UNIT 2 READING 1 “The Train to Freedom”

 “The Train to Freedom” tells about the Underground Railroad, a secret network of
people who helped slaves escape from the South to the North in the 1800s. More than 100,000 slaves escaped using the Underground Railroad. The slaves’ journeys were dangerous, difficult, and sometimes deadly. One well-known hero of the Underground Railroad was a former slave named Harriet Tubman. She
made nineteen trips to the South and helped more than 300 slaves escape to freedom. Slaves and their helpers on the Underground Railway often had to speak to each other using code words. They also sang songs with secret
meanings. “Follow the Drinking Gourd” is a song with coded directions on how to
get to the North.

Key Words

• fugitive: someone trying to avoid being
caught, especially by the police
• heritage: the traditional beliefs, values, and
customs of a family, group, or country
• network: a group of people or organizations
that are connected or that work together
• runaway: escaped
• shelter: protection from weather or danger
• Underground Railroad: a network of people
who helped slaves escape to freedom during
the 1800s

Academic Words

accompanied = went somewhere with someone ➡ She accompanied slaves on their journeys
to freedom.


aid = help or support given to someone ➡ The slaves received aid, such as food and
shelter, from people who opposed slavery.


challenge = something difficult that
you need skill or ability to do ➡ The trip was a challenge. The weather was bad,
and the slaves were in constant danger.


code = a way to use words, letters, or
numbers to send secret messages ➡ The song contained a code. It told the slaves
where to go.

Highlighted Words

• continually, constantly
• Quaker, member of a Christian religious group that opposes all forms of violence
• blackouts, periods of unconsciousness
• Exodus, Bible story in which people escape from slavery
• abolitionists, people who wanted to end slavery
• spy, person who watches other people secretly to discover information about them Union, northern states during the Civil War
• cover, travel

widespread, common

• accounts, descriptions
• historians, people who study history
• estimate, guess, based on available information
• Big Dipper, group of stars in the shape of a bowl with a long handle
• quail, wild, fat bird with a short tail
• peg foot, refers to Peg Leg Joe, who went from farm to farm teaching
• the song to slaves

Prepositions of Location:

 Where and in What Direction

Writers use prepositions to show where or in what direction an action occurs. Prepositions are always followed by a noun or noun phrase.

This is called the object of a preposition.