Have students research John Malvin or read the short biography of Malvin provided in the lesson plan. Ask students to explain why they think John Malvin was an important Cleveland citizen during the 19th Century. Distribute or read to students the excerpt from Malvin's autobiography of the runaway incident in Cleveland in the 1840s and discuss. Have students re-enact the incident. Using Malvin's recollection and the Character List, have students write a script, assign parts and act out the play.
Students can become newspaper reporters and write a newspaper article about the runaway incident.
Students can write an editorial for a newspaper about the incident. Have students write an opinion paper on Malvin's decision to helpWilliams escape before the trial. Students could research other abolitionist activities including the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of 1856, and the Lucy Bagby case in Cleveland in 1861.