How To Play

Step One


Begin the game by reading the fun little captions that each character in this "cartoon" says...it will help you when the questions come later! When you're done with each caption, click the arrow to go on to the next one!


Step Two: The Questions
Near the end of each "Episode", you'll click on a box to "Answer the Question". A question will be asked that relates to the previous Episode and you'll have four choices from a drop-down box. If you select the right one right away, you get a ton of points! If you miss, you can keep selecting choices, but you will earn fewer and fewer points with each answer.

If you don't know the answer, there are two things you can do for help:

• Click on Hints. This will take you to a page with three hints and you can pick which hint you want to "decode". The Hints will cost you between 1 and 3 points, depending on which one(s) you pick. An example of a hint to decode is for the question "What does John mean by the "drinking gourd"? Can you decode "Cu kaa cra repc, djedm cra 'Qaduqa' zyccup? If you do AND you get the right answer, it will only cost you one point.
• Click on Search. This will take you directly to the Ask for Kids search box and you can "ask" a question. It will give you back links to websites that may help you answer the question! It is also a great way to learn more about resources available online and how to find them. For example, the "What law was passed in 1850 that would explain why Jeb needs a pass in the North" is kind of hard! Rather than trying to search for the question, you may have MORE luck if you search through the answer options. If you "ask" about "The Fugitive Slave Act", you'll be taken to websites that let you know THIS is the answer. What a great way to learn! Click here to go to one of the websites that pops up when you search for it this way.

Step Three: what do you do when you're done?

Once you've completed the game, you'll have all kinds of fun facts about American Slavery to help you discuss what you've learned and the way you learned it. Teachers can find wonderful lists of classroom discussion aids from the Teacher's Guide! You can also move on to try these other awesome comic adventures from the Derby Series to "hone your internet research skills while investigating cool stuff":

• Iz and Auggie and the Invention Snatchers
• Ecology Strikes Back
• Iz and Auggie go to the Polls
• Mystery on Mars
• Revenge of the Lunar Fringe
• Crazy Couch Caper

OR, you can do THIS:

Take some time to explore the additional links I have on the right of this blog. You can learn more about interactive games on Black History and Slavery, read through the online resources that I list for additional information on the questions asked in the game, or spend some time searching the links I provided for kid-friendly search engines to find answers to other questions you might have. Remember, when it comes to searching for materials online, practice makes perfect!!