Harriet Tubman Lesson

Draw

Highlight the conditional mood in each sentence.

Poll

Was the Underground Railroad an actual railroad?

• Yes

• No

The Underground Railroad is a metaphor!

The Underground Railroad wasn’t an actual railroad with trains and tracks—it was a metaphor! Just like in 'O Captain! My Captain!' where Abraham Lincoln is compared to the captain of a ship leading the country through the storm of the Civil War, the Underground Railroad uses an image we all recognize—railroads—to help us understand something deeper.

In reality, the Underground Railroad was a secret network of people, routes, and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom. The ‘conductors’ were people who guided them, the ‘stations’ were hiding places, and the ‘passengers’ were the brave individuals escaping slavery.

They called it a railroad because it gave the feeling of movement, coordination, and an unstoppable journey toward freedom. Just like poetry and metaphor give more meaning to words, calling it a railroad makes us imagine the bravery and determination it took to break free.

Multiple Select

Which two reasons best explain why the author included this sentence?

• to show that Tubman had little concern for her own safety

•  to suggest that Tubman looked out for others more than for herself

• to suggest that Tubman thought she was too clever to be caught

• to suggest that Tubman doubted the determination of her pursuers

•  to show that Tubman continued bravely despite her own fears

  
  

Multiple Choice

Which detail from the selection best reflects the travelers’ fear of getting

captured?

• “She had to take them all the way to Canada. The Fugitive Slave Law

  . . . had become a reality.” (paragraph 10)

• “She . . . kept looking back over her shoulder, imagining that she

  heard the sound of pursuit.” (paragraph 12)

• “It was hard to exchange the security offered by that clean warm

  kitchen for the darkness . . . of a December night.” (paragraph 31)

• “These people who had risked their own security to help runaways

  would be ruined. . . .” (paragraph 41)

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Word Cloud

What is one or two words that describes Harriett Tubman?