The Smithsonian offers many excellent educational iPad apps. To Be Free is one of the free Smithsonian iPad apps that I recently downloaded. To Be Free features the stories of former slaves and others affected by the Emancipation Proclamation. You can scroll through slideshows and read personal accounts from people of all ages, status, and location in the United States at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The “make a connection” section of the app allows you to filter stories according to age, race, and gender. The “make a connection” section could be useful in helping students understand how people similar to them were affected by the Emancipation Proclamation. The Smithsonian offers this PDF of suggested lesson activities based on the app.
