Each year third grade students learn about the Underground Railroad. They focus on two compelling questions. What obstacles did enslaved persons have to overcome? How did African Americans gain freedom from slavery?
This year the third grade students had a special traveling exhibit from the African American Museum of Iowa. The exhibit was titled Riding the Freedom Train: The Underground Railroad in Iowa. Students were able to follow Iowa’s Underground Railroad routes and read stories about the safe houses, communities, and brave individuals who took their lives in their hands on a journey to freedom. Students learned about obstacles slaves had to overcome to be free, and how they gained freedom from slavery by using the Underground Railroad system throughout the south and Iowa.