This part of the book Escape North! The True Story of Harriet Tubman tells about how Harriet Tubman helped other slaves escape slavery in 1851. Read the passage and then answer the questions that follow.

Escape North!
By Monica Kulling

1

     The night was dark. Cricket song filled the air. A woman hid outside a cabin. She whistled a song called “Go Down, Moses.” A line in the song said: “Let my people go.”

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     Inside the cabin, the slaves knew that Harriet Tubman had come to lead her people out of slavery.

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     It was 1851. Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad wasn’t a real railroad. It was the name people gave the route taking slaves north to freedom.

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     Years before, a slave had run off. He had seemed to disappear right in front of his owner’s eyes.

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     “He must have gone on an underground railroad,” said the owner.

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     The story spread. There was a way north to the free states ! There were people who would help. They would hide you in their homes. These safe houses were stations on the Underground Railroad. Runaways ran from station to station until they reached a state where slavery was against the law.

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     That Saturday night, ten slaves answered Harriet’s call to freedom. Field slaves had Sundays off, so the bossman wouldn’t know they were gone until Monday. Then he and his dogs would come after them. If they were caught, they would be beaten...maybe to death.

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     Harriet was there to make sure that didn’t happen. She kept her eyes on one star in the sky—the North Star. She moved quickly, and the runaways followed.

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     Suddenly, clouds covered the star. Harriet had to make sure she was heading in the right direction. If she didn’t, they could end up back at the plantation!

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     Harriet ran her fingers over the bark of the tree nearest her. Daddy Ben had taught her that moss grew on the north side of trees.

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     I’ll have to find, north the way my daddy taught me, she thought.

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     Harriet closed her eyes and thought back to the lessons of long ago. She thought back to when she was a girl.

 Fill in the chart using details from the passage.

R-2.8.1 (connect information)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-2-8.1: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… Connecting information within a text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Locate information to answer questions related to explicit or implicit central ideas in informational texts

Explain what the Underground Railroad was. Use details from the passage to support your answer.

R-2-8.1 (connect information)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-2-8.1: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… Connecting information within a text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 3 - Explain, generalize, or connect ideas, using supporting evidence from the text