Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
Follow the North Star
Guided Reading Level --I
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Written by Violet Findley
Illustrated by Marcy Ramsey
Designed by Maria Lilja
ISBN-13: 978-0-439-92330-9
ISBN-10: 0-439-92330-1
Copyright © 2007 by Scholastic Inc.
Published by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in China.
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Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet Tubman
lived from about
1820 to 1913.
Harriet Tubman stood just five feet tall.
She could not read or write. Even so, she
helped hundreds of African Americans
lead lives of freedom. Let’s learn about
this amazing woman.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet did not know
the year she was born.
Slaves’ birthdays were
not written down.
Harriet Tubman was born around 1820
in Maryland. In those days, some people
in the South had slaves. Harriet was
a slave. So were her parents, brothers,
and sisters.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
People were taken from
their homes in Africa.
They were forced to be
slaves in America. This
was wrong.
Slaves were owned by white masters.
They had to cook, work on farms,
and do whatever their masters said.
Slaves were not paid. They could also be
sold away from their families at any time.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
As a child, Harriet
had only one dress
and no shoes.
Little Harriet and her family lived in
a log cabin with a dirt floor. Their tiny
home was on the land of their
master’s big farm.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet was
very strong.
Harriet never went to school. Instead,
she worked like a grown-up. She cared
for a white family’s baby and cleaned
their house. Later she worked in the fields,
carried water, and chopped wood.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
One morning, a slave ran away. A white
man threw a heavy object at the slave
to stop him. Harriet was in the way and
it hit her on the head. She was badly hurt
and became very sick.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet was sick
for a long time.
Harriet’s mom nursed her back to
health, but Harriet was left with a huge
scar on her head. The experience made
Harriet decide that someday she would
run away, too.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet followed the
bright North Star.
It showed her the way
to the northern states.
That day came in 1849. As the sky grew
dark, no one saw Harriet sneak into
the woods. She headed to the northern
states, where there was no slavery.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sometimes slaves hid in
houses as they traveled on
the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad helped Harriet
along the way. This was not a railroad
with trains. It was a way that slaves ran
away to freedom. People secretly hid the
slaves, gave them food, and told them
which way to go.
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Philadelphia
N
W
She ended here.
E
Pennsylvania
S
New Jersey
Maryland
Delaware
Bay
Delaware
Bucktown
She started here.
This map shows where
Harriet traveled.
Atlantic
Ocean
The trip was long, cold, and dangerous.
The woods were very scary. But
brave Harriet made it all the way
to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
10
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet had finally reached the North.
She was free! At last, nobody owned
her. Nobody could tell her what to do.
11
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
People who escaped on the
Underground Railroad were
called passengers.
Harriet got a job in a hotel. She used the
money she made to help other slaves run
away. During her life, she made many
trips down South. She led more than 300
people to freedom in the North.
12
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
People like Harriet who
helped slaves travel on
the Underground Railroad
were called conductors.
Slave owners offered a lot of money
to capture Harriet. But she never got
caught. “I was a conductor on the
Underground Railroad for eight years,”
she said, “and I never lost a passenger.”
13
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet cared
for soldiers hurt
in the war.
Harriet fought slavery in other ways, too.
During the Civil War, she helped the
North by spying on the South. She also
worked as a nurse.
14
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
In 1865, Harriet’s biggest dream came
true. Slavery finally ended. Harriet died
at the age of about 93. But her heroic
spirit still burns as bright as the North Star.
15
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Glossary
capture (verb) to take a person, animal,
or place by force
Civil War (noun) the United States war
over slavery between northern and
southern states
conductor (noun) a person who led
slaves on the Underground Railroad;
a person who collects fares or tickets
on a railroad
escaped (verb) broke free from
a place
master (noun) a person who owns
slaves
slave (noun) a person who is owned by
another person
Underground Railroad (noun) a group
of people who secretly helped slaves in
the South escape to the North
16
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Harriet Tubman
Follow the North Star
Guided Reading Level: I
Word Count: 700
Average Words Per Page: 44
Spotlight Nonfiction Feature:
Map
H
arriet Tubman, who lived from about 1820 to 1913, was born a
slave in Maryland. Tubman escaped to the North with help from the
Underground Railroad, but she didn’t stop there. She made the treacherous
trip back and forth again and again, leading more than 300 slaves to
freedom on the Underground Railroad—and never once losing a passenger.
Introducing the Book
Explain that long ago in our country, some people
in the South had slaves. A slave was someone
whom another person owned. Today no one is
allowed to own another person. Back then, slaves
had to do whatever their masters wanted. They
were not free. They were not paid any money for
their work, and they were treated poorly.
Help children understand how difficult life
was for slaves. Ask: Why is being free so important?
How would you feel if you were not free? Tell children
that they will read about an incredibly brave
woman who took risks not only to free herself
but to help others escape, too.
Spotlight Nonfiction Feature: Map
Help children define what a map shows—
a “bird’s-eye view” of the world, or part of the
world. Then introduce the term transportation
map. Explain that this kind of map shows a route,
or how one can travel, from one place to another.
Have children turn to the map on page 10.
Point out the caption and have a volunteer read it
aloud, explaining that it tells what route the map
shows. Explain how to use the compass rose and
what the letters stand for.
(Bucktown, Maryland) In what direction did she
travel? (She traveled north.) Invite children to
trace Harriet’s route with
a finger. When they reach
the end of the line,
ask: Where did Harriet’s
route end? (Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania).
Have children find the beginning of the
route, and ask: Where did Harriet begin her trip?
44
A
Using the Reproducible
Book Links
Discuss what it may have been like to travel
on the Underground Railroad. Ask: How would you
feel at the start of the trip? What are some dangerous
things that could happen along the way? How would
you feel when you reached the North? Distribute page
45 and have children write a travel log about their
route to freedom. At each “stop,” they can write
feelings and events. When they reach the star,
they can write how it feels to be free.
For more information on Harriet Tubman and the
Underground Railroad, try these titles:
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
◆
A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman
by David A. Adler (Holiday House, 1992)
◆
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad
by Ellen Levine (Scholastic, 1993)
◆
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
by Alan Schroeder (Dial, 1996)
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
My Path to Freedom
Imagine you are a passenger on the Underground Railroad. As you
follow the path, write what happens and how you feel at each stop
along the way. When you reach the last stop, write in the star how
it feels to be free.
The North
Freedom
Stop 3
Scholastic Teaching Resources, page 45
Stop 2
Stop 1
The South
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Important Events in ___________________________________’s Life
Write the person’s name on the line. Then write important events in the order in which
they happened.
Sequencing Timeline
Name ____________________________________________
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
Vocabulary Chart
Record new words on the chart. First, write the vocabulary word.
Next, write what it means. Then, use the word in your own sentence.
Word
What It Means
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sentence Using Word
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
What the Person Was Like:
Important Events in the
Person’s Life:
Name:
How I Feel About the Person:
His or Her Accomplishments:
Write the person’s name in the center box. Then fill in the other boxes.
Character Map
Name ____________________________________________
Easy Reader Biographies: Harriet Tubman
© Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Name _____________________
Both
Name _____________________
Write one person’s name over each circle. Write facts about this person in that circle.
In the center, write what the two people had in common.
Venn Diagram
Name ____________________________________________