Harriet Tubman lessons for kids: learning about life of the American abolitionist, political activist, and the Underground Railroad. Great Harriet Tubman for kids activities—perfect for Black History Month, women in history, Harriet Tubman Day or addition to your homeschool history curriculum throughout your learning!
HARRIET TUBMAN LESSONS FOR KIDS
With the Harriet Tubman movie, books, and lessons on Harriet Tubman, students will learn about Harriet Tubman’s courage, how she was an abolitionist, and Harriet Tubman facts. You’ll find Harriet Tubman activities for elementary students through high school (even Harriet Tubman activities for kindergarten!)
How do you teach Harriet Tubman to kids?
- Read a Harriet Tubman biography for kids
- Watch The Life of Harriet Tubman for Kids video (or any other Harriet Tubman video for kids)
- Take a virtual field trip to the Harriet Tubman Museum
- Create history lessons surrounding Tubman’s time
- Cover Harriet Tubman discussion questions — not only about how horrible slavery is, but also about Harriet’s bravery
- Talk about Harriet Tubman education level and how she still accomplished great things!
- Cover the conductors of the Underground Railroad
- Talk about the importance of Harriet Tubman’s escape to freedom and how it affected so many others
- Read children’s books about Harriet Tubman while doing Harriet Tubman coloring pages
- Do Harriet Tubman crafts
- Talk about fear and courage in the face of big risks
- Cover being unselfish and how your actions can make a big impact on others
Don’t miss the full Harriet Tubman lessons and activities and Harriet Tubman project ideas below!
Our Harriet Tubman lesson plans for history and social studies resource include teaching tips and plans, and discusses slavery for this Civil War freedom fighter, as well as activities to honor the life and courage of Harriet Tubman to pair up with movies, Harriet Tubman documentaries and children’s books on the historical hero.
Why is it important to learn about Harriet Tubman?
What did Harriet Tubman do? Harriet Tubman became the “Conductor of the Underground Railroad” by escaping slavery and then helping to free hundreds of slaves to Northern free states and also Canada. She is an integral part of the Civil War and advancing the rights of African Americans.
How is Harriet Tubman inspirational?
What lessons can we learn from Harriet Tubman?
- Be courageous
- Use bravery in the face of fear
- Fight for what you believe in
- Be determined
- Unselfish actions can create great success
- Freedom comes with a price
- Sometimes desperate times calls for desperate measures
- Never give up
- Ordinary people can make great changes
- Good things come in small packages!
- Trust God to lead you
Harriet Tubman Day
Harriet Tubman Day is March 10, the day that the anti-slavery leader died. It honors Tubman’s life and her activism and bravery.
Harriet Tubman Biography
12 Quick Harriet Tubman Facts
Use these for Harriet Tubman discussion questions for kids!
What are some important facts about Harriet Tubman?
- Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland.
- Harriet Tubman real name: She was born Araminta “Minty” Ross, but it is thought that she later changed her name to Harriet to honor her mother.
- Harriet Tubman went by several nicknames, including “Conductor of Underground Railroad,” “General,” and “Moses of Her People”
- Tubman was only 5 feet tall!
- In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia and became free.
- She made 19 trips south in 10 years to rescue slaves.
- Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed raid. It freed 700 slaves in South Carolina.
- Harriet Tubman civil war: Tubman spent time as a Union spy!
- She used a pistol to frighten the slaves to keep moving to freedom.
- Harriet was a vocal advocate of the women’s rights movement.
- Tubman and her husband, Nelson Davis, adopted a daughter.
- Later in her life, Tubman donated the property she owned in Auburn, New York, as a home to help the elderly and less fortunate, even building an infirmary to provide free healthcare—not just for African Americans, but for anyone who needed it!
What is Harriet Tubman famous for?
According to WomensHistory.org:
Known as the “Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was enslaved, escaped, and helped others gain their freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. Tubman also served as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. She is considered the first African American woman to serve in the military.
How many slaves did Harriet Tubman free?
Reports give accounts of Tubman as personally freeing over 70 slaves. At one point, she helped lead a raid that freed 700 slaves. However, according to PBS.org, Harriet Tubman helped free over 300 slaves over a ten-year period. Tubman was quoted as saying, “If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more.”
When Harriet Tubman Was Born…
Did you know that there are no exact birth records to verify Harriet Tubman’s birth? It is estimated that she was born somewhere between 1815-1825. She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland.
How did Harriet Tubman die?
Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913, of pneumonia. She was between the ages of 88-98. Because there is confusion about her exact birth date, her exact age at the time of her death is unknown.
Before her death she told friends and family surrounding her death bed “I go to prepare a place for you.”
Where is Harriet Tubman now?
Harriet Tubman is buried at Fort Hill Cemetery at Auburn, in Cayuga County, New York. In 2017, the site was designated as a national park. It is said she was buried with military honors.
Was Harriet Tubman married?
PBS.org tells us:
Around 1844 she married a free black named John Tubman and took his last name. (She was born Araminta Ross; she later changed her first name to Harriet, after her mother.)
In 1849, in fear that she, along with the other slaves on the plantation, was to be sold, Tubman resolved to run away.
She set out one night on foot.
With some assistance from a friendly white woman, Tubman was on her way.
She followed the North Star by night, making her way to Pennsylvania and soon after to Philadelphia, where she found work and saved her money.
The following year she returned to Maryland and escorted her sister and her sister’s two children to freedom. She made the dangerous trip back to the South soon after to rescue her brother and two other men.
On her third return, she went after her husband, only to find he had taken another wife. Undeterred, she found other slaves seeking freedom and escorted them to the North.
In 1869, Harriet went on to marry Nelson Davis.
Did Harriet Tubman ever learn to read?
It is believed that Harriet Tubman never learned to read. Much of the information that we have came from Tubman’s abolitionist friend Sarah Bradford. Bradford wrote books to raise money for Tubman’s cause, but it is said that Bradford often embellished the stories. This has led to much misinformation about Tubman.
Is there a Harriet Tubman movie?
Yes! The latest Harriet Tubman movie is called, “Harriet” and covers the Harriet Tubman underground railroad.
From the movie description:
“From her escape from slavery through the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman is told.”
Who is playing Harriet Tubman in the new movie?
Cynthia Erivo is playing the former slave and abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, in the new Harriet Tubman movie.
Additional Harriet Tubman Movies and Underground Railroad Movies
Want to add other movies about Harriet Tubman (or other abolitionist films) to your studies?
Parent Read: Harriet Tubman Road To Freedom
Add Harriet Tubman Road To Freedom as a parent read or read for older kids.
ALSO CHECK OUT:
Harriet Tubman Quotes
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
“There was one of two things I had a right to: liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would take the other, for no man should take me alive. I should fight for liberty as long as my strength lasted.”
“I am at peace with God and all mankind.” -Harriet Tubman
“God’s time is always near. He gave me my strength and he set the North Star in the heavens; He meant I should be free.”
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19 Harriet Tubman Movie Lesson Plans, Projects, Activities and Harriet Tubman Lesson Ideas
These are also great additions to teaching the underground railroad lesson plans and curriculum materials, too!
4. Read a Harriet Tubman children’s book (or two or three or…) and talk about how did Harriet Tubman get free and the importance of her freedom for others:
9. Listen to a podcast, “Following Harriet.”
11. Read An Apple for Harriet Tubman and make a related recipe for An Apple for Harriet Tubman lesson plan
12. Download free Harriet Tubman worksheets and activity books pdf.
14. Get the read and answer download: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Tubman: Heroines of the Civil War
15. Learn about America’s Long Struggle against Slavery
19. Make a Freedom Quilt.