Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handouts and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resources for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  Handout: Choice Board (Google Slides).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their notebooks or on a piece of paper, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What challenges did enslaved individuals in the American south face?
  • How might an enslaved individual escape slavery?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of Ilyon Woo, author of Master Slave, Husband Wife, discusses why the story of William and Ellen Craft is compelling. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: A Compelling Story (3:21).

  • Why is William and Ellen Craft’s story “compelling” to Ilyon Woo?
  • Summarize the Craft’s story, as summarized by Woo.
  • How “well-known” were the Craft’s during their time? Why?
  • Based on the clip, why have the Crafts disappeared from history books?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• BACKGROUND

  Direct students to the background section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following three video clips that provide historical and contextual background from the time of William and Ellen Craft’s story. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: Other Characters (2:09).

  • Who are some of the “important” characters in William and Ellen Craft’s story?
  • Compare the roles of the “many people,” as stated in the clip.

• Clip #3: The Year 1848 (3:03).

  • What made 1848 a “crazy” year?
  • Why does William and Ellen Craft’s escape from enslavement “mesh” interestingly with the era?
  • Why was the population of the United States “exploding and changing?”
  • Based on the clip, how many enslaved persons were there in the United States in 1848?

• Clip #4: Fugitive Slave Laws (1:34).

  • For how long had fugitive slave legislation been “enforced” in the United States?
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what did the laws enable enslavers to do?
  • Why were enslavers “incensed?”

• CHOICE BOARD EXPLORATION

  After they have finished sharing their findings from the background portion of the lesson, provide access to and have your students review the directions on the second slide of the Choice Board (Google Slides).

  After reviewing the directions, remind your students that they will choose to study one of three topics: 1.) Characters, 2.) Escape, or 3.) Life After. In the first section, students will learn about William and Ellen Craft, including their backgrounds and motivations. In the second section, students will learn about the planning process and escape from slavery itself. And in the third section, students will learn about what happens to William and Ellen Craft after their escape.

  Have your students move to the third slide of the Choice Board and click the link for their topic choice. They will watch several video clips for that topic by clicking the image that appears on each subsequent slide, take notes as they watch the clips, and then respond to the questions that follow on the slides.

  Upon completing their selected section, have your students prepare a brief presentation to share their findings with the class. As each student shares their responses in a jigsaw activity, encourage your class to record the answers to all of the questions throughout the Choice Board.

  The three options and related video clips and questions are listed below.

• OPTION 1 - CHARACTERS

  First Clip (Clip #5): Macon, Georgia (1:10).

  • Based on the clip, where was William and Ellen Craft’s home?
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what was the area like in 1848?
  • Who was Robert Collins, and of what was he “in charge?” Why was this ironic?
  • Why did the Crafts have “urgency” to “get out of reach?”

• OPTION 1 - CHARACTERS

  Second Clip (Clip #6): William Craft (6:23).

  • Based on the clip, how old was William Craft in 1848? Describe William’s background, as stated by Ilyon Woo.
  • Why was William’s family “ripped apart?” Summarize what happened.
  • For what job was William “apprenticed?” Why?
  • Why were William and his sister “sold off?” How did he react?
  • What was William “determined” to do in the future?
  • Summarize the “arrangement” that William had with his next enslaver. What else was “key” during this time?

• OPTION 1 - CHARACTERS

  Third Clip (Clip #7): Ellen Craft (4:52).

  • How old was Ellen Craft in 1848, and what was her “lineage?”
  • Who was Eliza Smith and why was she “enraged?”
  • For what purpose was Ellen “given away?”
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what did Ellen look like?
  • Based on the clip, how would Ellen have dressed? Why?
  • What “skill” did Ellen have, and why was this skill important?

• OPTION 1 - CHARACTERS

  Fourth Clip (Clip #8): The Couple (1:07).

  • By 1848, how long had William and Ellen Craft been “a couple?”
  • Why did Ellen not want to marry, according to Ilyon Woo?
  • Why did the two “put love first?”

• OPTION 2 - ESCAPE

  First Clip (Clip #9): A Pass (1:51).

  • What was needed to “initiate” William and Ellen Craft’s escape? Why?
  • For what two reasons could enslaved individuals receive a pass, according to Ilyon Woo?
  • What “excuse” did Ellen provide to receive a pass?
  • Why did the Crafts have “urgency” to “get out of reach?”

• OPTION 2 - ESCAPE

  Second Clip (Clip #10): The Plan and Escape (3:30).

  • How were Ellen and William Craft “posing?”
  • What “crucial element” did Ellen add to her disguise?
  • Summarize the “eyewitness account” from aboard the steamship.
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what did the Crafts learn along their journey?

• OPTION 2 - ESCAPE

  Third Clip (Clip #11): A Weapon (2:36).

  • Based on the clip, what did William Craft carry?
  • What evidence did Ilyon Woo find that proved William carried the object?
  • Where did William and Ellen Craft go when they arrived in Philadelphia, according to Woo?
  • Why was this arrival “comedic?”
  • Based on the clip, how did the newspaper account of the arrival differ?
  • Where did the weapon come from, according to Woo?

• OPTION 2 - ESCAPE

  Fourth Clip (Clip #12): To Boston (4:25).

  • Why did William and Ellen Craft not stay in Philadelphia, according to Ilyon Woo?
  • What was the Craft’s “original plan,” but where are they sent instead? Why?
  • Based on the clip, when did word about the Craft’s story start spreading? Why?
  • What “decision” did the Crafts make in Boston?

• OPTION 2 - ESCAPE

  Fifth Clip (Clip #13): The Lecture Circuit (2:20).

  • Based on the clip, who was William Wells Brown and what did he invite William and Ellen Craft to do?
  • What was the “lecture circuit,” and why was it key for the antislavery movement?
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what did the Crafts add to the lecture circuit that was new?
  • How did the Crafts earn “income” from the lecture circuit?

• OPTION 3 - LIFE AFTER

  First Clip (Clip #14): Compromise of 1850 (8:11).

  • How did the Compromise of 1850 “change the circumstance” for William and Ellen Craft?
  • What did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 enable enslavers to do, according to Ilyon Woo?
  • Based on the clip, who were Willis Hughes John Knight and what did they experience in Boston?
  • According to Woo, why did the Secretary of State and the President get involved?
  • Why was Daniel Webster an “interesting character” during this time?
  • What was Webster “in charge of” as Secretary of State?

• OPTION 3 - LIFE AFTER

  Second Clip (Clip #15): To England (2:47).

  • Where was William and Ellen Craft’s “next stop?”
  • How and why did the Craft’s “evolve” during this time period?
  • According to Ilyon Woo, what longer-lasting desires did the Crafts have?
  • Based on the clip, how did the Crafts get an education?

• OPTION 3 - LIFE AFTER

  Third Clip (Clip #16): After the Civil War (4:26).

  • When were William and Ellen Craft able to return to the United States? Why?
  • What “difficult choice” did the Crafts make? Why?
  • According to Ilyon Woo, how was Ellen able to reunite with her mother during the Civil War?
  • When did the Crafts publish their own book, and how was it “received?”

• REFLECTION

  After your students finish sharing their findings from the choice board in a jigsaw activity, direct them to the reflection section in their graphic organizers.

  Instruct your students to view the following final video clip in which Ilyon Woo, author of Master Slave, Husband Wife, discusses what William and Ellen Craft's story can provide today. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #17: No Happy Ending (2:22).

  • Summarize the quote excerpt, as read in the clip.
  • Why are we in a “unique” position today?
  • What does the Craft story do for us today, according to Ilyon Woo?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now learned about William and Ellen Craft and their escape from enslavement, describe how their story demonstrates the “simultaneity” of American history. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.