Virginia SOL VS.7.c

Social Studies4th GradeCivil War and Postwar Eras

The Standard

explaining the significance of the Underground Railroad and the contributions of Harriet Tubman

Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how a secret network of guides, safe houses, and routes helped enslaved people seek freedom. They describe Harriet Tubman's repeated rescue trips and explain why her actions mattered.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students distinguish the Underground Railroad from a real railroad and describe how the network operated. They use accurate details to connect Tubman's courage and leadership to resistance against slavery.
Common Misconceptions: Students may picture trains, tracks, and one fixed route. They may think Tubman worked alone or freed everyone in one trip, rather than working through a network over many trips.
How to Assess It: Use this exit ticket: Explain how the Underground Railroad helped people resist slavery, then give two details about Harriet Tubman's contributions.

Lesson moves

Give groups a map and safe-house cards, then have them mark possible routes north and explain the risks at each stop.
Ask students to write: Why did Harriet Tubman return to help others after gaining her own freedom?
Play a fact sort where students classify statements as accurate or inaccurate, then correct claims about trains, routes, and Tubman's work.
Examine a National Park Service image of a Tubman site, then write how historic places preserve evidence of resistance to slavery.

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