Henry's Freedom Box



(Levine, E., & Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press.)

Summary: Henry Brown was born into slavery. He married his love and they had three children. Henry yearned to be free but saw no easy way out. After Henry’s wife and children are sold away from him, Henry’s sadness fuels his imagination and he finds a very creative way to freedom.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8, Lexile AD380L

Key words/phrases:

1.      Slavery

2.      Freedom

3.      Creativity

4.      Family

5.      African Americans

Suggested Delivery: Read aloud

Electronic Resources:

1.  National Geographic The Underground Railroad: This interactive website guides you though the journey of a slave traveling through the underground railroad to freedom.
2. Henry Box Brown Event video and gives background and provides a reenactment of Henry's experience.



Map of the Underground Railroad



Teaching Suggestions:

   Key Vocabulary: master, slave, quilt, factory, mistress, slave market, warehouse, oil of vitriol, baggage car.

   Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

Before: Have the students make predictions about the book based on the title, subtitle, and the front cover. Then read the back jacket and have students add to revise their predictions.  Predictions will be written on the board with a reason to justify their answer. They will be revisited after reading the book to see which predictions were correct/incorrect and what assumptions the ones which were incorrect were based on.  

During: Have students focus on the imagery used in this text and how it helps the reader understand the depth of Henry’s feelings. Fill in the first column of the chart while reading.

Phrase	Emotion	Why is the phrase powerful?

After:  Fill in the second two columns, revising the phrase and analyzing the emotion that the phrase is expressing and why the phrase is so powerful. Why is it more powerful than directly stating the emotion, such as just saying “I was sad”?

  

Ellen Levine

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Have students think of an emotion they have felt in the past couple of days. The students will then describe this emotion in one sentence without directly stating what the emotion is. Students will share their description with a partner and have the partner guess the emotion they are describing. Revise the phrase until the partner is able to guess the emotion.

The Black Regiment of the American Revolution

(Brennan, Linda Crotta, and Cheryl Kirk Noll. The Black regiment of the American Revolution . North Kingstown, R.I.: Moon Mountain Pub., 2004. Print.)

Summary: This book discusses the role African –Americans played in the American Revolution as members of the Rhode Island Black Regiment. It analyzes the motives for joining, how their lives were before joining, what their experience fighting was like, and how their lives were after the war ended.

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12.

Key words/phrases:

1.      American Revolution

2.      African-Americans

3.      Black Regiment

4.      Rhode Island

5.      Slaves

Suggested Delivery: Individual / Small group

Electronic Resources:

1.      Black Soldiers in the American Revolution: This PDF compliments the book by providing individuals background information on the blacks who served in the army.
2.       African Americans In The Revolutionary Period  by the National Park Service provides background for teachers on the involvement of African Americans in the Revolutionary War.

 

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: emancipation, regiment, pension, redoubt, privateer, musket, mulatto, militia

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: Survey the book to get an overall picture of what the book will be about. Have the students Note the title and headings, skim the overview and summary and note what main ideas are covered. After surveying, turn each of the headings into a question. These questions give a purpose for reading as they will be answered as the book is read.

         During: The students will then read the text to answer the questions created in the before activities, helping the student to focus their attention on specific and key ideas. 

         After: After reading the whole book, or perhaps just a section, have the student try to answer their question from what they remember from the text. If the student cannot answer the question, have them go back and review this portion of the text to be able to answer their question. Have them jot sown a brief answer to their question to endure that they can answer the question in a concise manner. The have students review the main points in the book in order that they can put all the ideas together into one connected idea.

 

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension: Write a poem or short story as a soldier in the black regiment expressing the emotions and experiences they would have experienced, making sure to describe his life before the war, and the changes it underwent because of the war, during and after the war ended.

Day of Tears

(Lester, J. (2005). Day of tears: a novel in dialogue. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.)

Summary: A book written completely in dialogue Julius Lester reveals the perspectives and emotions of a varying group of surrounding he practice of slavery., including a slave auctioneer, a master, enslaved parents and their daughter, other slaves, and the masters daughters. The conflicting opinions and feelings sometimes within characters leads to an emotional book with a behind the scenes view on slavery.

Reading Level:  Ages 11-14, Lexile NP

Key words/phrases:

1.      Slavery            

2.      Slave auction

3.      Separation of families

4.      Savannah, Georgia 1859

5.      Opposition to and defense of slavery

Suggested Delivery: Small group

Electronic Resources:

1.      PBS: Pierce Butler and Fanny Kemble provides background information on these two characters who play a pivotal role in the book.
2.      PBS: The Weeping Time provides information on the slave auction which occurs in this book as well as links to additional material relating to this topic.
3.      Library of Congress American Memory: What became of the slaves on a Georgia plantation? provides information which was used in the writing of this book on the slave auction.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary: plantation, vigorously, runaways, dignity, quarters, auctioneer, reputation

Reading strategies to increase comprehension:

         Before: brief mini lesson on slavery specifically focusing on how slaves were sold at slave auctions. Also incorporate, or at least introduce the ideas of differing feelings towards slavery of those involved. Discuss how a student might feel if they were a slave, a master, a slave auctioneer, a family member o f a slave being sold, and a family member of a master selling the slaves.

         During:  Students will be described characters per chapter and will read their characters parts. After each chapter, students will discuss how their characters actions and feelings makes tehm feel and preict (with a brief note or two) what their character will do next. Predictions will be written down and checked as they continue reading.

         After: Have students create a chart with each of the characters listed and list the characters feelings and their actions, towards slavery and in general, and whether their feelings and actions match.

Character	Feelings	Actions	Match?
Master Butler
Fanny
Emma
….

Julius Lester

Writing activity demonstrating inferential comprehension:  Students can choose a character from the story and write a one page dialogue with another character from the story, or a monologue expressing their feelings towards slavery, for or against as appropriate for their character. The chart from the “After” activity can be used as a guide.