SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template Explanation

TOPIC
Name
Subject
Grade Level
Date/Duration
Big Ideas
Essential
Questions

Common Core
Standards

Underground Railroad- The Secret Letter

Miss Swiger
Social Studies- Civil War
5th grade
1 Class periods, 40 minutes ea.
Who are some important women from the Civil War Era?
How did people help each other during times of turmoil?
Who was Harriet Tubman?
What was her significance in the Civil War?
What is the Underground Railroad?
How has communication changed over time?
Standard-8.1.U.A. Evaluate patterns of continuity and
change over time, applying context of events.
Standard-8.3.5.A Compare and contrast characteristics
of the social, political, cultural, and economic groups in
United States history.
Standard-8.3.5. B Illustrate concepts of historical
documents, artifacts, and places critical to United States
history.
Standard-8.3.U.A. Compare the role groups and
individuals played in social, political, cultural and
economic development of the U.S.
Standard CC.1.3.5.I. Determine or clarify the meaning of
unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases
based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing
flexibility from a range of strategies and tools.

Objectives
A-udience
B-ehavior
C-ondition
D-egree
Formative &
Summative
Assessment
EVIDENCE

After interactive activity, students will write their own

secret letter using at least 3 terms from provided sheet
and orally report on it with 90% accuracy.

21ST CENTURY
SKILLS
TECHNOLOGY

Formative: Class discussion on symbolism ,students

will make connections between past and current text,
students will
Summative Assessments : teacher will observe
students working independently and with peers and
monitor student activity
Information about Harriet Tubmanhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html
Interactive Underground Railroad Gamehttp://education.nationalgeographic.org/undergroundrailroad-interactive/?ar_a=1#
YouTube Follow the Drinking Gourdhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw6N_eTZP2U

CK

ACCOMMODATIO
NS
MODIFICATIONS
ADAPTATIONS

Adaptive writing utensils for students

Provide computers/tablets for students to do online work
Word banks
Graphic Organizer of writing process
Worked examples of a secret letter

SUPERVISING
TEACHERS
SIGNATURE
Note:

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURES

RATIONALE for the
Learning Plan
Introduction

Explicit
Instructions

Students will learn facts about Harriet Tubman and the

Underground Railroad to gain a better understanding of
how during times of trouble humans would find a way to
help each other out.
Activating Prior Knowledge
Students will listen to a recording of the Follow The
Drinking Gourd while following along to a lyric
sheet. Students will highlight any words or terms
that might not make sense to them, or seem to be
symbolism.
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
After watching the video, students will discuss their
thoughts and findings. This discussion will lead into
learning about the Underground Railroad, and who
Harriet Tubman was.
Big Idea Statement
How did people of the Civil War Era communicate
through symbols to show places of safety?
Who was an important figure in Civil War History?
Do we use symbolism in writings today?
Essential Question Statement
Who was Harriet Tubman?
What is the Underground Railroad?
What was the purpose of secret letters?
Objective Statement
We will create our own secret letters using
what we have learned about secret codes, the
Underground Railroad, and what times were
like during the Civil War.
Transition
Students will be given a copy of a handout to
read along to about Harriet Tubman

CK

Lesson Procedure

(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.ht
ml)
Key Vocabulary
Heroine, underground railroad, agent, conductor,
drinking gourd, operator, station
PreAssessment of the Students
Students will discuss any prior knowledge of
the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, or
their own experiences with secret
codes/letters.
Modeling of the Concept
After the discussion, the class will participate
in an interactive Underground Railroad game
(http://education.nationalgeographic.org/unde
rground-railroad-interactive/?ar_a=1#) . After,
students will review a guide of secret terms
and codes used to write letters during the
Underground Railroad, as well as how it was
used in songs too.
Guiding the Practice
Students will first decode Follow the Drinking
Gourd song from earlier in the lesson. Then,
given a word bank, students will fill in a mock
secret letter that may have been written
during the Civil War Era.
Providing the Independent Practice
Students will then indendently write their own letter
using the secret code terms they have learned as if
they were on the Underground Railroad.

Reading Materials
Technology
Equipment
Supplies
Evaluation of the
Learning/Mastery
of the Concept

Transition
After students have finished, they will share their
work in groups and then to the whole class. Students
will add any connections between writing secret
codes during the Civil War era to today, what its
purpose and significance was, and did it help the
people from the South?
Handouts
iPads or Computers for website
pencil and paper
graphic organizer (if needed)
lyric sheet
mock letter

Formal Evaluation
During lesson, teacher will check in with students
with scaffolding questions to assess comprehension.
Students will create their own coded letters, and

Closure

Teacher Selfreflection

should be able to decipher theirs and their peers.

Informal Evaluation
Observation of student participation and work during
experience will be noted. Teacher will interact with
students while task is being completed, and prompt
further thinking of what life would have been like for
those in the South.
Summary & Review of the Learning
Students will restate the big idea and objective, and
how we answered the essential questions. Ask
students why symbolism was important then, and
how are we using it now?
Ask students what was significant about Harriet
Tubman?
Students will connect secret code to songs and
letters written in the South
Homework/Assignments
Students will continue letter if not completed in
class.
Were students able to relate personal experiences
with the music or the secret code?
Were students able to successfully complete the task
of writing a letter?
Were students able to understand the importance of
the Underground Railroad?