Introduce the Underground Railroad through literature and activities provided in a resource package created to address curriculum expectations in Language, Arts and Social Studies.
Activities in the primary program, Follow The Underground Railroad, include: mapping, drama, retelling stories and recalling main events, research, writing, problem solving, interviewing, working with time lines and family trees, puzzles, games, designing and illustrating, sorting and classifying, tracking community change, and song writing.
This program contains four (4) study units, with the following resources included:
An interactive CD Rom, with all a total of 42 lessons and game 100 Steps to Freedom!
- Teacher’s Guide to accompany all resources
- Video: Follow The Drinking Gourd
- Book: Follow the Drinking Gourd
- Book: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
- Book: The Community that Hope Built
- Book: Baby Steps to Freedom
- Activities to prepare students for museum visit
- Activities to follow up a museum visit
FULL RESOURCE KIT COST: $115.00
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Also available in independent study units!

Follow The Drinking Gourd: $60.00 + shipping
- Book: Follow The Drinking Gourd, an illustrated story book written by Jeanette Winter. This book tells the story of Peg Leg Joe, who assisted fugitive slaves in their escape to freedom. The story is based on the song Follow The Drinking Gourd. Children will learn some of the secrets of the Underground Railroad, and some of the dangers escaped slaves faced on their flight to freedom.
- DVD- Follow The Drinking Gourd, an animated video based on the book.
- Interactive CD Rom with activities related to the book and the game 100 Steps To Freedom
- 15 lesson activities
- Teacher's guide that relates each activity to the appropriate area of the primary curriculum in Language, Social Studies, and The Arts.
The Community That Hope Built: $25.00 + shipping
- Book: Community That Hope Built, a story book written for the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum. This illustrated book tells the story of the Buxton or Elgin Settlement in an easy reader style, suitable for young primary students. Through this book students will learn about the founder of the settlement, the people, and important landmarks and events in the early settlement through to the present.
- Interactive CD Rom with activities related to the book and the game 100 Steps To Freedom
- 18 lesson activities
- Teacher's guide that relates each activity to the appropriate area of the primary curriculum in Language, Social Studies, and The Arts.
Baby Steps To Freedom—Primary $25.00 + shipping
- Book: Baby Steps To Freedom, a story book written exclusively for the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum. This illustrated book tells the story of John Riley, who as an infant, accompanied his parents on their escape to freedom, and tells of his life in Buxton. The story is based on the true story of the Riley family who escaped slavery in Missouri in the 1840's, before coming to the Buxton Settlement in 1948.
- Interactive CD Rom with activities related to the book and the game 100 Steps To Freedom
- 16 lesson activities
- Teacher's guide that relates each activity to the appropriate area of the primary curriculum in Language, Social Studies, and The Arts.
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt: $30 .00 + shipping
- Book: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, a storybook written by Deborah Hopkinson. This illustrated book tells the story of Clara, a young girl who plans her escape to freedom, using a quilt to record secret information. Through the book children, learn about the secrets of the Underground Railroad.
- Interactive CD Rom with activities related to the book and the game 100 Steps To Freedom
- 13 lesson activities
- Teacher's guide that relates each activity to the appropriate area of the primary curriculum in Language, Social Studies, and The Arts.
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For young scholars who have the good fortune to visit the Buxton Museum on a class trip!
This half-day program presents the story of the Underground Railroad and the Buxton Community through exhibits, storytelling, literature and interactive activities.
During their visit to the museum students will:
- View the exhibit showing the journey of African Canadians from Africa to Buxton
- Tour the museum with an artefact scavenger hunt
- Tour a log cabin built in 1852 by a fugitive slave who came to Buxton
- Tour the restored schoolhouse built in 1861 by the people of Buxton
- Hear a storyteller tell a story of a child's "Barefoot Escape"
- Enjoy a musical and drama experience using a variety of African instruments
The Resource package will be sent on confirmation of booking. In order to refund deposit for booking, we must receive 48 hours notice of cancellation.
You should allow at least 6 weeks to complete activities before your visit.
A non-refundable fee of $100 is required to confirm booking and will be applied to the cost of resource package and fee for the student’s visit ($6.00 per student).
COST PER STUDENT: $6.00 (plus resource kit of choice)