Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

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B1.1 engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on examining issues and themes in fiction and non-fiction sources from diverse communities, times, and places Although the cruelties of slavery and the sad events of Henry’s life may prove too intense for the youngest readers, grade-schoolers with some knowledge of American history will thrill to this astonishing tale of bravery, ingenuity, and the indomitable strength of the human spirit." – Barnes & Noble Weatherford, Carole Boston. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2006. ISBN-13: 9780786851751 identify a range of purposes for listening in a variety of situations, formal and informal, and set goals related to specific listening tasks Self-Regulation – students can monitor, assess and control their own behaviours to suit the needs of the class and activities

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CRITICS HAVE SAID

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine as a springboard for instruction focused on inflectional endings. FOR/AS Learning– this lesson is designed as the beginning of a deeper unit on social justice and literacy. Students will learn about social justice issues while instilling reading, listening and speaking strategies. Strand(s): Oral Communication & Reading, Creating and Presenting & Reflecting, Responding, and Analyzing, & Understanding Context

Finish by having the students look at the Freedom Wall in a gallery walk and reflect alone or in a Think, Pair, ShareLEARNING SKILLS AND WORK HABITS: Responsibility, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative, Self-Regulation The volunteer will take on the character of Henry. They will answer the audience’s questions by pretending to be the character and speak from his point of view A3. Understanding Context: demonstrate an understanding of significant experiences of, and major changes and aspects of life in, various historical and contemporary communities in Canada Diagnostic– Getting an idea of what students think and how they see the world is incredibly important so that teachers can start to lay the foundation of a topic. The freedom wall will help inform me of various mindsets in my classroom. Literary Elements at Work: There are two important literary elements at work in this story: artistry and the straightforward narrative of Henry’s life and plea as representative of all life and everyone’s plea: I am a human being, and I long to be free. The paintings throughout this book are inspired by a mid-nineteenth century anti-slavery artist, Samuel Rowse. Mr. Rowse’s original paintings of Henry were used to raise funds for the abolitionist movement. Mr. Nelson uses crosshatch pencil lines, and layers of watercolor and oil paint for each painting, giving an aged, almost folk art feel to each scene. These paintings are visually stunning; this is a beautiful storybook. Mr. Nelson’s facial expressions, use of color, and scene context provide a thoughtful engagement with the emotion of Henry’s story as well as a thoughtful understanding and interpretation of the word story Ellen Levine tells. Ellen Levine tells the story of Henry’s life, from a young boy in his mother’s lap to his rending away and separation from his boyhood family when he is given to another master; and again in his later life, from his courtship and marriage to Nancy, resulting in three children, to his own family’s rending away and separation from him. Throughout Henry’s tale, Ellen Levine cleverly gives voice to many of the atrocities that all slaves faced: agelessness, slaves did not have birth dates; namelessness, slaves did not have ancestral or recorded names; disconnectedness, slaves’ marriages were not honored and families were separated; powerlessness, slaves had no human voice, no economic voice, no political voice, no social voice, and yet, in the midst of social, political, economic, and personal isolation, slaves scratched, clawed and created a cultural and spiritual identity and network that enabled some to escape to freedom. Interestingly, Henry gives himself a birth date when he arrives in Philadelphia. Henry’s freedom date becomes his birth date, giving Henry in particular, and therefore slaves in general, a beginning grounding point.