Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson

Copyright 2007

Published by Scholastic Press

Lexile Level: AD380L

Grade Level: 4 to 8

Henry's Freedom Box is the story of Henry Brown, who was born into slavery.  He was living happily with his wife and three children, when his entire family was sold away from him.  This is when he used his imagination to find a way to get freedom.

Teachers, here are some activities and resources for this book:

 

Key Vocabulary:

• master, slave, factory, mistress, slave market, warehouse, oil of vitriol, baggage car

Before Reading Activity:

• Have students make predictions about the book.  Students can make a KWL chart about information they know about slavery and the underground railroad.

Writing Activity:

• Plan a creative writing activity in which students will create their own escape plan.  Students can pretend that they are slaves in Virginia and plan out ideas to escape using a graphic organizer to organize their thoughts.

Web Resources:

• Follow this link to see an interview with the author, Ellen Levine!
• Watch this book trailer made by a student!  After seeing this students can create their own!

Levine, Ellen, and Kadir Nelson. Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. Print.