You cannot go wrong with a field trip to the Freedom Center. The center provides a link for educators to access lesson plans for all grade levels that utilize all subject areas. I was able to develop two weeks worth of lesson plans prior to our visit and a week's worth as a follow-up. There are not only wonderful stories that keep their interest, but the way they have organized the content has made it easy for teachers to relay the information so the kids comprehend it as they explore the exhibits. The educator link is http://www.freedomcenter.org/educators/lesson-plans
If you call two weeks prior to visiting and let them know you are a homeschooler, they will honor the group school discount which is $6.50 instead of the normal $14.00 price. They offer guided tours, handheld audio devices for your tour (which we love) and they will also email you activities to do if you choose to plan the tour yourself, which is what I did. They emailed me a scavenger hunt appropriate for their age that was not only fun for them, but it acted as a guide for me to review what we had learned over the last couple weeks. I highly recommend reading the Henry Box book prior to going because they LOVED seeing this exhibit after hearing the story. They also really enjoyed the story of Harriet Tubman, which we will be seeing at the Aronoff in "Freedom Train" next week. Again, when I do these lessons I try to find all I can to tie everything together because I am realizing over time how much more they are retaining by doing it this way.
I hope many of you will be intrigued to take a field trip here. There is plenty to learn and we will be going back when we reach Civil War times.
Henry Box Brown Exhibit
An actual slave pen that was moved from KY to inside the Freedom Center.
