Henry’s Freedom Box

by Ellen Levine
WebQuest

Created by Kelli Stouffer

Introduction
Hello! Today you are going to get the chance to take a deeper
look into the life of one very brave slave, Henry Brown. In
America today, most of us take our freedom for granted.
Unfortunately, things have not always been the way they are
today. Through reading Henry’s Freedom Box and
completing a series of activities, hopefully you will have a
greater appreciation for your freedom. Click to the next slide
to begin!
 Overview Of Your Tasks
Read the story & answer some guided reading questions
Research Henry Brown & complete a graphic organizer
Write 2 Journal Entries
Plan Your Own Escape Route
With a partner, write an obituary for Henry Brown

Be prepared to turn your work into the teacher.

Objectives
When you have completed this Webquest you
will have:
1.) Expressed your opinion about slavery and
freedom.
2.) Acquired new knowledge about Henry
Brown through reading Henry’s Freedom Box
and research.
3.) Acquired knowledge about journal writing
and obituaries.
4.) Designed and drew your own escape
route.
 Task #1
Read the story to yourself.
As you are reading, try to put yourself in Henry’s shoes. How
does the story make you feel?
Click here and print out the following guided reading questions.
Next, answer the questions on the worksheet. At the end of this
Webquest, you will turn all of your assignments into your
teacher.
Task #2
Using the following As you are researching,
websites, conduct research print out the following
on Henry Brown. graphic organizer. Fill it
out with the information
 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbox.htm
that you are learning from
 http://www.readingtokids.org/Books/BookView.php?pag=3&bookID=000
your research.
 http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/blackhistory.apx.-content-articles-RTD

Click here for the graphic

organizer.
 Task #3

Go to http://www.42explore.com/journl.htm and read

about journal writing.
Write a journal entry as if you were Henry Brown. You
can write as if it were any time in his life. For example,
you could write about being a slave, his journey to the
North, or about his life in freedom.
Your journal entry should be one full page. If you are typing it, it
should be one page, double-spaced, and 14 pt. font.
Turn this into you teacher once you have completed this Webquest
 Task #4

Now you are to write another journal entry from your own
perspective.
 You can write about your opinion of Henry Brown, slavery,
freedom, The Civil War, or something else that you have strong
feelings for that pertain to the book.
 As you are writing, try to remember that a journal entry is how you
honestly feel. Don’t worry about what others will think.
Your journal entry should be one full page. If you are typing it, it
should be one page, double-spaced, and 14 pt. font.
Turn this into you teacher once you have completed this Webquest.
 Task #5 Plan an Escape Route
You are to pretend that you are a slave in the South and are looking for a way to
reach freedom. Plan an escape route for yourself. You should write a paragraph
about your escape route and draw a picture of it. The following needs to be
included:
 A starting and ending point.
 An exact route
 Some form of transportation
 The length of time it will take you.
 Any known obstacles that you may encounter.
 Your teacher will have a poster board, markers, and rulers on a table in the
classroom that you should use to create this. You are to write your paragraph
about the escape route anywhere on the poster board using a marker. Use the
markers and rulers to draw your escape route on the poster board. You should
use the entire poster board for this assignment.
You can make it as creative as you want. Remember that you are a slave, and you
are desperate for freedom.
 Culminating Activity
For your final activity, you need to work with your partner that has
been assigned to you. (Your teacher has the paper that has the all of
the partners).
Together, you are to write an obituary of Henry Brown. If you are
unfamiliar with what an obituary is click on the link below to find out
more information.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obituary
Use Henry’s Freedom Box, your research, and your opinions about
slavery and Henry Brown to write one obituary together.
The obituary should be at least a couple paragraphs. It can be typed
and printed, or handwritten. You only need to turn in one per group.
Make sure that both of your names are on it. It will be graded based
on accuracy, completion, mechanics, and neatness.
 Congratulations!
You have finished this WebQuest. Be sure to look at the grading rubric on
the next slide. Once you have checked all of your work, hand it into the
teacher.

You need to turn in the following to the teacher:

- Guided Reading Questions worksheet
- Research graphic organizer
- Two journal entries
- Escape Route
- Obituary (only need to turn in 1 per group)
 Assignment Exemplary
Guided Reading Questions All of the questions are
answered and are in
complete sentences. Little to
no error exist. Easy to read
Research Questions All of the questions are
answered and they are
correct.
Journals Both journals are 1 page,
double spaced and 14 pt. font,
or are 1 page handwritten.
They stay on topic and little
grammar and spelling errors
exist.
Escape Route All of the components are
present. It is neat. The
description is a paragraph and
is on the poster board. Little
grammar errors exist.
Culminating Activity The obituary is at least 2
paragraphs. It describes
Henry Brown’s life. Little to
no grammar/spelling errors
exist.
Proficient
All of the questions are
answered. Little time has
been given to write without
errors. The writing is not
very easy to read.
Only a couple answers are
incorrect.
Both journals are complete.
They stay on topic for the
most part. A few grammar and
spelling errors exist.
One of the components is
missing. It is somewhat neat.
The description has a couple
grammar/spelling errors.
The obituary is at least 2
paragraphs. It stays on
topic. A couple
grammar/spelling errors
exist.
Developing
Not all of the questions are
answered. There are more
than 4 grammar and
spelling errors. It is hard to
read.
More than three answers are
incorrect or not answered.
One or both of the journals are
incomplete. They stray away
from the main topic and/or
more than 5 grammar/spelling
errors exist.
More than one of the
components is missing. It is
not neat. The description has
more than 4 grammar/spelling
errors.
The obituary is less than 2
paragraphs. It strays away
from the topic. More than 4
grammar/spelling errors
exist.