Independent Reading Study Guide
for Davidson’s
Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom
Units 1 – 10
(5th edition)
Kathleen Eilers crandall
Crandall, Kathleen Eilers.
Independent Reading Study Guide for Davidson’s Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom.
2008, 2010a, 2012
National Technical Institute for the Deaf,
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623.
Contents
Directions for Reading v
Unit 1: Who Was Frederick Douglass
Unit 2: The Happy Years
11
Unit 3: The Life of a Slave
21
Unit 4: The Biggest Lesson of All
Unit 5: A Slave for Life
Unit 6: Fight!
1
31
41
51
Unit 7: The Plan That Failed - The Plan That Did Not Fail
Unit 8: “Trust No One” - The Speech
61
71
Unit 9: “Run, Frederick, Run” - “The Underground Railroad Is Running Tonight!”
Unit 10: “My Job Is Done” - “Who Will Lead Us Now?”
iii
91
81
iv
Directions for Reading
This material is designed to accompany your reading of Frederick Douglass Fights for
Freedom by Margaret Davidson. You will need to have that book to complete the questions and
activities in this Independent Reading Study Guide.
This Independent Reading Study Guide will help you improve your ability to read on
your own. You will notice five different kinds of information included to help you improve your
reading skills. This guide includes questions and activities in five areas: vocabulary, grammar,
general knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking. There are questions and activities for
you to do in each of these important areas. Try to work carefully so you can develop the skills
you need to read intelligently.
This Independent Reading Study Guide divides the biography into 10 units.
Unit
Chapter Title in Biography
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Who Was Frederick Douglass?
The Happy Years
The Life of a Slave
The Biggest Lesson of All
A Slave for Life
Fight!
The Plan That Failed
The Plan That Did Not Fail
“Trust No One”
The Speech
“Run, Frederick, Run”
“The Underground Railroad Is Running Tonight!”
“My Job Is Done”
“Who Will Lead Us Now?”
8
9
10
v
Pages in Biography
7-9
10 – 15
16 – 21
22 – 27
28 – 32
33 – 38
39 – 42
43 – 48
49 – 52
53 – 58
59 – 64
65 – 70
71 – 74
75 – 80
Name _____________________ Score _____________
(if you used tutoring services)
Tutor ______________________
Unit 1
Who Was Frederick Douglass?
Directions: This unit is for pages 7 to 9. First, do the vocabulary, grammar and general
knowledge questions. Then read pages 7 to 9. Then try to answer the comprehension questions;
you may need to read pages 7 to 9 two or three times in order to answer the questions correctly.
Finally, complete the critical thinking activities. The page numbers for each question are in
brackets next to the question number.
Vocabulary: Answer these questions before you read pages 7 to 9. Decide the part-ofspeech of the underlined words. Write noun, verb, adj. or adv. on the Part of Speech line. Then,
find the word in your dictionary, and pick the best meaning or synonym for the word.
1 [7]. Why did people respect him so much?
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
admire
(b)
hate
(c)
look for
(d)
detail
2 [7]. Frederick Douglass cared about other people.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
attended
(b)
supervised
(c)
liked
(d)
felt concerned
3 [7]. He was born a slave.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
person owned by another person
(b)
work
(c)
person who works hard
(d)
serve another
4 [8]. Frederick Douglass found ways to help.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
paths or roads
(b)
details
(c)
methods or procedures
(d)
distances
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5 [8]. He traveled from town to town telling people about slavery.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
very hard work
(b)
not pleasant
(c)
the condition of people owned by other people
(d)
sweat
6 [8]. Many people read it – and knew how it felt to be owned like a horse or a pig or a cow.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
cloth
(b)
sense of touch
(c)
thought
(d)
was really experienced by people
7 [8]. He started a newspaper where blacks could speak for themselves.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
dark-skinned people
(b)
dark colors
(c)
makes dark
(d)
erases
8 [8]. He started a newspaper where blacks could speak for themselves.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
say words orally
(b)
use a language
(c)
express thoughts and ideas
(d)
lecture
9 [8]. When it was over, the slaves were freed at last.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
ended; finished
(b)
above
(c)
across
(d)
more than
10 [8]. When it was over, the slaves were freed at last.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
not taxed
(b)
set free or emancipated
(c)
without cost
(d)
not in use
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11 [8]. When it was over, the slaves were freed at last.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
finally
(b)
at the end
(c)
something at the end
(d)
in conclusion
12 [8]. But their troubles were not over.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
disturb or bother
(b)
effort
(c)
difficulties; things that make life difficult
(d)
pains
13 [8]. But their troubles were not over.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
ended; finished
(b)
above
(c)
across
(d)
more than
14 [8]. In many places blacks had to do work that no one else wanted to do.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
in a different way
(b)
other (person)
(c)
time
(d)
place
15 [8]. They had to live in poor sections of town.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
districts or parts
(b)
members
(c)
pieces
(d)
cuts
16 [8]. Their children had to go to tumble-down schools.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
old and in poor condition
(b)
weed
(c)
at the bottom
(d)
drop
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17 [8]. Who could fight for their rights?
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
correct
(b)
opposite of left
(c)
completely
(d)
freedom and advantages everyone should be allowed to have
18 [9]. He had a very sharp tongue.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
able to cut things
(b)
alert, clever, smart
(c)
unpleasant flavor
(d)
thoughtless
19 [9]. He had a very sharp tongue.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
language
(b)
fleshy movable organ of the mouth
(c)
something long and flat
(d)
scold
20 [9]. His name was honored around the world.
Part-of-Speech ___________
(a)
privilege
(b)
treated with special respect
(c)
felt proud
(d)
good name
Grammar: Answer these questions before you read pages 7 to 9. Read these sentences
carefully. Then answer the questions about the bold-faced words.
21 [7]. “He is my friend,” Abraham Lincoln said about Frederick Douglass.
In this sentence, Abraham Lincoln is talking. He is
(a)
Abraham Lincoln
(b)
Frederick Douglass
(c)
the author of the book
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22 [7]. Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous men in America.
Think about the words: “one of the most famous men” and “the most famous man.”
They have different meanings. “One of the most famous men” means
(a)
There was no one as famous as Frederick Douglass.
(b)
There were several famous men in America and Frederick Douglass was one of
them.
(c)
Frederick Douglass was more famous than anyone else.
23 [7]. He was owned like a horse or a pig or a cow.
The sentence tells us, “Someone owned Frederick Douglass.” Who was owned by
someone?
(a)
Frederick Douglass
(b)
a horse or a pig or a cow
(c)
someone
24 [7]. But Frederick Douglass could not forget the millions of men and women and children
who were slaves in the South.
This sentence tells us, “Millions of men and women and children were slaves in the
South.” In this sentence who means
(a)
Frederick Douglass
(b)
slaves
(c)
millions of men and women and children
25 [8]. “How can I help?” he asked himself. Frederick Douglass was only a poor runaway slave
himself.
In this passage, Frederick Douglass asks, “How can I help?” He is not talking to other
people. He is thinking these words. Himself is
(a)
Frederick Douglass
(b)
a slave
(c)
no one knows
26 [8]. He wrote the story of his life as a slave. Many people read it – and knew how it felt to be
owned like a horse or a pig or a cow.
The word it occurs two times here. The first it tells us what people read. The second it
has no real meaning. What did many people read?
(a)
a story about a horse or a pig or a cow
(b)
the story of Frederick Douglass’ life as a slave
(c)
how it felt to be owned
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27 [8]. He started a newspaper where blacks could speak for themselves.
In this sentence themselves means the same as another word in the sentence.
Themselves is
(a)
Frederick Douglass
(b)
a newspaper
(c)
blacks
28 [8]. In 1861 the Civil War began. When it was over, the slaves were freed at last.
This passage tells us that someone freed the slaves. We could rewrite the last sentence as
(a)
Someone freed the slaves when the Civil War was over.
(b)
When the Civil war was over, the slaves freed someone.
(c)
The slaves freed the Civil War.
29 [8]. In many places blacks had to do work that no one else wanted to do.
In this sentence, had to is “must + past.” Think about these sentences. (1) Today, we
must do homework. (2) Yesterday, we had to do homework.
Sentences 1 and 2 mean the same except, “had to” is
(a)
past
(b)
present
(c)
future
30 [8]. Who could fight for their rights?
Frederick Douglass fought for the rights of black people. In the sentence, their means
(a)
Frederick Douglass
(b)
black people
(c)
rights
31 [9]. Frederick Douglass was a famous man. He was respected.
The last sentence tells us that people respected Frederick Douglas. We could rewrite the
sentence as
(a)
Many people respected Frederick Douglass.
(b)
People were respected by Frederick Douglass.
(c)
Frederick Douglass respected people.
32 [9]. Sometimes he was feared.
This sentence tells us that sometimes people feared Frederick Douglas. We could rewrite
the sentence as
(a)
Sometimes people feared Frederick Douglass.
(b)
People were feared by Frederick Douglass.
(c)
Frederick Douglass feared people.
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33 [9]. His name was honored around the world.
This sentence tells us that people honored Frederick Douglass. We could rewrite the
sentence as
(a)
Many people honored Frederick Douglass.
(b)
People were honored by Frederick Douglass.
(c)
Frederick Douglass honored people.
General Knowledge: You need to know this information in order to comprehend the
information on pages 7 to 9. Answer these questions before you read pages 7 to 9. You may
need to use an encyclopedia to answer some of these questions.
34 [7]. Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States about
(a)
100 years ago
(b)
150 years ago
(c)
50 years ago
(d)
200 years ago
35 [7]. Frederick Douglass ran away to the northern states. Before and during the Civil War,
some northern states were
(a)
New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
(b)
Virginia, North Carolina, and New York
(c)
Ohio, Massachusetts, and Delaware
36 [7]. Millions of men, women and children were slaves in the South. Some of the states in the
South were
(a)
North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama
(b)
South Carolina, Virginia, and New Hampshire
(c)
New York, South Dakota, and West Virginia
37 [8]. Frederick Douglass helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad. The
Underground Railroad was
(a)
a train that went underground in long tunnels
(b)
a subway in New York City
(c)
a system for helping slaves escape to Canada or free states
38 [8]. The Civil War began in 1861 and ended in ______.
(a)
1863
(b)
1865
(c)
1864
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39[9]. Which Constitutional Amendment gave African-Americans the right to vote?
(a)
13th
(b)
14th
(c)
15th
(d)
19th
(e)
26th
40[9]. Who had the right to vote first, African-American men or African-American women?
(a)
African-American men
(b)
African-American women
(c)
They both got the right to vote at the same time.
Comprehension: Now you should be ready to read pages 7 to 9 with good understanding. Read
pages 7 to 9 carefully and answer these questions.
41[7]. Frederick Douglass ran away to the northern states because
(a)
he was twenty-one.
(b)
he did not want to be a slave.
(c)
he could forget the slaves there.
42[7]. Frederick Douglass forgot the slaves in the South.
(a)
true
(b)
false
43[8]. Frederick Douglass was poor when he ran away from the South.
(a)
true
(b)
false
44[8] Frederick Douglass traveled from town to town telling people about slavery because
(a)
he was a poor runaway slave
(b)
he wanted people in the North to understand how it felt to be a slave
(c)
he wrote the story of his life
(d)
the Civil War began
45[8]. Why did blacks still have troubles after the Civil War was over?
(a)
They had to work hard.
(b)
They lived in poor towns.
(c)
They still had very few rights.
(d)
Their children went to school.
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Critical Thinking: You will need to use reasoning and logic to answer these questions. The
author has not directly stated this information in the book. But you can figure out the answers to
these questions if you have understood what you read.
46[7]. Frederick Douglass was
(a)
African-American
(b)
European-American
(c)
Asian-American
47[7]. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were alive at the same time. We know this
because
(a)
they were famous.
(b)
they were friends.
(c)
they were Presidents of the U.S.
(d)
they were slaves.
48[7]. Where did Frederick Douglass live before he ran away?
(a)
in Pennsylvania
(b)
in New York
(c)
in the southern states
(d)
in the northern states
49[7]. Frederick Douglass wanted to be free. We know this because
(a)
He ran away to the northern states.
(b)
He could not forget the millions of people who were slaves in the South.
(c)
He helped millions of people who were slaves in the South.
(d)
He wrote the story of his life as a slave.
50[8]. Did Frederick Douglass run away before the Civil War?
(a)
Yes
(b)
No
(c)
There is not enough information in the book to figure this out.
Bonus Questions
[9]. What are two of the rights that Frederick Douglass fought for?
(a) ____________________________________________________
(b) ____________________________________________________
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