THE STORY OF HARRIET TUBMAN:

FREEDOM TRAIN

Chapters 1 to 5
1) Answer the following questions about the story.

CHAPTER 1 Little Girl, Little Girl!

1. Describe the setting at the beginning
of the story. The story begins in maryland in the house of a slave owner in the year 1827

2. What do we learn about the main character? She is a six year-old black girl born and raised in Slavery

3. How did Harriet’s family become slaves? her great grandmother was taken from her home making a legacy of
slaves

4. How does Harriet picture the North?

She pictures it as paradise where everyone is free black and white alike

5. What are Harriet’s tasks on the plantation? What were they the previous year?

she was like a domestic, doing housekeeping. She would do sweeping, dusting, rocking the baby. Sometimes
she would do kitchen jobs like peeling potatoes.

6. Why is Harriet sent to the Cooks? Is she good at it?

She is not good; Mrs. Cook repeatedly calls ger stupid. She was sent there to learn to weave

7. What causes the mistress’s fury? How does Harriet react?

The baby won't stop crying and Harriet didn't do a good job with the Cooks. After that, she almost puts her hand
on the food, so Mistress wants to punish her, but she makes a run and escapes the house

CHAPTER 2 Peck of Trouble

1. What do we learn about Harriet’s older sisters?

2. Describe the beds the family sleeps on.

they sleep on straw pallets (wood) which is very uncomfortable to sleep

on, it would be covered of torn rag but only for the children

3. What is the family’s only treasure?

An assemble of scrap to make a big colored sheet

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4. Who did Ben talk to? What did he suggest?

he talked with master. He suggested to whip him instead of Harriet

5. What does the Mistress want to do with Harriet?

she wants to sell her south

6. Why is Old Rit disappointed Harriet will go back working in the fields?

It’s a difficult job and she doesn’t want her to end up just like her mother.in the house, you get to sit down and
wear clothes

7. What punishment does Harriet receive the next day?

she was whipped and it cut trough her thin back

CHAPTER 3 School Days

1. How do the slaves become united in the field?
They sing and they work together. When Harriet sings it gives
hope to her coworkers
2. Why do the white folks want the slaves to sing?

If they don’t, they are often plotting something like rebellion or escape

3. Who is Cudjoe? How different is he from the other slaves?

Cudjoe is an old slave. He is different from the other slaves because of his old age, as he is the oldest man in the
plantation.

4. What is the paper Franklin, Jefferson and Adams signed?

They signed the Philadelphia

5. Explain the “grapevine telegraph” (p30)

it’s a gadget used for communication. It depended on sharp ears, bright eyes, and bare feet

6. Who is William Lloyd Garrison?

He is a white anti-slavery activist who was thrown in jail because of is progressive ideology, for criticizing
shipowners who carried slave cargoes down the coast to New Orleans.

7. What does Harriet learn about white people in the North, or even in Maryland? How are these people called?

She learns that there are hundreds of people like William Lloyd that want slavery abolished and they are willing
to give up their freedom to fight for black men

8. What did Nat Turner start? What happened to him?

He started a revolution by killing his master and freeing slaves then going plantation to plantation and doing the
same for the other slaves. His revolution got stopped by a thousand soldiers, but Nat wasn’t caught,

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9. What are the direct consequences on the plantation after the series of slave revolts?

The security was tighter than ever. Patrollers were hired with dogs to catch any black skin person. Laws were
strengthened, the bible was forbidden and any slave who taught another to read was sentenced to life
imprisonment or death

10. Harriet doesn’t go to school but yet, she manages to receive some education. What sort? Who is her teacher?

She learns from Ben how to use nature to her advantage to help her locate herself.

CHAPTER 4 The Train Whistle Blows

1. How old is Harriet in this chapter?

She is fifteen.

2. How would you describe her?

She is strong as a man

3. Give the 2 reasons why Harriet is sent to a neighboring farm?

she was a really good worker but her sullen expression and her rock-like chin made her master uncomfortable.
There was also a rebellious spirit inside her and when the price of tobacco experienced a drop, he had more
slaves than ever, so he "promoted" some

4. Who is Jim? Why is he an object of admiration for Harriet?

Jim is another slave Harriet met in her new plantation. He is an object of admiration for Harriet because he is
tough and escaped multiple times.

5. How long have slaves been escaping from the South?

As long as there was slavery

6. Explain the expression: “(the runaways) only friend the North Star” (page 42)

If you follow the north star, you will go the north hemisphere, and that is what slave wanted

7. What is the Underground Railroad? How does it work?

The underground railroad is a system full of stations (barns and safehouses)
used by slaves to get freed and go to the north.

8. How does Harriet get badly injured?

She gets hit by a 2-pound weight in the forehead

CHAPTER 5 Not Worth a Sixpence

1. What physical consequence does Harriet keep from the accident?

A skull fracture that puts pressure on her brain.

2. How does this accident deeply change Harriet?

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She has sleeping spells

3. Explain the title of this chapter.

Now that she is hurt, she can not do a good job so no one will even pay six pence for a slave that can't do a good
job

4. What decision does the master take about Harriet? Why does Daddy Ben think it is good for
Harriet?

They let her hire her own time

5. How much does he ask Harriet to buy her freedom? What does it mean for her?

He asks $500 from Harriet for her to buy her freedom. It means that at the rate she’s going, it would take her a
lifetime to get the $500.

6. How is Harriet’s husband different from the other black people she knows?

John Tubman was a free black person; unlike the other black people she knows.

6. Explain why “the nights of happiness soon alternate with nights of bitter quarrel”?

John is a free black man and he mocked at Harriet and other slaves for their lifestyle.

Harriet envies john's freedom

8. What event triggers Harriet’s decision to run away?

The death of her master.

2) VOCABULARY: Match the words with their definitions.

A. beating with a whip (fouet) or a

1. School for all the children, no masters, no whippings. (p.7) stick (3 expressions)
2. Her stubby fingers (p.10) B. come together, assemble
3. the weary boys (p.19) C. moment of taking the crops in the
4. the boys trudged out (p.19) fields
5. to flog (p.21) D. walked slowly with heavy steps
6. harvest (p.24) because of exhaustion
7.The overseer’s lash (p.25) E. short and thick
8. Young and old gathered together (p.28) F. very tired/ exhausted

3) VOCABULARY: What could these words refer to in the context of the text?

1 She scolded (p.5) ra way to speak ra way to hit ra way to look at

2 The rows of yellow wheat (p.6) ra type of cereal ra type of people ra type of animal
3 You’ve got the measles. (p.11) ryou are scared ryou are unlucky ryou have a disease
4 a hoe (p.24) ra type of person ra type of tool ra type of tree
5 plotting rebellion (p.27) rhoping for rpreparing secretly rdreaming of

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 6 Cotton prices soared (p.30) rwent up rwent down rstopped
7 A slave uprising (p.31) rrebellion rmassacre rparty
8 A Negro spiritual (hp.26) ra type of poem ra type of language ra type of song

4) Write the verbs in brackets in the correct form: simple past or past participle.

1. Harriet ................................ (sit) in the middle of the room.

2. A mockingbird .................................... (fly) to the oak which shaded the gateway of the Big House.
3. A flock of geese ....................................... (rise) above the pines.
4. He .................................... (sell) her great-grandmother to the highest bidder.
5. When Mistress ............................. (get) back from shopping, Harriet would be ..................................... (send)
to the kitchen.
5. The word ........................................ (bring) her from the sunny world outside to the room in which
she ........................................ (sit) with the sleeping baby in her lap.
6. She ......................................... (think) about last year, when she had ................................... (be) too little for
the Big House.
7. She ....................................... (bring) water to the men and women in the fields, and ................................
(speed) barefoot from one end of the plantation to the other.
8. She had ........................................ (see) a city as she had never ............................................ (dream) of.
9. Master had .......................................... (speak) to her mother.
10. Miss Sarah ................................. (come) to the cabin and ............................... (take) her in the carriage.
11. She ................................... (find) herself at the house of James Cook.
12. “After Mrs Cook has .................................... (teach) you to weave, you can come back home.” Miss
Sarah ................................... (say) when she ................................... (leave).
13. Harriet ....................................... (fall) sick.
14. Her voice .......................................... (ring) out, firm and sweet, but the baby refused to be comforted.
15. Mistress ........................................... (burst) into the room.
16. Her face ................................... (take) on a sullen vacant expression.
17. She automatically dodged the blow which she ............................................. (know) would come.
18. Baby ........................................... (sleep) all morning.
19. Ignoring her explanation, Miss Sarah .............................................. (send) her to the kitchen.
20. During the meal, she ................................................. (stand) next to Miss Sarah.

5) Again, write the verbs in brackets in the correct form: simple past or past participle.

1. She ...................................................... (stride) to the fireplace where a whip .................................. (hang) next
to the mantelpiece.
2. Up the road she ..................................... (fly), listening anxiously for the sound of pursuers.
3. She wiggled through the bars and ............................................... (throw) herself onto the muddy ground.
4. As she ........................................... (lie) in the pigpen, she ................................. (hear) Master and Mistress on
the road.
5. She .................................. (creep) to the pig’s food and ........................................... (fight) with the little pigs
for a share of potato peelings.
6. Fearful of the sow who ................................................. (keep) pushing her away, she .............................
(make) a bed of muddy straw.
7. When the night ..................................... (come), she had .......................................... (fall) asleep.
8. Harriet ........................................ (hide) all night long and the next day in the pigpen.
9. When the pigs ...................................... (sleep), she .................................. (eat) from their trough.
10. When they .................................. (wake) up, she ...................................... (stand) still.
11. She remembered talk she had ...................................... (overhear) about the free land.
12. For the first time since she had ...................................... (run) away, she .......................................... (begin) to
cry.

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13. As her body ............................................. (shake) with sobs, she ......................................... (feel) a gentle
hand on her shoulder.
14. For a moment, she ..................................... (feel) safe. Ben .................................... (bend) his head and kissed
her forehead.
15. Her sleep was .................................. (break) by nightmares of angry white faces.
16 Harriet had ........................................ (see) her two older sisters ................................... (take) away from their
home to be .......................................... (sell) to the Deep South.
17. A few sunrays .......................................... (find) their way in through the cracks of the log walls and a patch
of light ........................................ (shine) on the fireplace.
18. The children’s beds were covered with .......................................... (tear) rags, Harriet’s
eyes ............................... (light) up when she looked at the quilt.
19. The prettiest colors were ........................................... (choose) for the cover.
20. When her mother ........................................ (sit) down next to her, Harriet ................................... (throw) her
arms around her neck.

6) PRONUNCIATION: write the words below in the right column, according to the pronunciation of the
“O” sound. They must rhyme with the words given as examples.
before - body - close – cold - corner - cover – flog - floor - follow – hoe – hog – hot - honey - hope - love -
more - most – nose – own - raw - reproach - road - roll - sob – stone - strode – told - whole - window

SO DOOR STOP COME