Lesson 3: Visual Communications on the Underground Railroad 

Background Information

There were two major types of visual communication used on the Underground Railroad.  One was a lantern and the other was a quilt.  If a lantern was lit on a pole outside a house, the slave knew it was a safe house where they would be welcomed.  If there was a lantern placed on a pole and it was not lit, this indicated danger.

The art of communication through quilts was strongly rooted in African culture.  In the book, “Hidden in Plain View; A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, Jaquelin Tobin writes about a woman named Ozella from Charleston, South Carolina.  Ozella explains the quilt patterns used to communicate on the Underground Railroad.  A quilt would be hung on a ‘dry line’ to indicate safety, danger, clues and landmarks.  The stitches could be sewn as a map for a runaway slave to memorize.

READ;  “Sweet Clara and The Freedom Quilt” by Deborah Hoplinson

Select objectives appropriate for your grade level.

Objectives:
Objective 1. The student will fill in the Quilt Clue graphic organizer
  •  1^st grade
  •  Math GLCE: The student will use coordinate systems
  •  3^rd and 4^th grade
  •  Math GLCE:  The student will create interpret and solve problems involving a pictograph

Objective 2. The student will work with a partner to assemble these clues and then independently write a journal in the first person using the clues. (It can be written from the perspective of the runaway slave of from the slave owner in pursuit.)
  •  ELA GLEC:  The student will apply a variety of drafting strategies for both narrative and informational text.
  •  ELA GLEC: The student will edit and proofread their writing using appropriate resources (ELA Standard 8 Benchmark 1, Standard 2, Benchmark 4)

Objective 3. The student will draw a map from his/her house to the school. Create quilt squares for the geographical places you pass.
  •  Social Studies:  I.IP.03.01. Organize social studies information to make simple maps, graphs, and tables
  •  Math Extension: The student will use the attached measurement worksheet to measure the area and perimeter of their quilt
 •  Math GLEC:  The student will solve contextual problems about perimeters of rectangles and areas of rectangle regions.

Objective 4. The student will read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt