The document describes a news reporter traveling to the South to investigate and report on the living conditions of slaves. It provides details from two slave dwellings - the home of Mr. Jones, which is described as a filthy and wretched long hut with dirt floors and openings that let in rain and snow. Ten people sleep there with no furniture or bedding beyond straw and rags. The home of Miss Smith is described as a small wooden cabin with a dirt floor that is drafty, breeding mosquitoes and difficult to keep clean. She lacks cutlery and eats with wooden spoons, and the cracks are filled with moss. The reporter will write an editorial on their findings and work with an editor to layout their story for

1. Imagine this is your home...
Outside
Inside
How is this similar and/or different from your home now?
How would living in these conditions make you feel?

2. Congratulations.
You’ve been hired by:
The Kleiber- Nucci
News!
Your Mission:
• To travel down South, as a news reporter, to
investigate the living conditions of slaves.
•When you return to the North, you will
be responsible for creating an editorial
of your findings.

3. Wait! Before we set out on our
journey, what qualifications do
you need to make you a good
news reporter?
•You need to be a good observer.
•You need to be a good listener.
•You need to be a descriptive writer.

4. As we board the train to travel
South, let’s talk about our trip.
Together, we will walk around the slave
quarters where various slaves are
currently living. As you walk around, you
will use all of your senses to help you
complete your notes. Make sure you
reflect on what is going through your
mind.
Let your nose lead the way!

5. Our first stop is...
The home of Mr.
Jones

6. As we walk in,
Mr. Jones said,
“My dwelling is filthy and wretched to the extreme. My life is of a
tragic and degrading condition. My house is a long hut where dirt
and dust cover the floor. The top is partly open so that on nights
when there is rain or snow it blows through the opening and the
damp earth soaks in the moisture till the floor is wet. I shake and I
shiver as the rain hits my skin like thousands of needles.
After a long day of harvesting the field I huddle, like cattle, with ten
other men, women, and children. We have neither bedsteads, nor
furniture of any description. Our beds are collections of straw and
old rags, thrown down in the corners, a single blanket the only
covering. As I try to shut my eyes, the sounds and the scent of
nearby farm animals keep me awake.
When I eventually fall asleep, the back door is left ajar for the fowls
and ducks to travel in and out, increasing the filth of the cabin by
what they bring and leave in every direction.”

7. Our next stop is…
The home of Miss
Smith.

8. Miss Smith tells us that where
she lives is unbearable.
“It is hot and steamy, a breeding ground for malaria-carrying
mosquitoes. No place for a woman. My home is a small wooden
cabin, with a dirt floor, which is drafty and hard to keep clean. I lack
knives and forks. I eat my meals with crude wooden spoons. The hay
on which I sleep leaves a rash on my skin. The cracks in my cabin are
filled with moss. Oh, how I wish I could be freed from this
heartrending life. Freed before death takes me over.”

9. Wow, what a trip!
As we head back North let’s talk
about what you will do back at
the office.
•Write your first draft of your editorial. Remember to reread
and ask yourself, “Does this piece express my experience?”
• Meet with your editor to discuss changes that can be
made to your piece.
•Finally, you will create the layout of your front page.
You will include the name of your newspaper, the date,
the title of your editorial, an illustration, and your
name.

10. If the living
conditions had been
better, do you think
that the viewpoint
towards slavery would
have been different?

11. Home of
Mr. Jones
Home of Miss
Smith