Fourth Grade Underground Railroad Unit
At The Chatfield School, the Underground Railroad study generally occurs in the late fall or early winter. During this study, parents and teachers become slave owners, bounty hunters, station masters, farmers, guides, etc. Students play the role of runaway slaves. All participants involved try to emulate as closely as possible documented escape strategies and rescue attempts. The entire experience occurs on a 10 acre parcel of rough terrain adjacent to the school. Throughout this experience they witness the hardships, challenges and life-altering decisions which slaves were forced to make before and during the Civil War. Students follow the North Star, are guided by a "friend with friends" and learn how important cooperation, kindness and trust can be. This study helps them to discover the steep price of freedom, the sacrifice of security in exchange for possible liberation and the hardships endured to secure independence. Moral choices are paramount in this study.