rubric with the class. Student pairs will then practice these skills by writing a historically accurate story line
which corresponds to an assigned two-page spread in Unspoken. The SL will read the collected sentences
while showing the matching pictures and class will orally evaluate historical and illustration correspondence
accuracy. Students will complete a self-assessment collaboration rubric to evaluate their own contribution,
cooperation, and the group dynamics while working in their small group.
Overview: Students will apply collaboration and writing process skills and an understanding of the risks
and sacrifices of people involved in the Underground Railroad, to generate questions and ideas and then
create a story line which correlates with the illustrations in a wordless picture book about a young girl who
secretly helps a runaway slave.
Final Product: Students will be able to contribute consistently and actively in a group to write a historically
accurate narrative which represents a plausible description of the illustrations in Unspoken. They will also
be able to self-assess their own contribution and cooperation to the process.
Library Lesson: The students will gain practice exchanging ideas, participating productively, and drawing
conclusions to clarify the meanings of the illustrations in Unspoken, while drawing on their understandings
of the Underground Railroad. They will then utilize those understandings as they compose and write a
short narrative to accompany the pictures. Students will also have the opportunity to consider and then
evaluate their role in the process.
Estimated Lesson Time: 45 minutes
Assessment
Product: SL and students will orally assess: *Whether or not the class generated narrative for
Unspoken is historically accurate *Whether or not the narrative accurately depicts the illustrations Each
student will use a collaboration rubric to self-assess their own contribution and cooperation
Process: Student pairs "read" Unspoken, discuss, and collaborate to write 1 ? 2 sentences which
accurately describe the illustrations, on the assigned 2 page spread.
Student self-questioning: ?What do I know about the Underground Railroad? ?How can I use what I
know about the Underground Railroad to make sense of the illustrations in Unspoken? ?What sacrifices
and risks do the main character make for the runaway slave? ?What risks and sacrifices does the slave
make to be free? ?What character traits do the main characters demonstrate and how? ?Would I be
willing to take risks and make sacrifices for someone else? ?Would I be willing to take risks and make
sacrifices for freedom? ?Am I contributing consistently and actively? ?Do I encourage other members to
share their ideas?
Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)
Resources instructor will use:
Other
Other instructor resources: Document camera; 3 X 5 sticky notes
Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction: ?SL engages students in a ?WordSplash? activity of the phrase Underground
Railroad to activate prior knowledge. ?Setting Purpose: SL reads and discusses objective with students
and explains that students will collaboratively write about a fictional Underground Railroad experience
depicted in a wordless book. ?SL hands out Elementary Collaboration Rubric and then reads, discusses,
and models active, consistent, and considerate group dynamics. SL explains that students will self-
assess using this model at the end of the lesson.
Modeling and guided practice: SL uses document camera to ?read? Unspoken while modeling the
brainstorming/questioning/possible narrative process aloud for the first few pages. SL then invites
students to participate in a guided process of the same in a whole group discussion with the remainder
of the book.
Independent practice: Using multiple copies of Unspoken, students collaborate in pre-selected, mixed
ability pairs to brainstorm, question, and then write a 1 -2 sentence narrative for each page to
accompany a SL pre-selected 2-page spread in Unspoken, on 3 X 5 lined sticky-notes.
Sharing and reflecting: SL gathers sticky-notes, places them on coordinating pages of teacher book,
and reads the narrative developed by students. SL leads students in an evaluative discussion of
collaboration process and quality of text/ illustration agreement and historical accuracy. Students then
complete Elementary Collaboration Rubric* to self-assess collaboration and cooperation during small
group writing creation process. *Free source for teachers from Intel® Teach Program - Assessing
Projects Demonstrating Understanding Rubrics and Scoring Guides Copyright © 2014 Intel Corporation.
All rights reserved
Have you taught this lesson before: No
Strategies for differentiation: Low performing students will be paired with higher performing students.
Students will be encouraged to utilize their personal strengths to help one-another while collaborating in
groups. The SL will read the 'Collaboration Rubric' aloud as students self-assess their own collaboration
and cooperation in the small group writing process.
This lesson plan is subject to copyright by the American Library Association and may be used for the noncommercial purpose of
scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to
the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions.
Elementary Collaboration Rubric
Contribution
to Group
Cooperation
with Group
4
I contribute consistently and
actively to the group discussions
3
I contribute to the group
discussions
2
I contribute inconsistently to the
group
I accept and perform all of the
tasks I take on
I complete my assigned task
I complete my assigned tasks with
encouragement
I help the group set goals
I contribute to setting our
goals
I help direct the group in
meeting our goals
I share many ideas and
contribute relevant information
I contribute to meeting our
goals
I share ideas when
encouraged
I encourage other members to
share their ideas
I allow all members to share
I contribute sporadically in setting
our goals
I have trouble in meeting goals
I share ideas occasionally when
encouraged
I allow sharing by most group
members
I can listen to others
I balance my listening and
speaking
I listen to others sometimes
I show sensitivity to other
people’s feelings and ideas
I’m concerned about others’
feelings and ideas
Group
Dynamics
I consider other people’s feelings
and ideas sometimes
1
I choose not to participate
I do not complete my assigned
tasks
I get in the way of the goal
setting process
I delay the group from meeting
goals
I don’t like to share my ideas
I do not contribute to group
discussions
I interrupt when others are
sharing
I do not listen to others
I ask the group to consider how
well we are working together
I consider how well we are
working together
Sometimes I help the group work
together
I am not considerate of others’
feelings and ideas
I discourage us thinking about
how well we work together
I help the group make fair
decisions
I help the group make
decisions
Sometimes I help the group in
making decisions
I choose not to get involved in
making decisions
I work actively with the group to
solve problems
I offer suggestions to solve
problems
Sometimes I’ll offer suggestions to
solve problems
I choose not to participate in
problem-solving and sometimes
cause problems for the group
I help the group work together
better
I participate in the changes
needed to help the group
work better together
I do not impede the group’s efforts
I get us off task some of the time