HomeMy WebLinkAboutRead Aloud Book Gr. 3-Lesson 25Today, it may seem obvious that everyone should be treated equally.
Discrimination based on race is a crime. But at one time, African Americans were
held as slaves. Under the bondage of slavery, they were forced to work but they
were not paid for their work. Enslaved people were considered the property of
their masters, and they were often treated with extreme cruelty.
Many people tried to escape from slavery, but it was very diffi cult. Laws
prohibited African Americans from traveling freely in Southern states. They would
be chased by ruthless slave catchers. In Northern states, things were not much
better. Even when slavery ended there, laws required Northern leaders to capture
and return escaped slaves. Northern authorities had to return captured slaves to
their masters in the South.
By the middle of the 1800s, many people summoned others to join together to
end slavery. Some answered this call by helping enslaved people escape. They set
up a system called the Underground Railroad. This was not a train that ran under
the ground; it was a network of people cooperating to conduct escaped slaves
north, to the country of Canada. There, slavery was illegal and slave catchers had
no power.
Although people escaping slavery would sometimes travel on real railroads,
they usually went on foot or in wagons. It was very dangerous. They traveled at
night and were dependent on others to hide them. During the day, they would
hide in barns or houses called “stations.” Railroad terms were used as a code to
keep the system secret. Secrecy was important not only for those escaping, but
also for the operators of the railroad. If they were caught, they could be arrested.
All different kinds of people worked on the Underground Railroad, including
those who had escaped from slavery themselves. A famous woman named Harriet
Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849. But she returned to the South, again and
again, to bravely risk her life freeing hundreds of others.
By the time the government granted all African Americans freedom from slavery
in 1865, tens of thousands had already safely reached Canada. Many remained
there, but some returned to their families in the United States. All of them
remembered the kindness and courage of those who helped them fi nd freedom.
COMPREHENSION Why did people travel on the Underground Railroad?
What were slaves prohibited from doing?
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In the early 1900s, two men decided to travel to the South Pole. But they were
not going together. No one had ever been to the South Pole before, and both Roald
Amundsen and Robert Scott wanted to be fi rst. Amundsen and Scott were going to race
each other to the Earth’s most southern point.
Both men knew that their journeys would be very dangerous because of the
unpredictability of the weather. And the land around the South Pole, called Antarctica,
was an enormous area where no one lived. If the men were hurt during the journey,
no one would see their signal for help; any brightly lit beacon they might use would be
useless.
Because of these dangers, both men knew that planning carefully for the trip was
critical to its success. They chose teams of men to help them. Beyond this, Amundsen
decided to use sled dogs and skis. Scott decided to use Siberian ponies. Amundsen and
Scott both felt a pressing desire to get started. They knew it was crucial to avoid the
harsh Antarctic winter. But in order to do this, they had to start in the spring when the
weather was still quite cold.
Amundsen was able to leave before Scott because his dogs could travel in colder
weather. His team made quick progress across the snow and ice, moving toward the
South Pole. Then his men reached a range of mountains that seemed too diffi cult to
climb. They made a decision to try another route, one they had not planned on taking.
It turned out to be a shortcut. Finally, they made it to the South Pole. They were the fi rst
ones to get there! Amundsen and his team returned home exhausted, but safe.
Scott’s team had a much harder journey. Their ponies struggled in the cold weather.
The journey to the South Pole went well, but the men arrived to fi nd that Amundsen had
been there already. Scott and his team were disappointed, but they knew it was urgent
for them to get home quickly, before they ran out of supplies.
Scott’s team soon faced some random bad luck. They experienced terrible weather. The
cold was unbearable. The team realized that the danger was mounting. They were running
low on food, and they had lost some of their fuel for warmth because of a mishap.
Unfortunately, Scott and his team never made it home. But both he and Amundsen
will be remembered as heroes who dared to explore new land.
COMPREHENSION Why do you think Amundsen and Scott left home to explore
new land? Which words help you understand the danger the men faced?
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