1. What was Booker T. Washington's birth year?

a) 1865
c) 1873
b) 1853
d) 1856
Background
2. Where did Booker T. Washington work after the Civil War before
attending Hampton Institute?
a) Coal furnaces and coal mines b) Cotton plantation
c) Railroads d) Factories
3. In which state did the excerpt from "Up From Slavery" take place?
a) Alabama b) Virginia
c) Georgia d) Mississippi
4. What did Booker T. Washington become the founding leader of?
a) Harvard University b) Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
c) Hampton Institute d) Fisk University
5. Whose views clashed with Booker T. Washington's during that
1-d) 2-a) 3-b) 4-b) 5-c)
time?
a) Marcus Garvey b) Malcolm X
c) W.E.B. DuBois d) Martin Luther King Jr.
Activity 2 Watch the video and answer the following questions
Who inspected the cleanliness of the room?
What did the head teacher use to check for dirt on the woodwork?
Did she find any dirt on the floor or furniture?
What was the significance of cleaning the room for him?
How did he feel when he was through cleaning the room?
Who inspected the cleanliness of the room?
The head teacher, a "Yankee" woman, inspected the cleanliness of the room.
What did the head teacher use to check for dirt on the woodwork?
She took her handkerchief and rubbed it on the woodwork about the walls, over the table,
and benches.
Did she find any dirt on the floor or furniture?
No, she was unable to find one bit of dirt on the floor or a particle of dust on any of the
furniture.
 What was the significance of cleaning the room for him?
Cleaning the room was his college examination, and he felt that his future depended upon
the impression he made.
How did he feel when he was through cleaning the room?
He was one of the happiest souls on earth.
 Activity (3) Read the text and answer the following questions
1. When did he start his journey to Hampton?
2. What did he do upon reaching Hampton?
3. How much surplus money did he have upon reaching Hampton?
4. What was his first impression upon seeing the large school building?
5. How did he feel about the journey to Hampton?
6. What did he feel upon seeing the head teacher?
7. What were the doubts in the head teacher's mind?
8. Why did he think the head teacher might consider him a worthless loafer or tramp?
9. Did the head teacher immediately admit him as a student?
10. How did he try to impress the head teacher with his worthiness?
11. What did the head teacher finally ask him to do?
12. Why was he delighted to receive the order to sweep the room?
 Activity (2)
 When did he start his journey to Hampton?
 He started his journey to Hampton when he had saved enough money.
 What did he do upon reaching Hampton?
 He presented himself before the head teacher for assignment to a class.
 How much surplus money did he have upon reaching Hampton?
 He had a surplus of exactly fifty cents with which to begin his education.
 What was his first impression upon seeing the large school building?
 The first sight of the large, three-story, brick school building seemed to
have rewarded him for all he had undergone.
 How did he feel about the journey to Hampton?
 To him, it had been a long, eventful journey.
 What did he feel upon seeing the head teacher?
 He felt that he did not make a very favorable impression upon her.
 What were the doubts in the head teacher's mind?
 There were doubts in her mind about the wisdom of admitting him as a student.
 Why did he think the head teacher might consider him a worthless loafer or tramp?
 He thought she might get the idea that he was a worthless loafer or tramp because
he had been without proper food, a bath, and a change of clothing.
 Did the head teacher immediately admit him as a student?
 No, for some time, she did not refuse to admit him, neither did she decide in his
favor.
 How did he try to impress the head teacher with his worthiness?
 He lingered around her and tried to impress her in all the ways he could with his
worthiness.
 What did the head teacher finally ask him to do?
 She asked him to sweep the adjoining recitation-room.
 Why was he delighted to receive the order to sweep the room?
 He knew that he could sweep, as Mrs. Ruffner had thoroughly taught him when he
lived with her.
 How many times did he sweep the recitation-room?
 He swept the recitation-room three times.
 What did he do after sweeping the room?
 He got a dusting-cloth and dusted the room four times.
 How thoroughly did he clean the room?
 Every piece of furniture had been moved, every closet and corner in the room had
been thoroughly cleaned.
 What did he use to clean the woodwork about the walls, tables, and benches?
 He used his dusting-cloth to clean the woodwork about the walls, tables, and
benches.
 Where did he learn how to sweep?
 Mrs. Ruffner had thoroughly taught him how to sweep when he lived with her.
 Who inspected the cleanliness of the room?
 The head teacher, a "Yankee" woman, inspected the cleanliness of the room.
 What did the head teacher use to check for dirt on the woodwork?
 She took her handkerchief and rubbed it on the woodwork about the walls, over the
table, and benches.
 Did she find any dirt on the floor or furniture?
 No, she was unable to find one bit of dirt on the floor or a particle of dust on any of
the furniture.
 What was the significance of cleaning the room for him?
 Cleaning the room was his college examination, and he felt that his future depended upon
the impression he made.
 How did he feel when he was through cleaning the room?
 He was one of the happiest souls on earth.
 What did the head teacher say after inspecting the room?
 She quietly remarked, "I guess you will do to enter this institution."
 How did he compare this experience to other examinations?
 He felt that the sweeping of that room was the best college examination he ever passed.
 How many times did he pass examinations since then?
 He has passed several examinations since then
 summary
Possible response: Booker T. Washington wrote this personal narrative to
describe how he became a student at the Hampton Institute. In the narrative,
when Washington reaches the institute, he rushes to speak to the head teacher
and doesn’t make a great first impression. Washington is worried when he sees
her admit other students before him. The next chance he gets to make a good
impression is when the head teacher asks him to clean a room. He does so as
thoroughly as he can—and for his success, she lets him in. Washington explains
that he has taken many more conventional exams since that point, but he has
never been more satisfied than he was about this one that got him into college.