First Thoughts  

1. Why might someone like Harriet Tubman, who was already free, risk her life to lead other people to freedom? What do you think of her actions? 

Shaping Interpretations  

2. How was Tubman like the Moses of the Bible? What was her Promised Land?  

3. We sense irony when we notice that something is the opposite of what it should be. Why do we sense irony when we read that the men who hunted fugitives for money said prayers with their families on Sundays? Can you find any other examples of irony in Petry’s account?  

4. Go back to the text, and find two primary sources (firsthand accounts) mentioned by Petry. What other sources might she have used to get information on her topic?  

5. What main idea, or message for young people, do you see in the story of Harriet Tubman? Put it in your own words.  

6. What do you think is the difference between a leader and a hero? Was Harriet Tubman a leader or a hero or both? Explain.  

7. Do the runaways who followed Tubman qualify as heroes, in your opinion? Were the people on the Underground Railroad who broke the law and risked imprisonment heroes? Find examples to support your opinion. 

Connecting with the Text  

8. One of the fugitives says, “It is better to be a slave than to suffer like this in order to be free.” What does Tubman think of this attitude? What do you think of it? 

Extending the Text  

9. What other people do you know of who have had to flee their homeland or take other risks so that they could be free?