Ahnert 1
MANCHESTER COLLEGE
Department of Education
LESSON PLAN by: Laura Ahnert
Lesson: IUP#5: Secret Letters
Length: 50 minutes
Age or Grade Intended: 7th Grade English
Academic Standard(s):
7.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting style and tone
as necessary.
7.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting and more precise.
Performance Objectives:
Given a prompt about secret letters to communicate along the Underground Railroad, the students
will write a letter following a checklist, missing no more than 5 out of 20 points.
Given a set of common terms and phrases used in secret letters to communicate along the
Underground Railroad, the students will use varied words to make their letter interesting,
following the checklist, missing no more than 5 out of 20 points.
Assessment:
I will have the students put everything together that we have been learning so far about slaves and
the codes they used by writing a letter as someone working along the Underground Railroad
transporting slaves. They will be given a checklist so they may know everything they need to
include in order to succeed in this activity.
This is also the last day for the students’ journals. I will pick them up and assess them, as stated in
the first lesson plan, 3 points for their individual thoughts, 1 point for grammar, and 1 point for
spelling. This set of 5 points per day will serve as their participation grade throughout the unit.
Advanced Preparation by Teacher:
 Find secret letter code.
 Make prompt sheet.
 Print enough copies of prompt sheet for each student.
 Find and include actual example of a letter.
 Make checklist for students to follow along with.
 Print enough copies of checklist for each student.
Ahnert 2
Procedure:
Introduction/Motivation: For the past couple of lessons, we have been talking about
different types of codes that the slaves used to escape. Today we are going to talk about a secret
code that people used to communicate to each other along the Underground Railroad, and even
write our own letters like we are transporting escaping slaves! Have the students get out their
journals, and write down their thoughts about how the people working along the Underground
Railroad would use letters to communicate about the transportation of slaves. (M.I.: Intrapersonal)
Step-by-Step Plan:
1. Have the students put their journals away.
2. Bring up the webpage,
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railr
oad/secret_letter.htm on the overhead to show the students the activity.
Make sure not to show the “Common terms and phrases” section of the page
because in section 4, there is a question that pertains to that section.
3. Read the information on the webpage to the students:
a. Slaves had been escaping for freedom as long as they had been in
America. But the term “Underground Railroad” began in the 1830s when
railroads were spreading across the country. Before long, railroad terms
were also used to identify the people, hiding places, and runaway slaves
on the Underground Railroad. Fugitives were referred to as “passengers”
or “baggage.” A “conductor” guided slaves to safe places.
“Stationmasters” hid slaves in their homes or “stations.”
b. Sometimes the language was more secretive to conceal details about the
Underground Railroad. After all, helping runaway slaves was illegal and
dangerous, so everything had to be done in secret. For example, the
conductor William Still received this telegram in Philadelphia: “I have
sent via at two o’clock four large and two small hams.” This coded
message alerted him of the arrival of four fugitives – two adults and two
children. The word “via” signaled they would not arrive on the regular
train, as authorities expected, but on the train from Reading. Still was able
to meet them at the correct depot and help them escape.
4. Ask the students:
a. What is the Underground Railroad? (Bloom’s: Knowledge)
b. What is the main purpose of these letters? (Bloom’s: Comprehension)
c. Looking back to the lesson in which we talked about symbols in slave
songs, use the facts you already know to tell me some of the code words you
think will be used in these letters. (Bloom’s: Application)
d. What is the relationship between the myth of the quilt code, slave songs, and
the coded letters? (Bloom’s: Analysis)
e. How would you predict the outcome if a letter was misinterpreted?
(Bloom’s: Synthesis)
f. Assess what the value or importance of these letters is? (Bloom’s:
Evaluation)
Ahnert 3
5. Hand out the “Write a Letter!” writing prompt and the checklist that goes with it to
the students.
6. Read the directions to the students, and then read through the code words, and then
example letter with them.
a. Tell the students that they should not copy the letter. I gave it to them for an
example of how to set up their letter.
b. Have the students write their letter on a separate sheet of paper.
7. Give the students the rest of the class period to write their letters. (M.I.: Verbal/
Linguistic)
a. When the students are finished writing their letters, have them put their
name and period number on their checklist and staple the letter to the back
of their checklist to turn it in.
b. Collect the letters as exit slips as the students leave the classroom.
Closure: Today we combined all the things we have been talking about slavery by writing
letters as the “conductor” to the “stationmaster” that used coded language to convey messages!
From all five lessons, from hearing a slave’s narrative, to reading one, to becoming one, we can
see how important their secret systems of communication were! This brings our unit on slavery to
a close!
Adaptations/Enrichment:
For LD students who struggle in Language Arts, they will benefit from hearing the information,
directions, words, and example letter read out loud, as well as having a hard copy in front of them
so they can follow along.
For students who need enrichment, I will ask them to also write a short telegram, like the one on
the website, that has a different message than their letter. The telegram’s message should get right
to the point.
Self-Reflection:
 What could I have done differently?
o I could have chosen not to provide the students with an actual example of a letter so
they would not be as tempted to simply copy parts of it.
 How did the students respond to the letter-writing activity? Did the example help them to
see what it was I wanted? Did they understand this concept?
o By looking at the students’ letters, I will be able to see if the students were able to
successfully use the code words in the way they are supposed to be used.
Ahnert 4
~Write a Secret Letter!~
Imagine you are an agent helping runaway slaves and complete a letter to a stationmaster
using the following secret code! Make sure you create a code name for yourself and to
simply address the letter to the stationmaster! We wouldn’t want anyone to know you and
the stationmaster are working on the Underground Railroad! Good luck!




Agent - Someone who coordinates escapes for slaves
Baggage, boxes, parcel, packages, passengers - Fugitive slaves
Brakeman - Someone who helps fugitives find jobs and homes when they reach freedom
Conductor - Person who guides or escorts slaves





Heaven, Promised Land - Canada
Forward - To move slaves between stations
Freedom Train, Gospel Train - The Underground Railroad.
Moses - Harriet Tubman
Station - Safe place where fugitives were hid and sheltered





Stationmaster - Someone who provides shelter for fugitives
Stockholder - Someone who donates money or goods to the cause
“The wind blows from the South today.” - Runaway slaves are in the area.
“A friend with friends” - A password used by a conductor arriving with fugitives.
“Lost a passenger” - A runaway slave has been caught.
Ahnert 5
Name: ______________________________
4 = Excellent
3 = Good
Class Period: _________
2 = Satisfactory 1 = Poor
Checklist:

Is it apparent that the student followed the letter format? ______

Is the student’s writing clear and to the point? ______

Did the student use several of the code words to make the message hard to decipher? ______

Is the message clear when one knows the code words? ______

Did the student make up a code name for themselves? (1) ______

Are there 0-1 spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors? (3) ______

Are 2-4 spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors? (2) ______

Are there 5-7 spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors? (1) ______

Are there more than 7 spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors? (0) ______
Total:
/20
Ahnert 6
Sources:
Scholastic. (2011). The underground railroad escape from slavery. Retrieved
from
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/
secret_letter.htm