Maps & Mashups -- Underground Railroad

View Larger Map

I created this map using a variety of locations important to the study of the Underground Railroad, a very important piece of American History. This map would be appropriate to use in fifth to seventh grade and the students would be able to see how close and distant some of the stations on the railroad were from each other. They would also be able to follow the links provided in the tags to learn more about the history of the railroad and of each location added on the map. They would also be able to see where the historical museums were at to plan a visit.

With more time and detail, we would be able to use these maps to create an actual route for a slave escaping from the south to the north. The students, or myself the teacher, would be able to create a "trip" using a slave of their making and use some of the stations provided in this map to help them plan their journey. Once the trip has been created, we would present the trip to the rest of the class by pushing play and seeing the way in which the slave would have escaped. Using Google Earth and the map, we would be able to see what some of the terrain would have looked like for these freedom seekers.