Passage #1 Harriet Tubman is famous for being a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She was born in Maryland as a slave.

She worked as a slave until she escaped her master and made it to the north, where slavery was illegal. She worked for a while and saved money so she could help her family escape. After helping her family escape, she returned many times to help other slaves escape. She was very smart and a brave leader. People will always remember Harriet Tubman because she fought for what she believed in. Passage #2 Hibernation is one of the main adaptations that allow certain northern animals to survive long, cold winters. Hibernation is like a very deep sleep that allows animals to save their energy when there is little or no food available. The body functions of true hibernators go through several changes while they are hibernating. Body temperature drops, and the heart rate slows. For example, a hibernating woodchucks body temperature drops by more than 30 degrees Celsius, and its heart rate slows from 80 to 4 beats per minute! Other true hibernators include the jumping mouse, little brown bat, eastern chipmunk, and several ground squirrels. Other animals, such as the skunk and raccoon, are not considered true hibernators, as they wake up in the winter to feed, and their body functions do not change as much. Since they only sleep for a little bit at a time, the term dormancy or light sleeping is used to describe their behavior. The largest animals to hibernate are bears. Their heart rate may slow down from a usual 40 50 beats per minute to 8-12 beats per minute, but their body temperature changes very little, so they are able to wake up quickly. Hibernation. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_science_hibernation_ upperelem.pdf. Passage #3 Even when I was extremely young, I always loved plants. When we walked to school, I would observe the different plants and come up with names for each of them. I would even draw pictures of them. When my teacher asked us to draw a picture of anything we liked, I always ended up illustrating different plants. I even drew them when we werent supposed to be drawing. My teacher would scold me about drawing all over my notebooks. But my mother would smile about it. I think I see a scientist, she said. When I got to high school, I registered for a course that was all about plants. Most students took the course in biology, but I decided to enroll in the course that focused on plants instead. Our class traveled to the park to identify various species. It was truly amazing to find that there were at least 27 different kinds of plants in our neighborhood park alone. In fact, there were about 12 different kinds of trees, also. Some were deciduous. We were there in the springtime, so they still had their leaves. Center for Urban Education, DePaul University. I like plants. (2005). Retrieved from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/ILikePlantsFiction7thGrade.pdf
Amanda Roth