Harriet Tubman and the Underground railroad

Passport
TO CULTURE
Teacher’s Resource Guide
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Photo: Theatre IV
Harriet Tubman and the
Underground Railroad
Theatre IV
just imagine
Generous support for
Schooltime provided,
in part, by
Arts Education and You
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The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the
12th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series.
With Passport to Culture, Verizon and NJPAC open up a world of culture to you and
your students, offering the best in live performance from a wide diversity of traditions
and disciplines. At NJPAC’s state-of-the-art facility in Newark, with support from
Verizon, the SchoolTime Performance Series enriches the lives of New Jersey’s students
and teachers by inviting them to see, feel, and hear the joy of artistic expression. The
exciting roster of productions features outstanding New Jersey companies as well as
performers of national and international renown. Meet-the-artist sessions and NJPAC
tours are available to expand the arts adventure.
The Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series is one of many current
arts education offerings at NJPAC. Others include:
• Professional Development Workshops that support the use of the arts
to enhance classroom curriculum
• Arts Academy school residency programs in dance, theater and literature,
and Early Learning Through the Arts – the NJ Wolf Trap Program
• After-school residencies with United Way agencies
In association with statewide arts organizations, educational institutions, and generous
funders, the Arts Education Department sponsors the following arts training programs:
• Wachovia Jazz for Teens
• The All-State Concerts
• The Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts
• The Jeffery Carollo Music Scholarship
• Summer Youth Performance Workshop
• Young Artist Institute
• NJPAC/New Jersey Youth Theater Summer Musical Program
Students have the opportunity to audition for admission to NJPAC’s arts training
programs during NJPAC’s annual Young Artist Talent Search.
Detailed information on these programs is available online at njpac.org. Click on
Education. The Teacher’s Resource Guide and additional activities and resources for
each production in the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Series are also online.
Click on Education, then on Performances. Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select desired guide.
CONTENTS
On Stage
3
In the Spotlight
4
Theater Talk
5
Song or Secret Code
6
Before and After Activities
7
Teaching Science
Through Theater
7
Delving Deeper
8
2
Permission is granted to copy this Teacher’s Resource Guide for classes attending the
2008-2009 Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. All other rights
reserved.
To Teachers and Parents
The resource guide accompanying each performance is designed
• to maximize students’ enjoyment and appreciation of the performing arts;
• to extend the impact of the performance by providing discussion ideas,
activities, and further reading that promote learning across the curriculum;
• to promote arts literacy by expanding students’ knowledge of music, dance,
and theater;
• to illustrate that the arts are a legacy reflecting the traditional values,
customs, beliefs, expressions, and reflections of a culture;
• to use the arts to teach about the cultures of other people and to celebrate
students’ own heritage through self-expression;
• to reinforce the New Jersey Department of Education’s Core Curriculum Content Standards in the arts.
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Thearter IV
On Stage
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Theatre IV’s presentation of Harriet
Tubman and the Underground Railroad
is a thrilling play about danger,
friendship, spies, fugitives, soldiers,
and the pursuit of the American
dream. Through music and colorful
imagery, audiences will discover the
life of a young girl, Araminta Ross
(a.k.a. Harriet Tubman), who grew up
to become one of our nation’s greatest
heroes before, during and after the
American Civil War (April 1861- April
1865).
Born to enslaved parents Benjamin
Ross and Harriet Greene in 1820 in
Maryland, Araminta labored from
morning to night as a field hand. Like
many enslaved people, Araminta was
brutally beaten and whipped by her
owners. Once, the overseer of the
plantation wanted Araminta to help
with whipping a young, enslaved
boy. Horrified, Araminta refused. When
the boy tried to run away, the overseer
threw an iron weight at him. He hit
Araminta instead. The weight nearly
crushed her skull and left her to suffer
from seizures for the rest of her life.
From a young age, Araminta dedicated
her life to ensure that all people would
be treated equally. In 1844, she married
a free black named John Tubman and
took his last name. She also changed her
first name, taking her mother’s name,
Harriet. In 1849, Harriet escaped to the
North in pursuit of freedom. She later
commented, “I had a right to liberty or
death. If I could not have one, I would
have the other.” Traveling by night and
hiding by day, Harriet was directed
from one safe house to another along
the Underground Railroad − which was
not actually a railroad, but a network
of people that helped slaves escape to
the North and Canada. Between 1810
and 1850, the Underground Railroad
was one of the most effective ways for a
slave to escape to freedom.
From 1850 to 1860, Harriet worked
hard as a cook, dishwasher and cleaning
woman in Philadelphia. She became
an Underground Railroad conductor
and used the money she earned to help
other enslaved people escape. Disguised,
Harriet sang coded songs to guide
fugitive enslaved people to the North.
Over a decade, Harriet saved over
300 men and women as a conductor,
becoming the “Moses of her people”
by leading them out of slavery. As
an abolitionist (a person opposed to
slavery), she was a spy, scout and nurse
for the Union (Northern) Army during
the Civil War.
In January 1863, President Abraham
Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation which put an end to the
need for the Underground Railroad.
When the Civil War ended in 1865,
however, it did not mark an end to
racial prejudice. Until she passed away
in 1913, Harriet Tubman spent the rest
of her life caring for others and speaking
out against this injustice. Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
3
In the Spotlight
Theatre IV, established in 1975
in Richmond, VA, is a nonprofit,
professional theater for young audiences.
The first professional children’s theater
in Virginia, the company is dedicated
to the creation of professional, exciting
and innovative theatrical productions
that impact positively on education and
children’s health issues. Committed to
making art accessible to all individuals −
including the less advantaged − Theatre
IV has performed live for more than 28
million people.
Bruce Miller (Co-founder/Artistic
Director) is also the artistic director of
Barksdale Theatre in Richmond. His work
as a director has been seen around the
country at prominent theaters including
the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
and the Paper Mill Playhouse in New
Jersey. Bruce has received six Phoebe
Awards as Best Director of the Year.
For TV and radio, he directed The Ugly
Duckling, released nationally by PBS, and
a production of folk stories broadcast
internationally over Radio Free Europe.
Bruce is co-author of Hugs and Kisses,
the child sexual abuse prevention play
that will soon begin the 25th year of its
record-breaking run. His play Buffalo
Soldier was selected by the Pentagon as a
morale booster after 9/11, becoming the
first professional play in history to be
performed within the Pentagon’s walls.
He served as a site reporter for three
years with the National Endowment for
the Arts and as a professional theater
panelist with the Lila Wallace—Reader’s
Digest Fund in New York City. He is an
alumnus of the University of Richmond.
barksdalerichmond.com
In the spring of 1999, STYLE Weekly
honored Bruce by selecting him as
one of the “100 Most Influential
Richmonders of the Century.”
4
Bruce Miller
Phil Whiteway (Co-founder/Managing
Director) serves in the same position
at Barksdale Theatre. Phil moved to
Virginia from his New Jersey home
to earn a B.S. from the University
of Richmond’s School of Business
Administration. When professors
learned that he could sing and dance, he
was courted by the University’s theater
program and wound up adding a B.A. in
Theatre to his resume.
Phil appeared on television opposite
Fritz Weave in Ironclads, Mary
Tyler Moore in Lincoln and Richard
Chamberlain in Dream West. He
was a founding member of the
Board of Directors of the Richmond
Arts Consortium. He serves on the
Governance Board of Partners in the
Arts (central Virginia’s arts-in-education
cooperative) and on grant review
panels for the Virginia Commission for
the Arts. He also serves as Secretary/
Treasurer of the Board of Directors of
Virginians for the Arts, the statewide
nonprofit organization that manages
arts advocacy efforts across the
Commonwealth. In 1999, STYLE
Weekly selected Phil as one of their 100
Most Influential Richmonders of the
Century.
Theatre IV’s Harriet Tubman and the
Underground Railroad is co-produced
by the Black History Museum and
Cultural Center of Virginia. The
production’s book and lyrics are by
Douglas Jones and the music is by Ron
Barnett.
Phil Whiteway
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Theater Talk
actor - a person who interprets a role
and performs it.
artistic director - the person who
chooses the material and oversees an
entire theatrical production. The artistic
director brings together and coordinates
the efforts of many people: author, set
designer, artisans, musicians, actors,
and technicians. In many theaters, the
artistic director oversees a full season
of productions rather than just one
production.
audio technician - the person who
is responsible for sound during a
performance, including the music and
sound effects.
climax - the crucial moment, turning
point or dramatic high point in the
action or plot, usually near the end of a
story or performance.
composer - the person who creates
original musical themes and/or songs.
dialogue - a conversation in a play
between two or more characters.
director - the person who conceives of
an overall concept for a production,
supervises all elements of the
production, and guides the actors in
their performances.
ensemble - a group of actors who work
collaboratively to develop, rehearse
and perform a play –equally sharing
responsibilities within the performance.
finale - the last event in a dramatic
sequence.
monologue - a speech by one actor alone
on stage which often reveals the inner
thoughts and feelings of the character
that he or she is portraying.
Thearter IV
choreography - the arrangement of
movement in time and space.
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
musical score - the complete music for a
production that shows all parts for the
instruments including voice.
props - items used on stage to help
create a sense of place such as a
photograph, a flag or a map; the
belongings used by a character on stage
such as a purse, a hand mirror or a
sandwich.
setting - the place or mood in which a
production takes place.
stage lights - lights used to create mood,
suggest time, illuminate all, or highlight
one or more actors, areas or items
onstage.
wings - the areas offstage, right and left,
where performers make entrances and
exits.
scene - a division of a production,
usually part of an act, in which the
action is continuous.
scenery - painted canvas mounted on
wooden frames, drops, cutouts, etc.
used in a theater to represent a place or
environment where the action happens.
set - the arrangement of scenery and
props on stage.
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
5
Did You Know?
Music and songs played an important
role in the lives of the slaves. The words
of many songs or spirituals had double
meanings and were often used to send
secret messages between slaves. Many of
these songs reflected the suffering of the
slaves and their longing for freedom by
using references from Bible stories about
the Israelites in slavery in Egypt and their
flight to freedom.
Decoding When That Old Chariot Comes
When Harriet Tubman decided to
escape from her master’s plantation, she
announced her intentions by singing When
That Old Chariot Comes. The song refers
to crossing the River Jordan. According to
the Bible, the Jordan River was the scene
of the baptism of Jesus. In spirituals it is
that river that must be crossed before the
Promised Land is reached. For escaped
slaves, the Promised Land was the free
northern states and Canada.
When That Old Chariot Comes
When that old chariot comes,
I’m going to leave you,
I’m bound for the Promised Land,
Friends, I’m going to leave you.
I’m sorry friends to leave you,
Farewell!! Oh, farewell!!
But I’ll meet you in the morning,
Farewell!! Oh, farewell!!
I’ll meet you in the morning,
When I reach the Promised Land;
On the other side of Jordan,
For I’m bound for the Promised Land.
Decoding Follow the Drinking Gourd
Drinking gourds were hollowed out gourds
used by slaves and other rural Americans
as water dippers. In the song, the drinking
gourd refers to the Big Dipper which points
to the North Star.
6
The song refers to the “old man.” “Old
man” is a nautical slang for “Captain.”
According to Underground Railroad
legend, the old man was Peg Leg Joe, a
one-legged former sailor (captain) and free
black man. Peg Leg Joe would hire himself
to plantation owners as a handyman. Once
on the plantation, he would make friends
with the slaves and give them directions
to the Underground Railroad by teaching
them the song Follow the Drinking
Gourd. Peg Leg Joe would then leave the
plantation and meet runaway slaves on
the “great big river” and ferry them to
a free state where they could board the
Underground Railroad.
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Verse 1
When the sun comes back and the
first quail calls,
Follow the drinking gourd,
For the old man is waiting for to
carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd.
This verse suggests escaping in the
springtime (When the sun comes
back and the first quail calls),
meeting up with Peg Leg Joe and
heading north to freedom.
blackamericantribe.com
Song or Secret Code
Harriet Tubman
Chorus;
Verse 3:
Follow the drinking gourd,
Follow the drinking gourd,
For the old man is waiting
for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd.
The river ends between two hills,
Follow the drinking gourd,
There’s another river on the other side,
Follow the drinking gourd.
Verse 2;
The riverbank will make a very good
road,
The dead trees show you the way.
Left foot, peg foot traveling on,
Following the drinking gourd.
This verse describes how to follow
the route from Mobile, Alabama
north. The river in the song is the
Tombigbee River in Mississippi.
And, according to several sources,
Peg Leg Joe is thought to have used
charcoal or mud to mark trees and
other landmarks with the outline of a
human left foot and a round spot in
place of the right foot.
This verse describes the route
through northeastern Mississippi and
into Tennessee. The “river that ends
between two hills” is once again the
Tombigbee River. The second river is
the Tennessee River.
Verse 4:
When the great big river meets the
little river,
Follow the drinking gourd.
For the old man is waiting
for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinking gourd.
This verse describes the end of the
route in Paducah, Kentucky where
the Ohio River meets the Tennessee.
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
In the Classroom
Before the Performance
1. The following is an arts integrated resource
from Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org. The National
Geographic Explorer Magazine site, magma.
nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0601/
quickflicks/index.html, features a movie and
quiz about slavery and the Underground
Railroad. After viewing the movie, students
can test their knowledge by taking an
interactive quiz which provides immediate
feedback. (1.5)*
2. Researching Harriet Tubman’s life will
facilitate students’ understanding of historical
events before, during and after the Civil War.
Working in groups of three or four, have
students create a timeline of Harriet Tubman’s
life. Using this timeline, ask students to write
a five-stanza song about her life and times.
(Having the students set their songs to simple,
well-known tunes such as Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star may be helpful.) Ask the students to
share their songs with the class. (1.1, 1.2, 1.5)
After the Performance
1. Have the students write a theater review
of Harriet Tubman and the Underground
Railroad that incorporates terms found in
“Theater Talk” on page 5. Remind students
that reviews are often read by people who
have not yet seen the play, so descriptions need
to be vivid. Have the students illustrate their
reviews. To aid the students in this project,
distribute photocopies of a professional theater
review such as the one found at encorestage.
org/TCT/reviews/velveteen_rabbit_review.
html. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5)
*Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum
Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.
Additional Before and After activities can
be found online at njpac.org. Click on Education,
then on Performances. Scroll down to “Download
Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format”
and select desired guide.
Teaching Science Through Theater (K-8)
By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D.
Using theater to teach science actively engages students as they experiment, solve
problems creatively and use their imaginations. Students can create performances
to illustrate scientific principles and gain an understanding of concepts.
The NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards state that all students will gain an
understanding of the structure, characteristics and basic needs of organisms.
By the end of Grade 4, students will be able to group organisms according to
their function in the food chain. By the end of Grade 8, students will be able to
explain how organisms are affected by different components of an ecosystem
and describe the flow of energy through it.
Young children can make a list of animals that might live in a field and what
they eat. Discuss ways in which energy flows from the sun through the plants to
such animals. Have students create a puppet show about life in a field. Puppets
of the sun, plants, plant eaters, and meat eaters will be needed. Have students
think about who gets energy directly from the sun. Do plants pass all of their
energy to plant eaters? Do meat eaters derive energy from more than one plant
eater? Talk about food chains.
Older children can think about how plants and animals on the forest floor
form a complex food web. How does each species derive its nourishment from
another plant or animal? Divide students into three groups: plants, plant eaters
and meat eaters. Have students brainstorm about the plants or plant parts
(twigs, berries, etc.), plant eaters (rabbit, insect, etc.) and meat eaters (owl,
coyote, etc.) found in the forest. Have each student choose a plant or animal
that lives on the forest floor. Tape a card bearing the name of that plant or
animal to the student’s clothing. Make a large circle with plants, plant eaters
and meat eaters evenly distributed. Give a five-foot long piece of string to each
plant eater, who gives the other end of the string to a plant. Then, give a string
to each meat eater, who gives the other end to a plant eater. Some students will
be holding many strings. Your students will have created a complex food web
that demonstrates the interconnectedness of life. *
Have the students talk about the food web. If a forest fire destroys the plants,
what happens to the plant eaters? What happens to the meat eaters? Have the
students act out the consequences created by a forest fire. What happens to the
plants and animals when they die?
* This activity is from Hands-On Nature by J. Lingelbach, Vermont Institute of
Natural Science, 1986.
Sharon J. Sherman is a science and mathematics education professor at The
College of New Jersey and co-author of Science and Science Teaching: Methods
for Integrating Technology in Elementary and Middle Schools (Houghton
Mifflin, 2004).
The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible
through the generous support of Roche.
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
7
Delving Deeper
Websites
The Life of Harriet Tubman:
americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/
tubman
nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm
pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html
harriettubman.com
The Underground Railroad
safepassageohio.org/safepassage/facts.asp
scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/
underground_railroad/harriet_tubman.htm
Songs and Secret Codes:
followthedrinkinggourd.org
pathways.thinkport.org/secrets/music1.cfm
Additional resources can be found online
at njpac.org. Click on Education, then on
Performances, then on Curriculum Materials.
Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select
desired guide.
Acknowledgments
as of 10/20/08
Foundation, The Arts Education Endowment
Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers,
Leon & Toby Cooperman, The William
Randolph Hearst Foundations, The Horizon
Foundation for New Jersey, Johnson &
Johnson, Lehman Brothers Inc., McCrane
Foundation, Merck, Albert & Katharine
Merck, The Prudential Foundation, Richmond
County Savings Foundation, David & Marian
Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation,
Schering-Plough, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I.
Newhouse Foundation, The Turrell Fund,
Verizon, The Victoria Foundation, Wachovia,
and The Women’s Association of NJPAC.
Additional support is provided by:
Advance Realty Foundation, The Atlantic
Philanthropies, The Frank & Lydia Bergen
Foundation, Bloomberg, The Bodman
Foundation, The Citi Foundation, The
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Veronica
Goldberg Foundation, Independence
Community Foundation, Meg & Howard
Jacobs, Kraft Foods, The MCJ Amelior
Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation,
New Jersey Cultural Trust, The New Jersey
State Council on the Arts, New Jersey
Department of State, National Endowment
for the Arts, The George A. Ohl, Jr., Trust
Foundation, Pechter Foundation, Pennsylvania
Performing Arts on Tour, PNC Foundation on
behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program,
PSE&G, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust,
Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, The United Way of
Essex & West Hudson, Andrew Vagelos, The
Edward W. & Stella C. Van Houten Memorial
Fund, and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts
Mountainside Community Foundation.
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Administration: 973 642-8989
Arts Education Hotline: 973 353-8009
[email protected]
NJPAC wishes to thank Theatre IV − especially
Eric Williams − for assistance with this guide.
Writers: Rosalie Uyola
Editor: Laura Ingoglia
Design: Pierre Sardain,
66 Creative, Inc.
66Creative.com
NJPAC Guest Reader:
Mary Whithed
Curriculum Review Committee:
Judith Israel
Amy Tenzer
Copyright © 2009
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
All Rights Reserved
For even more arts integration resources,
please go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon
Foundation’s signature digital learning platform,
designed to improve educational and
literacy achievement.
NJPAC Arts Education programs are made
possible by the generosity of: Bank of America,
Allen & Joan Bildner & The Bildner Family
Arthur Ryan ……………..........................…………………………………………………………………….Chairman
Lawrence P. Goldman ………..................…………………………………..President & Chief Executive Officer
Sandra Bowie………………….....................……………………………………..Vice President for Arts Education
Sanaz Hojreh ……………..................….……………………………..Assistant Vice President for Arts Education
Donna Bost-White……......................….……………………………….Director for Arts Education/Special Projects
Jeffrey Griglak………......................……………….………………………………..……..Director for Arts Training
Verushka Spirito……......................…………………………………………...Associate Director for Performances
Ambrose Liu………………........................……………………………………....Associate Director for Residencies
Caitlin Evans Jones………….......................………………………………….…Associate Director for Residencies
Faye Competello……………........................…………………………………....Associate Director for Arts Training
Mary Whithed………....................………..………………………………….....Program Coordinator for Residencies
Marie Thompson ……....................……………..…….Arts Education Sales Associate and Program Administrator
Joanna Gibson.......................................................................................Manager of Wachovia Jazz for Teens
Mary Lou Johnston & Laura Ingoglia……………................………......Editors of Teacher’s Resource Guide
8
Passport to culture • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad