Lesson 8: Nonfiction Novel Study

Read and Practice

Section I: Chapters 1–5

Chapters 1 through 5, if your chapters are not numbered, will take you to the point at which the Master dies and Harriet decides she must run away. As you read this novel, remember to use your active reading strategies. You may use sticky notes, bookmark, journal, or any of the active reading strategies that work for you. If you do not plan to resell your textbook, you can write in your book.

When you are reading a story, particularly a nonfiction story, you may already know a great deal about the topic, you may be unfamiliar with the topic, or you may have some guesses about the topic. When you think ahead to the learning you will be doing, it helps to use your reading time wisely. One way to summarize what you will be learning is to use a KWL chart that helps you think about what you know, what you want to know, and what you learn.

Look at page 273 in Writers Express. Then make your own three-column chart before beginning to read Freedom Train. You will add to your chart, change it, and check your understanding as you read. When you finish, you will also have a study guide that would help you with a test over the material. You should have at least 5 entries in each column by the end of the book.

Do not send the activities for this lesson to the Center for evaluation. Discuss each with your parent/teacher.

After you have finished reading Chapters 1–5, you will use a timeline to record significant events in the life of Harriet Tubman. Some of the events will be from the novel, but you will need to go to some of the sites listed on the Web Sites page, use an encyclopedia, or read other reference materials to find important events in her life. You will keep extending this timeline as you read the book and find out more about her life. By the end of this unit, you will be able to use this timeline to help you answer questions about the novel.

Pages 478–487 in Writers Express show you how to do a timeline. You can also use a timeline for organizing ideas or information. This type of graphic organizer is useful for all sorts of reading, writing, and learning.

For this timeline, you will need poster paper, markers or a pencil, a ruler, the novel, and your resource materials. Since your timeline will be long, you might want to cut your poster paper in half and tape the two pieces together side by side. That way, you will have plenty of space for your entries as you read. If you find you need to add events to your timeline as you read, don’t hesitate to write them in where they go. You can add to any section at any time. Also, it is a good idea to add other historical events to provide reference for what was going on elsewhere in the United States and the world.

Share and discuss your timeline with your parent/teacher as you read the novel. Decide which events are historical and which events might be made up to make the story more interesting. You can include other events that are happening in other parts of the world on your timeline. This will give you a feel for where this story fits in history. You should have at least 10 entries on your timeline by the time you finish the book.

Answer the questions below, then check your answers.

1. How old is Harriet Tubman when the book begins?
2. What was Harriet’s job on the plantation?
3. What disease did Harriet get when she was a child?
4. What is the first lesson that foreshadows Harriet’s future?
5. What is one prized possession of Harriet’s household?
6. What does “the hardness inside her” that Harriet talks about refer to?
7. What job did Harriet do after she was no longer allowed to work at the “big house”?
8. What did Harriet soon become known for?
9. What historical event is referred to in Chapter 2?
10. Who taught Harriet about finding her way in unfamiliar territory?
11. How old is Harriet in Chapter 3?
12. Who was Jim?
13. What event changed Harriet’s life?
14. What is “hiring one’s own time”?
15. How much did Harriet’s master tell her it would cost to buy herself?

Section II: Chapters 6–10

Read Chapters 6 through 10 in Freedom Train, again using the active reading strategies you have learned. This will take you from Harriet’s plans to run away to the time when Harriet has helped forty slaves escape to the North.

Look at page 334 in Writers Express to see how to make a “story star” or W’s organizer. This is a simple way to summarize a story and determine the important events. It is different from a timeline. A story star requires you to think about the importance of events and how they connect. You can make a story star for an entire book or story, but you can also use it for smaller sections of a novel.

Choose one part (or chapter) of the story so far and make a story star for that section. For example, if you choose Harriet’s relationship with Jim, you would write down the characters involved (who), where this event happened (where), the important information about the event (what), how old Harriet was when this happened or the placement on your timeline (when), how it turned out (how), and why this was an important event (why).

Keep this organizer in your journal and share it with your parent/teacher. You might want to make one for each section of the book if you find that it helps you organize your thinking and helps you summarize what is happening. You should make at least one story star during the reading of this book to practice using this strategy answering who, what, when where, why, and how questions.

Answer the questions below, then check your answers.

1. What is a Quaker?
2. Why did the woman give Harriet the eggs?
3. What is Harriet planning to do in Chapter 6?
4. How did Harriet tell everyone she was leaving?
5. Who is Harriet searching for in Chapter 6?
6. Why can’t John Hunn take Harriet to free territory?
7. What was the “ticket” Harriet received in the graveyard?
8. Where and when did Harriet end up as a free person?
9. The people associated with the Underground Railroad used many “code” words. Can you find some?
10. How many slaves has Harriet helped by the end of Chapter 10?

Section III: Chapters 11–14

This reading assignment will take you from Harriet’s coded letter to William Jackson to her decision to join the Union army. Continue to use your active reading strategies. Focus on the characterization of Harriet Tubman. The author tells you some of her characteristics, and you can determine others from what other characters say about her and things that Harriet does and says. If you have trouble with this element, review characterization from an earlier lesson or refer to Writers Express.

Look at pages 275 and 334 in Writers Express to find examples of web organizers. Sometimes they are called spider maps because of their resemblance to spiders—although they might not have exactly eight legs! These organizers are also called webs, because they also resemble spider webs. A web organizer is a great way to organize facts and ideas that you get from your reading. In the center of the web, place the topic, main idea, or event that you are reading about. The “legs” are the details about the main topic. Often you will use this type of a graphic organizer to plan a writing activity. Practicing this type of organizer will help you with a strategy you can use later in this lesson.

To create a web for the chapter titled “The Old Folks,” place the main idea of the chapter in the center circle. This main idea centers on the escape plan for Harriet’s father. In the circles radiating out from the central circle, put the events that are important to this escape. By doing this, you are organizing the important information and separating it from information that serves to create images, connect the reader to the characters, or create interest.

Pick out what is important rather than what is only interesting. Limit the number of “legs” on your spider to about eight, so you don’t find yourself writing down everything. By doing this, you will force yourself to summarize ideas and make connections to help you pick out the important details. Share your ideas with your parent/teacher.

Answer the questions below, then check your answers.

1. How did Harriet get the money needed to go south for the “old folks”?
2. What is the “ship of Zion”?
3. When did the “old folks” escape north with Harriet?
4. What was the Fugitive Slave law?
5. What is an abolitionist?
6. What does the “Lion’s Paw” refer to?
7. Chapter 14 shows readers many character traits of Harriet Tubman. List words or phrases that you would use to describe her as she appears in this part of the novel.

Section IV: Chapters 15–20

For this reading assignment, you will finish the novel. At this point in your reading, there are some helpful types of organizers that can help you understand what you have learned.

A story map is often used with a piece of fiction writing. Since this narrative nonfiction takes on many qualities of a fiction story, a story map is a useful tool in organizing what you have learned. Go back through the story (use your notes, journal, and other activities) and write down the major events in the order they happened. By writing these in your own words and placing them in chronological order, you will focus on the key events and information. Try to limit the number of events so that you aren’t “rewriting” the whole story! If you identify what you think are key events, it will be easier to summarize what you have read. You should have between 5 and 10 events on your story map.

I hope you have realized that Writers Express is full of useful information. Different students need different things as they work, so don’t forget to use this textbook to help you. You can go to the units beginning on pages 226 (Writing Stories from History) and 138 (Writing Personal Narratives) for some additional hints. These chapters may help you for this and future lessons.

On pages 46 and 194–195 in Writers Express, you will find examples and directions for making a gathering grid. This type of organizer is particularly useful with nonfiction text that has information you want to gather.

Your first step will be to determine the different categories that are important in organizing information about Harriet Tubman and her role in the Underground Railroad. Your previous organizers will help you remember the information you have already picked out. In this case, you could organize the topics chronologically (time order), by events, or by subjects (Underground Railroad, Fugitive Slave law, slaves’ lives on the plantation, etc.). The important thing is that you organize and identify information that you have found important. No two grids will look the same. Your grid will depend on your own thinking and connections to the text.

This is a good strategy to use at the end of your reading to review your thinking over the whole book. Sometimes it’s hard to remember information you found at the beginning, and this technique will help you to bring everything back in a summarized form that makes sense to you. If it makes sense to you, you will be more likely to remember it for use in a writing, discussion, or test. You should use between 4 and 8 categories for your gathering grid and have at least 2 entries under each category.