Subscribe
← Back to the lesson
Bright Lives English
Name: Date:

Harriet Tubman: She Escaped… Then Went Back Again and Again

Level A2 (Elementary) · Watch the video and do the online quiz at https://brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/harriet-tubman-again-and-again/

A Match the words to their meanings

  1. escape (verb (past: escaped))
  2. north (noun)
  3. free (adjective)
  4. guide (verb (past: guided))
  5. night (noun)
  6. freedom (noun)
  7. enslaved (adjective)
  8. danger (noun)
  1. to get away from a place you cannot leave
  2. the chance that something bad will happen
  3. being free
  4. forced to work for another person, with no pay and no freedom
  5. to show people the way
  6. you can go where you want and live your own life
  7. a direction; on a map, north is at the top
  8. the dark time between evening and morning

B Complete the sentences from the story

north · guided · free · freedom · night · danger · enslaved · escape

  1. She walked at .
  2. Every trip back was full of .
  3. She guided people to .
  4. In Pennsylvania, she was .
  5. She walked , alone.
  6. She about seventy people to freedom.
  7. One night, she decided to .
  8. She was , and her family was too.

C Did you understand?

  1. Harriet escaped with a big group in 1849.True / False
  2. What did she follow at night?
    1. A river to the south
    2. The North Star
    3. A train
    4. A map
  3. Why did she go back to Maryland?
    1. She wanted to buy a farm
    2. She was lost
    3. Her family was not free
    4. She missed her job
  4. She sang songs as secret signals.True / False
  5. How many people became free in one day in 1863?
    1. About thirteen
    2. About seventy
    3. Exactly ninety
    4. More than seven hundred
  6. People called her Moses.True / False

D Put the words in order

  1. She / went / thirteen / times / back / about

E Grammar: about / more than + number

We use it for to give a number that is not exact. about + number = almost this number: about ninety miles · more than + number = a bigger number: more than seven hundred people · about + year: in about 1822 · about + age: at about ninety

Example from the story: She went back about thirteen times.

  1. She walked ninety miles. (not exact) (about / more / than)
  2. seven hundred people became free. (a bigger number) (More than / About than / Most)
  3. She was born in 1822. (about / more than / than)

F Your turn

Retell Harriet Tubman's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.

Transcript

She walked about ninety miles at night, alone, to be free.

Then she went back.

Again and again.

Why did she go back?

This is the story of Harriet Tubman.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Escape. When you escape, you get away from a place you cannot leave.

The past is escaped.

One night, she decided to escape.

North. North is a direction.

On a map, north is at the top.

She walked north, alone.

Free. When you are free, you can go where you want and live your own life.

In Pennsylvania, she was free.

Guide. When you guide people, you show them the way.

The past is guided.

She guided about seventy people to freedom.

Night. Night is the dark time between evening and morning.

She walked at night.

Now, one pattern: about and more than, with numbers.

Use about when a number is not exact.

Use more than when the real number is bigger.

She went back about thirteen times.

Ready? Let's begin.

Harriet was born in Maryland in about 1822.

She was enslaved, and her family was too.

As a small girl, she had to work hard, from morning to night.

In 1849, Harriet heard she would be sold, far from her family.

So one night, she decided to escape.

She walked north, alone.

She followed the North Star.

She walked about ninety miles.

In Pennsylvania, she was free.

She looked at her hands.

Was she the same person?

Everything looked beautiful.

But her family was not free.

So Harriet went back to Maryland, again and again.

She walked at night.

She sang songs as secret signals.

She went back about thirteen times.

She guided about seventy people to freedom.

She said she never lost one person.

People called her Moses.

Then came the war.

In 1863, Harriet helped the army.

One night, three boats moved quietly up a river.

Harriet was on one of them.

Suddenly, hundreds of people ran to the boats.

Mothers, fathers and children.

More than seven hundred people became free that day!

Later, she lived in New York and opened a home for old people.

She died in 1913, at about ninety.

She went back again and again, so that others could be free.

Let's review. One night, she decided to escape.

She walked north, alone.

In Pennsylvania, she was free.

She guided about seventy people to freedom.

She walked at night.

And remember: she went back about thirteen times.

Harriet Tubman's story teaches us: real freedom means helping others to be free.

Want more interesting lessons?

Go to brightlivesenglish.com.

Please subscribe and learn with us.

Answer key

A. 1a 2g 3f 4e 5h 6c 7d 8b

B. 1 night · 2 danger · 3 freedom · 4 free · 5 north · 6 guided · 7 escape · 8 enslaved

C. 1 False · 2 b · 3 c · 4 True · 5 d · 6 True

D. 1 She went back about thirteen times.

E. 1 about · 2 More than · 3 about