Grace Abounding Unit 2 Teacher Guide

GRACE ABOUNDING
The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art
Teacher Kit Unit 2

GRACE ABOUNDING
Please Read
Editor’s Note
About the Teacher Resource Kits

For each of the four major literary units in Grace Abounding there is a corresponding Teacher Resource
Kit, which includes Lesson Plans, Reading Check Tests, Vocabulary Tests, and answer keys. Please find the
forementioned sections in the bookmark tab of your Teacher Resource Kit PDF.
Copyright Information.
The purchase of a Grace Abounding Teacher Kit grants to the teacher (Purchaser) the right to reprint materials
as needed for use in the classroom. For instance, Student Handouts and other assessments may be reproduced
as needed by Purchasers for use in the classroom or as homework assignments. Materials in the Teacher Kits
may not be reproduced for commercial purposes and may not be reproduced or distributed for any other use
outside of the Purchaser’s classroom without written consent from the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Lesson Plans
With the lesson plans, teachers can target major language arts objectives while giving students exposure to
important African-American writers, thinkers, and activists.
The first page of each lesson plan is for the teacher’s reference only and should be used in planning for a day’s
lesson. The first page usually includes basic information about the lesson (e.g., objectives, time allotment, and
content), a “mini-lesson” that contains basic information and terminology the students should know as well as
examples for the teacher to write on the board and use as the basis of discussion and instruction.
Each lesson also contains at least one Student Handout and often two or more. The expectation is that
teachers will make photocopies for all students. Please note that these are not designed to be used as
assessments but rather as instruction tools. In many cases, depending on students’ familiarity with a
particular topic, teachers may decide to complete the Student Handouts as a class or in small group. Others
can be assigned as homework, but generally it is assumed that the students will be allowed to access Grace
Abounding and other resources (e.g. dictionaries or grammar books) when completing the exercises. However,
if students are familiar with a topic, such as independent vs. dependent clauses, then teachers are encouraged
to use the handouts for review or as assessments. In short, teachers are expected to use the lesson plans as they
see fit in their classrooms.
There is a lesson plan for every literary selection in Grace Abounding; these lessons can provide a strong
foundation for a language arts curriculum, particularly in grades 5–9. A lesson plan is based on its
corresponding literary selection but it is not necessarily directly related to it. For example, Lesson 1.5
covers personal pronouns, and the Student Handout that accompanies the lesson. Please refer to the Table
of Contents at the front of each Lesson Plans section for specific grammar, writing, and research topics.
Generally, the lessons increase in complexity as you move from Unit 1 to Unit 4 in the book. However, the
Teacher Resource Kits have been designed with the knowledge that most teachers will not be teaching Grace
Abounding from cover to cover; therefore, the lesson plans are designed to give teachers maximum flexibility as
they integrate Grace Abounding into various parts of the curriculum.
GRACE ABOUNDING
Please Read
Editor’s Note
Reading Check Tests

All reading checks contain three parts: one page of basic recalling questions, one page of interpreting
questions, and a short assessment essay.
These are intended, primarily, as a means to check whether students have read the selection, assuming it was
assigned for homework. That is not to say, however, that students should not be allowed to refer back to the
text in order to answer questions. If a student has read the selection then they should be able to complete the
questions on the Reading Check in less than ten minutes, whether they refer back to the text or not. Students
should be allowed 10–15 minutes to complete the assessment essays, although some may be suitable as longer
take-home assignments, and a few require only a paragraph or so in order to formulate a thoughtful response.
Vocabulary Tests
Many selections in Grace Abounding contain Vocabulary in Place boxes, the majority of which contain words
that every student should learn. The selections are useful for exposing the students to essential vocabulary, and
the tests can be used to help solidify it as practical knowledge.
There are vocabulary tests for every selection in Grace Abounding that contains vocabulary glosses. A few
selections, particularly in Unit 1, contain no vocabulary glosses and therefore no corresponding vocabulary
activity. These are indicated in the Table of Contents for the Vocabulary Tests in each unit. There are several
basics types of vocabulary activity, and some selections—particularly the more advanced and lengthier
essays—have been divided into multiple tests. Selections intended for younger grades include simple
vocabulary activities, such as word finds or crossword puzzles. Other vocabulary tests are multiple choice or
fill in the blank, with several variations on each basic model.
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Unit 2 Lessons
2.1 from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Rhetorical Questions
2.2 “The Confessions of Nat Turner”

Tone
2.3 from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Varying Sentence Structure
2.4 from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Punctuation and Clarity
2.5 Letter to Thomas Jefferson by Benjamin Banneker

How to Outline
2.6 “The Knee-High Man,” “Tar Baby,” and “The Signifying Monkey”
Using the Dictionary
2.7 The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances Harper
Conventions of Poetry
1 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.1 | from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Concept Objective: Recognizing rhetorical questions and using them effectively in persuasive writing
Time: Forty-five minutes
Lesson Content: Students will restate in their own words five rhetorical questions used by Olaudah Equiano
to make sure they understand his language and appreciate its effectiveness. Students will rewrite a paragraph of
persuasive writing using rhetorical questions.
Lesson Overview: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was used in the Abolitionist
Movement as a tool to persuade people that slavery should be abolished. Persuasive writing often uses a device
called the rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is different than most questions because an answer is not
expected. The answer is actually implied in the question, but the question itself challenges people to think
about their attitudes and, more importantly, to change their actions. The purpose of the rhetorical question is
to make the listener focus on an important issue without stating the obvious.
Mini Lesson 1: Introduction to Rhetorical Questions

Discuss some rhetorical questions students might hear in everyday life. Rewrite the questions as simple
declarative sentences.
Example 1: Your mother says, “Do you expect your room to clean itself?”
Declarative: Your room won’t clean itself.
Example 2: The coach says, “Are we ever going to win that way?”
Declarative: We’ll never win that way.
Example 3: The teacher says, “Do you really expect to get A’s without studying?”
Declarative: You won’t get A’s without studying.
(Distribute Student Handout 1 as work to be done by individuals, in small groups, or as a class. Check
answers as a class.)
Mini Lesson 2: Rhetorical Questions in Writing

Some of the power of the passage was probably lost when you converted the questions into statements in
Handout 1. For example, you might have eliminated the parallelism and alliteration in the phrases “torn
from our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of gain.” (Look up parallelism and alliteration
in the Handbook of Literary Terms if necessary.)
Notice that rhetorical questions 2 and 3 and questions 4 and 5 are really the same question put in
different words. This repetition adds emphasis to Equiano’s argument against the practices of slavery.
Key Terminology:
rhetorical question. A question to which no answer is expected

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.1 | The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Rhetorical Question 1

In the final paragraph of Olaudah Equiano’s selection, the author asks five rhetorical questions, which he
addresses to “nominal” Christians — people who are Christian in name but not in spirit or deed. Such people
are sometimes called hypocrites.
Rewrite each of the following rhetorical questions as simple statements in your own words. The first one has
already been completed. Refer to the glossary or a dictionary if you are unsure of the definition.
1) “O, ye nominal Christians! Might not an African ask you — learned you this [the cruelty of separating
slave families] from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto
you?”
Africans have every right to wonder whether you, nominal Christians, understand the meaning of “Do
unto all men as you would men should do unto you.”
2) “Is it not enough that we are torn from our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of gain?”
3) “Must every tender feeling be sacrificed to your avarice?”
4) “Are the dearest friends and relations, now rendered more dear by their separation from their kindred,
still to be parted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom of slavery, with the small
comfort of being together, and mingling their sufferings and sorrows?”
5) “Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters, or husbands their wives?”

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.1 | The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Rhetorical Question 2

Use rhetorical questions to help persuade someone to accept your position on an issue. Read the paragraph below,
which argues against a new school policy reducing lunch period from forty minutes to twenty minutes. Then
change at least three of the declarative sentences into rhetorical questions. Make sure the questions build up to
your strongest point, changing the order of the ideas below and using repetition if you can.
I think we should be given a full forty minute lunch period. Lunch time should be about more than just taking
in nutrition and satisfying hunger. It should be a time to relax and talk with friends. Students should be able
to share experiences that happen in and out of the classroom. Sometimes I learn important things at lunch
and make new friends too. Eating lunch at such a frenzied pace will make students feel like animals or even like
prisoners. Cutting lunch time in half is my idea of cruel and unusual punishment. And I can’t think of a worse
way to promote healthy eating habits.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Answer Key 2.1 | The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
There are, of course, many possible ways of incorporating rhetorical questions into the paragraph. Below is
one example of an effective revision.
It has been proposed that school lunch be reduced from a forty minute to a twenty-minute period. I ask,
should students be forced to eat at a frenzied pace, wolfing down their food as if they were animals? Shouldn’t
our school administrators promote healthy eating habits? Leaving aside the questions of health and nutrition,
shouldn’t lunch time promote positive experiences, like relaxing and making new friends? Can’t sharing things
that happen inside and outside of the classroom be a way of learning? Won’t forcing students to eat so rapidly
make them feel like animals or prisoners? Indeed, cutting lunch time in half is my idea of cruel and unusual
punishment.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.2 | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
Skill Objective: To be able to analyze and describe tone in literary writing
Lesson Content: A discussion of tone and five sentences to revise from “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
Confessions
Mini Lesson 1: Understanding Tone

The style of Nat Turner’s narrative may be difficult for some students because it is quite elaborate, employing
long sentences and multi-syllabic words. This somewhat florid style was typical of much nineteenth-century
writing. Turner was influenced by the important speakers of the day, preachers and abolitionists like William
Lloyd Garrison. Like them, Turner used a formal tone. (The formal tone of “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
also may have been influenced by its having been dictated to his lawyer, Thomas R. Gray. There is no way of
knowing how accurately Gray recorded Turner’s words or how much of his own style may have found its way
into the work.) Another influence on Turner’s high style and formal tone is certainly the Bible, to which he
frequently refers.
Discuss with students the concept of tone, which, in a literary sense, refers to the emotional attitude expressed
toward the reader or the material. Students might be able to describe a musical piece as having a certain
tone — a lively one, or mournful one, or playful one, for example. A piece of writing also can be serious,
informal, ironic, sarcastic, reverent, and so forth.
Tone is controlled partly by diction, or a writer’s choice of words. A glance at the Vocabulary in Place in the
Grace Abounding selection from Turner’s narrative will show that his words are sophisticated and complex.
Tone also is influenced by syntax, or by how these words are arranged in sentences. Notice that most of
Turner’s sentences are long, grammatically compound or compound-complex, with many verbs and qualifying
phrases. His diction and syntax, along with his Biblical rhythms, contribute to his formality of tone. In
Student Handout 1, revising the sentences will help the students cope with a complex style, and revising the
sentences with a view to tone will also insure that they are reading content accurately.
Mini Lesson 2: Wordplay

Change the tone of the following sentences by making them simpler and less formal. You could even make
them colloquial. To understand colloquial speech, or the speech used by specific groups of people in everyday
conversation, consider how Mark Twain might have presented Huckleberry Finn’s or Tom Sawyer’s speaking
styles. In changing the tone of the following lengthy sentences, you can use two or three shorter sentences if
you like. Your changes needn’t be colloquial, but at least make sentences less formal in tone, as in the first of
the following examples:
(continued on next page)

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.2, continued | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
In my childhood a circumstance occurred which made an indelible impression on my mind and laid the
ground work of that enthusiasm which has terminated so fatally to many, both white and black, and for which
I am about to atone at the gallows. (From “Confessions,” p. 105)
When I was a child, something happened that eventually led to my causing the death of many people, both
black and white. I am now to be punished for these actions by hanging. (informal)
When I was still a kid, something caught fire in me and led me finally to do in a lot of people, black and white
alike, and for that, I’m about to take a rope around my neck. (colloquial)
Students are encouraged to take their time and to think their way through the rewriting exercises in the
Student Handout. It is important to comprehend fully the language and main idea(s) in the original sentence;
this may require several readings depending on the complexity of the language and vocabulary. It might be
useful to underline key phrases and to cross out words that appear to be superfluous or unnecessary.
Key Terminology
diction. Choice and use of words in speech or writing
tone. The writer’s emotional attitude expressed toward the reader or the material
colloquial speech. Speech used by specific groups of people in everyday conversation
syntax. The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to
form grammatical sentences

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.2 | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
Revise the following sentences, changing the formal tone to an informal or colloquial one. You may use more
than one sentence if you prefer.
1) When I got large enough to go to work, while employed, I was reflecting on many things that would
present themselves to my imagination, and whenever an opportunity occurred of looking at a book,
when the schoolchildren were getting their lessons, I would find many things that the fertility of my own
imagination had depicted to me before. (“Confessions,” p 106)
While I was working I used to think about things that had popped into my imagination, and when I had a chance
to look at a book, I realized that I had already imagined many of the things that were written in that book.
2) Knowing the influence I had obtained over the minds of my fellow-servants — (not by the means of
conjuring and such-like tricks — for them I always spoke of such things with contempt) but by the
communion of the Spirit, whose revelation I often communicated to them, and they believed and said
my wisdom came from God, — I now began to prepare them for my purpose, by telling them something
was about to happen that would terminate in fulfilling the great promise that had been made to me.
(“Confessions,” p.107)
3) Many were the plans formed and rejected by us, and affected my mind to such a degree that I fell sick,
and the time passed without our coming to any determination how to commence — still forming new
schemes and rejecting them, when the sign appeared again, which determined me not to wait longer.
(“Confessions,” p. 109)
4) The gun was fired to ascertain if any of the family were at home; we were immediately fired upon and
retreated, leaving several of my men. (“Confessions,” p.111)

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.3 | from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Lesson Objective: Write sentences using a variety of structures
Lesson Content:
• A discussion and handout that discusses Douglass’s style
• A handout that shows students how facility with sentence construction develops over time
• A handout that asks students to change sentences adapted from Douglass so that they will exhibit variety
in length, variety in word order, and variety in the use of grammatical structures
Mini Lesson 1: Sentence Variety Overview (Student Handout 1)

Students should reflect on style in general. Douglass’s Narrative is more simple, intimate, and direct than the
recorded confessions of Nat Turner, which students may have read earlier. Or, if they have already read the
Douglass speech, “What to a Negro is the Fourth of July,” point out how the formal rhetoric of that speech
differs from the quieter meditations of the Narrative.
Douglass did not imitate the more flowery or more formal style of many other nineteenth-century writers
whom he knew, but instead developed his own style. Of course, he used techniques common to most good
writing — vivid images, striking metaphors, careful diction, useful allusions, and many others. In this exercise,
however, students will concentrate on just one of these techniques : variety in sentence structures.
Since students may not think very consciously about how they construct sentences, distribute Handout 1,
which illustrates the way in which a person develops the ability to use complex sentence structures. This
handout is for illustrative and discussion purposes and requires no direct action by students.
Mini Lesson 2: Varying Sentence Structure (Student Handout 2)

Learning to write fluently means knowing how to vary your sentence structures so that they don’t become
boring and repetitive. Often, achieving variety is accomplished in the process of editing and revising what you
have initially written. Follow the instructions for changing the sentences below. The sentences are adapted
from some of those used by Douglass.
Example:
I finally succeeded in learning to read with their kindly aid, which I obtained at different times in
various places.
Change the sentence above by
1) beginning with the second prepositional phrase
2) changing the subordinate clause “which I obtained…” to a past participle
With their kindly aid, obtained at different times in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.3 | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Varying Sentence Structure

Think about the way you learned to write. Your first sentences probably followed the typical pattern in the
English language. Subject (noun) predicate (verb) and possibly object (noun):
Jack hit the ball.
Then you might have added a descriptive adverb.
Jack hit the ball forcefully.
Later you might have learned to put the adverb first.
Forcefully, Jack hit the ball.
Later still, you might have learned to give more specific details, perhaps adding a verbal metaphor like sailed.
Jack hit the ball so forcefully that it sailed over the left field fence.
Or you added a participle to make the action more vivid.
Jack hit the ball forcefully, driving it over the left field fence.
Perhaps you learned to change the focus, shifting attention to the ball by using the passive voice.
The ball, hit forcefully by Jack, sailed high over the left field fence.
Or perhaps you shifted the attention to the reaction of the crowd.
The fans watched, awestruck, as Jack pounded the ball high over the left field fence.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.3 | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Change the following sentences according to the directions given below them. In some cases part of the sentence is
written for you.
1. Abolitionists were blamed for a slave’s running away or killing his master or setting fire to a barn.
Change this sentence by turning the gerunds (verbs used as nouns) into past-tense verbs and use them as part of a
conditional clause beginning with if at the start of the sentence.
If a slave ran away, killed his master, or set fire to a barn, the Abolitionists were blamed.
2. As much as it injured the slave, slavery also was injurious to the slaveholder.
Improve this sentence by making it less wordy.
3. My torment came from thinking about my enslaved condition.

Turn the underlined subject into its verb form.
Thinking about _______________________________
4. I was reminded of freedom whenever I looked at a star, or sometimes I felt it in the wind, or hearing a
storm would also remind me of it.
Improve this sentence by shortening it, changing the underlined parts into parallel structures (the same verb phrases).
I thought of freedom whenever I looked at a star, felt the ___________, or _____________________.
5. We finished our work, and then I would challenge the boys to see if they could write as well as I could.
Make the underlined independent clause a subordinate one. (Hint: You will need to start the sentence with a
subordinate conjunction such as when, after, whenever, etc.)
6. Her tender heart became stone and her lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness when
she came under the influence of slavery.
Switch the order of the sentence above by putting the final dependent clause (underlined) first. Shorten the sentence
as much as you can.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.3, continued | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
7. The more I read, the more I was led to abhor my enslavers. I detested them.
Combine these two sentences by using compound verb forms (infinitives). Rewrite the sentence without using the
passive voice (“I was led to”).
8. White men had been known to encourage slaves to escape. Then they would catch them. Then they would
return them to their masters. They did this to get the reward.
Make this string of sentences into one sentence by using subordinate clauses and parallel verb structures.
9. Looking forward to a time in which it would be safe for me to escape.

Turn this into a complete sentence.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.4 | From Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Concept Objective: Observe that punctuation rules contribute to clarity of meaning
Skill Objective: Learn to use the following punctuation marks correctly: end marks, commas, semi-colons,
apostrophes, quotation marks, and em-dashes
Lesson Content: Students are given a handout with ten sentences improperly punctuated and are asked to
make corrections. The sentences are either taken directly from or based on material from Incidents in the Life
of a Slave Girl. The lesson requires that students learn the difference between a restrictive and a non-restrictive
clause and how the comma is applied to the former.
Mini Lesson: Applying the Rules of Punctuation

When Harriet Jacobs’s autobiographical work was published in 1860, some people expressed surprise that
someone born in slavery and not formally educated could write so well and so clearly. Her vocabulary and
her ability to tell a story were astonishing to many readers. She had also mastered the mechanics of writing,
including complicated things like punctuation. Sometimes it may seem that the rules of punctuation do not
make sense at all, or that they are just rules for rules’ sake. In fact, proper punctuation contributes to meaning
and clarity; it helps the writer to express meaning and emotion. Punctuating the following sentences from
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl should help students to see that the rules of punctuation are useful.
Background Knowledge and Resources: This exercise may be used as a review to assess whether or not
students have retained information about basic punctuation rules they have already studied. The em-dash
may be newly introduced in this lesson, but other marks may have been covered previously. Familiarity with
grammatical terms, including the ability to identify clauses and participial phrases, is required. Students may
consult handbooks or reference works they are using in the classroom to learn the rules of punctuation.
Key Terminology:
end marks. Any punctuation that completes an independent clause (e.g. periods and question marks)
comma. A punctuation mark used to separate ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence
semi-colon. A mark of punctuation used to connect independent clauses and indicating a closer
relationship between the clauses than a period does
apostrophe. Punctuation used to indicate the omission of letters from a word, the possessive case, or the
plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations
quotation marks. A pair of punctuation marks used to mark the beginning and the end of dialogue
em-dash. A horizontal line that attaches a phrase to a previous phrase without need of a conjunction or
other connective
restrictive clause. A clause that restricts the meaning of the noun, phrase, or other clause that it follows
non-restrictive clause. A clause that does not restrict the meaning of the noun, phrase, or other clause
that it follows

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.4 | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Applying the Rules of Punctuation

Rewrite or add punctuation to the following sentences according to the instructions given below the sentence.
Write your answers to any direct questions in the space provided.
1) The business was profitable and each year she laid by a little which was saved for a fund to purchase her
children
a. Insert three punctuation marks in this sentence — an end mark and two commas.
b. What kind of end mark follows a declarative sentence?
c. Why did you put the commas where you did?
d. Do you know that the word which is almost always preceded by a comma, which creates a non-restrictive
clause? Compare the non-restrictive dependent clause in the sentence above to the dependent clause
(underlined) in this sentence: “Every week Harriet contributed something to the fund that was saved to
purchase her children.” Would you have put a comma after fund?
e. The clause “that was saved to purchase her children” describes the fund and restricts its meaning (puts a
border around it — this fund and not any other). This is called a restrictive clause and it is not separated
by a comma from the noun it modifies. Remember, which indicates a non-restrictive clause and calls
for a comma before it; that indicates a restrictive clause that is not separated by a comma.
2) When Harriet explains to Mr. Flint that she hasn’t locked the door because she hasn’t finished her work,
he says
you have had time enough to do it take care how you answer me
a. Add the necessary punctuation marks, including end marks, capitals, quotation marks, and commas, to
Mr. Flint’s statement. (Hint: This is a direct quotation and it should be broken into two sentences.) Is
the first letter of a direct quote capitalized? Does the period fall before or after the quotation mark? What
emotion did the final end mark communicate?
3) Mr. Flint wished that I should sleep in the servants’ quarters. His wife agreed to the proposition but said I
mustn’t bring my bed into the house.
a. What is the punctuation mark called that is used at the end of the word servants?
b. Does the family have one servant or more than one servant? How do you know?
c. Using this mark (’) indicate that the word is used in the possessive case. In your own words, explain the
meaning of the possessive case and how it relates to the word “quarters.”

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.4, continued | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
d. Notice that the same mark is used in the word mustn’t, but here it is used to make a contraction. What
letter is left out?
4) I had one brother, William, who was two years younger than myself — a bright, affectionate child.
a. The horizontal line between “myself ” and “a bright” is called an em dash. It attaches the phrase to the
previous phrase without the need of a conjunction or other connective. It is longer than the hyphen used
in the word semi-colon and longer than the en dash used to connect numbers, as in the years from 1988–
99. You sometimes have to look closely to see the difference in the length of these three marks: - – — .
While it should not be overused, the em dash is a very flexible and useful tool favored by skilled writers as
a means to conserve words and add liveliness to their styles.
Rewrite the following three sentences using the em dash. You may replace existing punctuation or words
with em dashes or add them as needed.
i. She found the solution and she hoped it would bring an end to their dilemma.
ii. My mother, who didn’t get a wink of sleep, vowed to forbid any future slumber parties.
iii. It was a brilliant idea and one that would change history.
5) My Uncle Philip who was a carpenter had very skillfully made a concealed trap-door.
a. Insert two commas where they belong in this sentence and explain the rule you used.
6) Since I have been at the North, it has been necessary for me to work diligently for my own support, and
the education of my children.
a. Explain why the word North is capitalized in the sentence above. Should it be capitalized in the following
sentence? “Driving north about a hundred miles, they felt the temperature drop by ten degrees.” What is
the difference between the word north and the word North?
7) His sale was a terrible blow to my grandmother but she was naturally hopeful and she went to work with
renewed energy trusting in time to be able to purchase some of her children.
a. Insert three commas in the sentence above — between the independent clauses and before a participial
phrase — and explain the rules you used.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.4, continued | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
8) The air was stifling; the darkness total.

a. Is this sentence grammatically correct? What linking verb is understood rather than expressed in the
second clause? Would it have been correct if a period or a comma had been used?
b. Rewrite the above sentence two ways: as two sentences and as a single sentence with a comma. You will
have to add at least one word in each case.
9) I had a shuddering superstitious feeling, that it was a bad omen.

a. The comma in the sentence above is misplaced. Where does it belong? Rewrite the sentence showing
correct comma placement.
10) He had heard them say that he had gone to find me, and he called out “Dr Flint did you bring my
mother home. I want to see her”.
There are four punctuation errors in the sentence above. Find them and then explain the rules you used to
correct the punctuation in the sentence. The errors concern punctuation rules required before a quotation,
after a term of direct address, the end mark for an interrogative sentence, and the place of a period in relation
to quotation marks. Rewrite the sentence using correct punction.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.5 | Letter to Thomas Jefferson by Benjamin Banneker
Concept Objective: This famous letter, which makes a strong argument against slavery, is somewhat difficult
for young readers today because of its complex style. Using it as an opportunity to learn or review outlining
technique can help with comprehending its meaning.
Skill Objective: Make a good outline that can help students state Banneker’s main argument clearly and
concisely
Mini Lesson: How to Outline

(Use this Mini Lesson as a guide to assisting students as they work on Student Handout 1.)
Start by having students summarize each of Banneker’s main arguments, putting each of them in one
sentence. Students should be able to cite at least five main points related to why men should be free and
why free men should support the cause of abolition. Have students write these arguments down in list form.
Banneker’s arguments are really quite straightforward even though he puts them in the very elaborate style
that was characteristic of the nineteenth century. Making this outline can help students see the framework that
underlies the development of his argument. Most students will probably have prepared such an outline before
writing compositions of their own.
The last two points in the letter are related to Banneker’s sending his almanac to Jefferson and to his sending
it in manuscript form instead of final printed form. These are really indirect or implied proofs of his main
argument. Banneker is actually saying that the scientific work that he has done is proof that people of African
descent can, if they are free, accomplish as much as any other men. He sends the almanac in manuscript form
so that Jefferson can see that Banneker himself has written it, that no one else wrote it under his name.
After students have completed their sentence summaries, have them state the central point of the whole letter
in one sentence. Remind them that this sentence is called the thesis. Have students show how Banneker
developed this thesis by organizing the points they have already identified into the outline form illustrated in
Student Handout 1.
Key Terminology:
Thesis statement. A sentence describing the central idea of a letter or paper

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.5 | Letter to Thomas Jefferson by Benjamin Banneker
The Basic Outline. Reread or scan through Banneker’s letter; on a separate sheet of paper, keep notes (as you
read) about Banneker’s main points. Once you have enough information to summarize Banneker’s main
argument, compose a concise thesis sentence. Next, identify all of the main points (evidence) that Banneker
includes to persuade Jefferson of his thesis and write them in order of importance after the Roman numerals.
(Answers may vary; all students should be able to identify at least 4 points used to support the thesis sentence.)
Thesis sentence:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.5 | Letter to Thomas Jefferson by Benjamin Banneker
Outlines, Part 2
In more complicated arguments, each of the main points might have sub-sections, which would be labeled in
the following manner.
I.
1.
a.
b.
2.
a.
b.
II. 1.
2.
III.
This outline indicates that the argument was developed in three parts (labeled with Roman numerals); the
first point had two subsections (labeled with Arabic numerals); these subsections were divided into two parts
(labeled with lowercase letters). A rhetorical argument might be outlined in the style described above.
Thesis: School lunch times should be at least forty minutes long.
I. Lunch should give students the opportunity to relax
1. Relaxation can actually be productive.
a. Often a relaxing lunch period enables one to make new friends.
b. Often lunch period gives students time to talk over what is going on in the classroom.
2. Relaxation is required if students are going to work well the rest of the afternoon.
a. Students taking gym should not run or swim immediately after eating.
b. Students will perform better in academic subjects if they have had a little break after eating.
II. Lunch period should allow plenty of time for good eating habits and good digestion.
a. School should reinforce good health habits as well as good study habits.
b. Wolfing one’s food down in a big hurry is not a good health habit.
III. A sufficiently relaxing lunch period will motivate students and improve their attitudes about school.
Once you have an outline like this, in which your arguments are clearly stated and ordered, it will be easier to
write your composition. Prepare an outline for one of the following thesis sentences or come up with a thesis
sentence of your own. Your outline should have at least three major parts in order of importance, at least two
of which should have subsections, as in the example above.
We must all work together to control environmental pollution.
Exercise is crucial for both good health and academic success.
It is important to create a proper environment for studying or completing assignments at home.
School administrators should seek advice from the student government in resolving important issues.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.6 | “The Knee-High Man,” “Tar Baby,” and “The Signifying Monkey”
Using the Dictionary
Lesson Objective: Review dictionary usage skills to ensure that students know how to use it not only for
word definitions but also as a guide to grammar, derivation, and pronunciation.
Time: Thirty minutes, including an examination of the parts of a dictionary
Mini Lesson: More than Meanings

Begin by discussing with students how these three delightful tales are full of wordplay, explaining that showing
delight in and knowledge of words is always the mark of a good storyteller; folktales that originate in the oral
tradition depend on the power of words. Over time, the mingling of cultures, the movement of peoples, and
human creativity have made the English language perhaps the richest on the planet.
Words can be explored in many dimensions, not just the dimension of meaning. Talk about the etymology of
words, their language of origin and perhaps how meaning may change over time. Have students examine the
dictionary and look at its various parts. A good dictionary may have an introductory essay on the development
of the English language, many interesting charts and tables, and, of course, an extensive guide to using its
resources. Review with the students a few entries to make sure they know how to recognize the pronunciation
keys, the abbreviations for the parts of speech, the etymological information, and the significance of the order
in which various meanings are presented.
Resources: Make sure that students have access to an unabridged dictionary or a good desk dictionary like
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary or the American Heritage Dictionary. Use photocopies of several pages from
the dictionary if sufficient copies are not available.
Key Terminology:
Etymology. The original and historical development of a lingustic form as shown by its basic elements,
earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to
another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.6 | “The Knee-High Man,” “Tar Baby,” and “The Signifying Monkey”
Using the Dictionary, Handout 1

“The Knee-High Man” incorporates literary motifs such as the wise owl or the creature who thought the grass
was greener for everybody else. Look up the word motif in the dictionary and read through the entire definition.
After doing so, answer the following questions.
a. Where does the guide to pronouncing the word appear?
b. Where in your dictionary does the pronunciation key appear? How does the i in the second syllable of
motif sound?
c. What part of speech is motif ?
d. How many definitions are given? Why are they given in that particular order?
e. Which artistic fields typically use motifs?
f. What language does motif derive from?
g. Give a synonym for the word motif.
h. In what kind of reference book would you find more synonyms for the word motif ?
i. Use the word in a sentence.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Using the Dictionary, Handout 2

Refer to a dictionary to complete the following exercise.
1 Look up the word owl. How many characteristics of the bird does your dictionary include?
2. What characteristics of an owl make it possible to use the word as an adjective? Can you turn the noun
into an adjective? Write a sentence using the word owl as an adjective.
3. Lassitudes is not an illness, but it is based on a real word. Find it in the dictionary and give its meaning.
Does it have a plural form?
4. “’Course, the Tar Baby didn’t say nary a word.”

a. The word nary, used in this quote, is what part of speech?
b. What does your dictionary suggest about its origin?
c. Turn the noun tar into a verb and use it in a sentence.
d. “Tar Baby” has actually entered our modern language as a colloquial expression. What does it mean as
used in the following sentence?
“Global warming is a tar baby that most politicians don’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole.”

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
5. The lion says he doesn’t want to listen to the monkey’s jive, or nonsensical talk. How could the noun
jive be used as a verb? Many dictionaries claim not to know the origin of this word. Pretend that you
are a lexographer (one who compiles or edits dictionaries) and make up a convincing derivation for the
word jive. You can explain the origin rather than just provide a language of origin. In fact, you can make
up a short fable on how the word came to be if you want. (Check your answer on page 170 of Grace
Abounding.)
6. When Monkey reports that Elephant claims he could “whip the living daylights” out of Lion, he is using
both metaphorical language and a slang expression. Explain the metaphor, or the comparison, involved in
the expression. Does your dictionary include this slang expression? Explain what it means literally.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Answer Key 2.6 | “The Knee-High Man,” “Tar Baby,” and “The Signifying Monkey”
Student Handout One

a. Where does the guide to pronouncing it appear? In parenthesis immediately after the word
b. How does the i in the second syllable sound? Where in your dictionary does the pronunciation key
appear? Usually directly before the main entry pages
c. What part of speech is motif? A noun
d. How many definitions are given? What does the order they are given in mean? Three. Yes, the first is the
most commonly used definition. Other definitions are used less frequently or in specialized contexts.
e. Which artistic fields typically use motifs? Literature, music, and architecture
f. What language does it derive from? French, specifically Old French
g. Give a synonym for the word motif. repeated theme, figure, pattern
h. In what kind of reference book would you find more synonyms for the word motif? A thesaurus
i. Use the word in a sentence. Ex. The orchestra played a piece that contained many underlying flute motifs.
Student Handout Two

1. Look up the word owl. How many characteristics of the bird does your dictionary include? Usually five or
six
2. How would you turn the noun into an adjective? owlish
3. Lassitudes is not an illness, but it is based on a real word. Find it in the dictionary and give its meaning.
Does it have a plural form? Lassitude, a state of weariness or diminished energy. No.
4. “ ‘Course, the Tar Baby didn’t say nary a word.”
a. The word nary used in this quote is what part of speech? Adj.
b. What does your dictionary suggest about its origin? The American Heritage Dictionary suggests it is an
alteration of ne’er a, that is a contraction of never.
c. Turn the noun tar into a verb and use it in a sentence. The street was tarred last night, so traffic was
detoured for several hours.
d. Tar Baby has actually entered the language as a colloquial expression. What does it mean used in the
following sentence: Global warming is a tar baby most politicians don’t want to touch with a ten foot
pole. The expression suggests it a “sticky” issue; taking a position on it would lose supporters whichever
way a politician chose.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Lesson Plan 2.7 | The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances E.W. Harper
Lesson Objective: Scan poetry and analyze sound by identifying kinds of poetic feet, lines, and stanzas as
well as types of rhyme. Students who have already covered these poetic features might be given the handout
questions as a review.
Lesson Overview: Teachers can use the questions below as review or as an assessment of students’ ability
to describe some of the formal aspects of poetry they have already covered. They should be familar with all
or some of the following: allusion, metrics (rhyme, type of foot, length of line), and such sound devices as
alliteration and assonance.
Time: Times will vary; approximately thirty minutes per lesson
Mini Lesson 1: Conventions of Poetry in Written Form
As you may know, poetry is primarily an oral form, something intended to be heard rather than written. Yet
there are conventions to be observed when poetry is written, and students should become aware of them. Ask
the following questions about the Hammon and Wheatley (and other) poems:
• Is the poem organized by sentence or by line?
• In what form is the first letter of each line—capital or lowercase? Have students glance at several poems
to verify this convention. Some students may be aware of poets who deviate from this convention, E.E.
Cummings for example, but, of course, this is a deviation from the norm.
• Is the end of each line punctuated? If there is no punctuation, that is called a run-on line. If there is
punctuation—a period, a question mark, a semi-colon, or a comma or any mark that calls for the voice to
pause—it is called an end-stopped line.
• Explain that these pauses are part of the way the poet controls the rhythm in the poem. If there is no
punctuation, the poet wants the line to flow into the next line with no pause or with only a slight pause.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Mini Lesson 2: How to Scan a Poem
Overview: The rhythm or meter of a poem is established in part by where the stresses fall, by the pauses,
by the length of the line, and by the pattern of rhyme. All contribute to the sound the poet uses in order to
convey the meaning and the emotional impact that he is trying to communicate. The rhyme especially is
an aid to memory. Remind students that, much like songs, poems are meant to be heard and remembered.
Students have experienced these metric features of poetry, starting with nursery rhymes, but may not yet have
been asked to identify them formally. If students have not formally scanned a poem and identified its rhyme
scheme, Hammon’s “Phillis Wheatley” poem is a good place to start. You may want to extend the lesson by
providing other poems with which students can practice scanning.
Students should use Student Handout 1, which contains some of Jupiter Hammon’s “An Address to Phillis
Wheatley,” so that they can scan it with proper markings. Scan the first stanza on the board and then have the
students mark the next three on their own. Show them how the rhyming pattern is marked by the letters of
the alphabet. Stressed syllables are marked with the symbol ' and unstressed syllables with ˘.
Explain that the number of stressed and unstressed syllables determines the type of foot. Students should
refer to the entry for meter in the Handbook of Literary Terms in Grace Abounding in order to complete the
following excercises. Have students identify the predominant type of foot used by Hammon in this poem
(iamb) and the kind of lines used (tetrameter and trimeter). Have them mark the rhyme pattern at the end of
the line (e.g., ABAB). Explain which of the rhymes are exact (adore/shore; behind/combin’d, etc.) and which
are inexact or slant (God/word; abode/word, etc.)
Have students identify what type of stanza Hammon is using (quatrain). Point out other poetry in this section
in which the four-line stanza is used (“Bury Me in a Free Land” and some of “The Slave Auction”).
For more practice, have students scan Wheatley’s eight-line poem (octet) “On Being Brought from Africa to
America.” Note that this is composed in iambic pentameter (lines with five iambic feet). Explain that this
is the most common meter of verse written in English, one used most often by Shakespeare. It follows the
natural pattern and length of the voice in spoken English. Have them note Wheatley’s use of couplets.
Key Terminology
Allusion. A reference to a person, place, thing, or event outside the work of art
Synaesthesia. The use of one sensory experience to describe the characteristics of another sensory
experience
Alliteration. The repetition of initial consonant sounds
Assonance. The repetition of vowel sounds

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Student Handout 2.7 | The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances E.W. Harper
An Address to Phillis Wheatley

O, come you pious youth: adore a
The wisdom of thy God. b
In bringing thee from distant shore, a
To learn His holy word. b
Thou mightst been left behind, c

Amidst a dark abode; d
God’s tender Mercy still combin’d, c
Thou hast the holy word. d
Fair wisdom’s ways are paths of peace, e

And they that walk therein, f
Shall reap the joys that never cease, e
And Christ shall be their king. f
God’s tender mercy brought thee here,

tost o’er the raging main;
In Christian faith thou hast a share,
Worth all the gold of Spain.
While thousands tossed by the sea,

And others settled down,
God’s tender mercy set thee free,
From dangers still unknown.
That thou a pattern still might be,

To youth of Boston town,
The blessed Jesus thee free,
From every sinful wound.
The blessed Jesus, who came down,

Unveil’d his sacred face,
To cleanse the soul of every wound,
And give repenting grace.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
“On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley

‘Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,

“Their colour is a diabolic die.”
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin’d and join th’angelic train.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Mini Lesson 3: Allusion is the reference to a person, place, thing, or event outside the work of art. Usually
this reference has considerable cultural weight enabling the artist to extend the impact and meaning of the
poem. Consider Wheatley’s reference to Cain, the first born son of Adam and Eve, who was cursed by God
because he murdered his brother Abel, a murder motivated by jealousy. With this allusion, Wheatley is able
to call up the history of the curse of slavery and to suggest some ambiguity and irony. First, Christians should
know that all people are redeemable; none are cursed forever. Moreover the reference to “diabolic die” could
suggest the word “dye,” but if the word “Their” is emphasized, the color of death is associated with the people
speaking—that is, white people.
Synaesthesia: This is the use of one sense to describe characteristics of another. Although students wouldn’t
be expected to recognize this until later study, point out how Frances Harper’s “bitter cries” in “The Slave
Auction” uses an adjective associated with taste to describe an aural image. See if they can find other examples
of synaesthesia.
Mini Lesson 4: Other Sound Techniques
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Students will no doubt be familiar with
this technique, having encountered it in nursery rhymes, jump rope rhymes, hip-hop lyrics, and many other
places. Students are probably aware of how alliteration aids memory in such popular sayings as “do or die,”
“safe and sound,” “now or never” and so on. A quick look at the t sounds in verse V of “An Address to Phillis
Wheatley…” or the s sounds in the final lines of “To S.M., A Young African Painter…” will remind them of
how frequently alliteration is used in poetry. You might point out that a sister technique called assonance, or
the use of repeated vowel sounds, is also a commonly used sound technique. Look at the final stanza of “Bury
Me in a Free Land.”

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
You can consult the Handbook of Literary Terms at the end of Grace Abounding in order to answer the ques-
tions. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences.
1. Whether or not it is a complete sentence, each line of poetry begins with a __________.
2. A complete section of a poem is not called a paragraph but a ____________.
3. A line of poetry in which the thought is complete at the end of the line is called an __________.
4. A poetic line in which the thought is carried over to the next line or lines is called a ____________.
5. Rhymes like main/Spain and sea/fee are called ______________.
6. Rhymes like God/word, down/wound, and desolate/weight are called _________________.
7. Phillis Wheatley’s rhyme scheme in “To S. M., a Young African Painter on Seeing His Works” would be
marked aa, bb, cc, dd, ee and so forth. Lines which are so rhymed are called ______________.
8. Both of the Frances E. W. Harper poems included in Grace Abounding are written in four-line stanzas,
which are called ____________.
9. In Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” the reference to Cain is called an
_____________.
10. In Wheatley’s line “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,” the repeated s sounds are called _______
_________.
11. Scan the first stanza of Harper’s “The Slave Auction.” That is, show where the stresses fall, and then answer
the following questions.
a. What type of poetic foot is she using? ________________
b. How many feet are in a line? ___________
c. What is the name of this kind of line? _____________
d. How would the rhyming pattern be marked? ________________

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Answer Key 2.7 | The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances E.W. Harper
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

1. Whether or not it is a complete sentence, each line of poetry begins with a capital letter.
2. A complete section of a poem is not called a paragraph but a stanza.
3. A line of poetry in which the thought is complete at the end of the line is called an end-stopped line.
4. A poetic line in which the thought is carried over to the next line or lines is called a run-on line.
5. Rhymes like main/Spain and sea/fee are called exact rhymes.
6. Rhymes like God/word and down/wound, and desolate/weight are called off-rhymes or slant rhymes.
7. Phillis Wheatley’s rhyme scheme in “To S.M., a Young African Painter on Seeing His Works” would be
marked aa, bb, cc, dd, ee and so forth. Lines which are so rhymed are called couplets.
8. Both of the Frances E. W. Harper poems included in Grace Abounding are written in four-line stanzas,
which are called quatrains.
9. In Wheatley’s poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” the reference to Cain is called an
allusion, in this case a Biblical allusion.
10. In Wheatley’s line “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,” the repeated s sounds are called
alliteration.
11. Scan the first stanza of Harper’s “The Slave Auction.” That is, show where the stresses fall, and then answer
the following questions.
a. What type of poetic foot is she using? iambic foot
b. How many feet are in a line? four feet
c. What is the name of this kind of line? tetrameter
d. How would the rhyming pattern be marked? ab ab

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Unit 2 Reading Check Tests
2.7 The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances E.W. Harper
2.8 The Work of James Whitfield

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.1 | The Works of Olaudah Equiano
Recall the facts. Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Who is kidnapped along with Equiano?

a. his mother
b. his brother
c. his sister
d. his father
2. How does Equiano know which way he is going with the kidnappers?
a. He listens to them and hears their plans.
b. He notices familiar landmarks he remembers from other journeys.
c. He watches the sunrise and sees that their path is left of it.
d. He watches the North Star and sees that they head toward it.
3. What shocks Equiano MOST about the people who eat with iron pots?
a. They have European crossbows.
b. Their women eat and drink with them.
c. They disfigure themselves with scars.
d. They fight with fists among themselves.
4. Why do the two slaves jump into the sea?

a. They plan to swim home.
b. They fear flogging.
c. They want fish to eat.
d. They have chosen to drown themselves.
5. At the end of the chapter, what does Equiano say is “a new refinement in cruelty” by the slavers?
a. tearing people from their country
b. making people toil for their luxury
c. selling people for profit
d. separating family members

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Interpretation. Circle the best answer for each question.
6. Why are stout young people the target of kidnappers?

a. They are easy to catch.
b. They can survive the voyage to America.
c. They are physically attractive.
d. They want adventure and will go happily with the kidnappers.
7. Where did Equiano probably learn how to follow a trail?

a. in the village
b. in the woods on a hunt
c. in the smith’s house
d. in the tree in his yard
8. Why is Equiano more miserable than ever when he is taken from the last place he stayed in his homeland?
a. He had hoped to be adopted by them.
b. He misses his sister.
c. He can no longer play bows and arrows.
d. They had promised to take him home.
9. Why are cramped, filthy conditions almost impossible for Equiano to bear?
a. He values cleanliness and dignity.
b. He fears death by disease.
c. He craves physical exercise.
d. He hates being humiliated.
10. Why does Equiano wonder if the whites have magic power?
a. He is delirious.
b. He has heard folktales about white magic in Africa.
c. He has seen them do things that seem impossible.
d. He thinks they could not have captured so many without magic.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
According to Equiano, what might a “true” Christian do differently with regard to the slavery issue?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.2 | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”
1. About how many white people were murdered in Nat Turner’s raid?
a. 5
b. 60
c. 17
d. 150
2. What quality of Turner’s convinced others to make him their leader?

a. intelligence
b. kindness
c. physical strength
d. humor
3. Does Nat Turner believe he made a mistake killing these people?

a. Yes, he was morally wrong.
b. No, he compares his fate to Christ’s.
c. No, because he claims he did not himself commit the murders.
d. Yes, he regrets killing them because he was captured.
4. Where do Turner and his men begin their killing?

a. at their own home
b. at their neighbor’s home
c. in Jerusalem
d. at Howell’s
5. Who finds Turner a fortnight before his capture?

a. two black hunters
b. Benjamin Phipps
c. Captain Harris
d. Jacob and Nat

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. Why did Turner murder these families?

a. He believed it was his destiny.
b. He wanted their property.
c. He loved his fellow slaves and wanted to free them.
d. He hated the white masters.
7. Why did Turner return after he had escaped slavery?

a. desire to help others
b. belief in spirit that told him what to do
c. hatred
d. love for his family
8. How is Nat Turner an unlikely hero or antihero?

a. He is weak.
b. He is unpopular.
c. He is irrational.
d. He is cowardly.
9. How does Turner view his fellow raiders?

a. with pride
b. with anger
c. with contempt
d. with affection
10. What is Turner’s attitude in the confession?

a. sorrowful
b. angry
c. detached
d. joyful

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
How does Turner view Travis, his white master, and the Travis family? Does he kill them in cold blood,
with intent to harm them? Explain.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.4 | Incidents in the Life of a Young Slave Girl
1. What does Harriet experience when she is twelve years old?

a. She escapes from her owner.
b. She is purchased by a wicked doctor.
c. She publishes her slave narrative.
d. She is sent to a plantation.
2. Why is Harriet’s slave narrative significant?

a. It is the first published by a woman.
b. It is published under a pseudonym.
c. It accuses a slaveholder by name.
d. It is the first published with its author still enslaved.
3. What is Harriet’s purpose in writing this history?

a. for money
b. for fame
c. for abolition
d. for pleasure
4. For what quality are Harriet’s father and grandmother given a reward by their owners?
a. intelligence
b. age
c. light skin
d. charm
5. Why does Harriet run away and leave Benny and Ellen?
a. to protect them from Dr. Flint
b. to give them to a better mother
c. to be able to leave more easily
d. to keep them from seeing her mistreated

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. Why doesn’t Jacobs use real names in the book even though she is free in the North?
a. Others are still at risk of capture and punishment.
b. She wants to avoid publicity.
c. She is ashamed.
d. She wants to avoid lawsuits.
7. Who is Harriet’s intended audience?

a. black women
b. white women
c. black men
d. white men
8. Why can’t Harriet’s father or grandmother buy their children and set them free?
a. lack of money
b. Their owners stop them.
c. The law stops them.
d. They die young.
9. What comfort does Harriet NOT get from her aunt, uncle, and grandchildren when she’s hidden in the
garret?
a. conversation
b. food and water
c. a blanket
d. light
10. Why can’t Dr. Flint get information from Benny?

a. Dr. Flint doesn’t ask Benny because Benny is too young to know.
b. Benny doesn’t care about the silver and handkerchiefs Dr. Flint offers as bribes.
c. Dr. Flint can’t find Benny.
d. Benny defies Dr. Flint out of loyalty to his family.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
Why doesn’t Harriet tell her children she is in the garret? Is she wrong not to tell them? Explain.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.5 | “Ar’n’t I a Woman,” Speech at Akron Convention
1. Where was Sojourner Truth enslaved most of her life?

a. Ohio
b. New York
c. Virginia
d. Georgia
2. What did the other women say to Mrs. Gage before Truth got up to speak?
a. Don’t let her speak.
b. The newspapers will hate her.
c. We told you so.
d. What a wonderful woman!
3. What happens when Truth says her first words, “Wall, chilern”?
a. hisses
b. silence
c. laughter
d. groans
4. What does Truth mean by a “cup won’t hold but a pint”?

a. Her brain is not powerful.
b. Her stomach is small.
c. She can’t drink much.
d. Her wealth is small.
5. Sojourner Truth, in this piece, gives men a _____ on behalf of both slaves and white women.
a. compliment
b. plea
c. warning
d. rule

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GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. Why might Truth have gone to the women’s rights convention to sell copies of her story?
a. to find black slaves who would be sympathetic customers
b. to take attention away from the women’s rights movement
c. to be seen as a woman rather than as a slave
d. to find a new market in Ohio
7. What effect does Truth sitting on the altar seem to have on the ministers at the convention?
a. enrages them
b. amuses them
c. encourages them
d. saddens them
8. Who is the target of Truth’s criticism?

a. churchfolk
b. white people
c. men
d. white men
9. Does Truth believe intelligence should be a requirement for people who want more rights in society?
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Yes, for men only.
d. Yes, for women only.
10. Frances Gage’s physical description of Truth—nearly six feet tall and wearing a bonnet—is an example
of ______ imagery.
a. touch
b. taste
c. sound
d. visual

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
How does Sojourner Truth change the attitudes of audience members at the convention?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.7 | “The Knee-High Man”
1. Why is the man so unhappy?

a. He is lonely
b. He is short.
c. He is hungry.
d. He is lost.
2. What does Mr. Horse tell him?

a. Eat corn and run.
b. Eat oats and trot.
c. Eat hay and gallop.
d. Eat grass and roll.
3. Why does Knee-High Man ask Mr. Bull what to do?

a. Mr. Bull is very intelligent.
b. Mr. Bull is in charge.
c. Mr. Horse’s advice does not work.
d. Mr. Horse sends him to Mr. Bull.
4. What does Mr. Owl ask Knee-High Man about wanting to be big?
a. What for?
b. How?
c. When?
d. How big?
5. What are the reasons Knee-High Man gives Mr. Owl for wanting to be tall?
a. to run far and jump high
b. to fight and to see far away
c. to climb higher and find better food
d. to bellow and eat corn

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. What kind of literature is this story?

a. myth
b. legend
c. folktale
d. parable
7. The man dislikes being short because _____.

a. He feels different than others.
b. He can’t find a girlfriend.
c. He can’t reach the food he wants.
d. He can’t get a good job.
8. What trait does Knee-High Man show by following the advice even though it hurts his body?
a. honor
b. determination
c. loyalty
d. pride
9. What is ironic about Knee-High Man seeking help from Mr. Owl?
a. Mr. Owl is not a man.
b. Mr. Owl is able to fly.
c. Mr. Owl is shorter than he.
d. Mr. Owl is taller than he.
10. What is the character trait associated with owls?

a. playfulness
b. meanness
c. wisdom
d. humor

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
What is the lesson, or moral, of this folktale?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.7 | “Tar Baby”
1. What is Rabbit’s conflict at the beginning of the folktale?

a. not enough friends
b. not enough water
c. too much work
d. being sick
2. According to Rabbit, why won’t he help build the well?

a. He doesn’t know how to dig.
b. He doesn’t need well water.
c. He is mad at his friends.
d. He is management, not labor.
3. Who came up with the plan to catch and punish Rabbit?

a. Bear
b. Fox
c. Tar Baby
d. Rabbit
4. What happens to Rabbit when he hits Tar Baby?

a. Tar Baby hits him back.
b. He feels guilty.
c. He feels glad.
d. He gets his paw stuck.
5. What two ways do the animals think of to kill Rabbit?

a. hanging and burning
b. drowning and hanging
c. burning and beating
d. drowning and burning

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. What is Rabbit’s contribution to the well project?

a. has the idea
b. locates the digging place
c. gets the tools
d. digs the well
7. What does Bear try to do?

a. get to the well before Rabbit
b. drink Rabbit’s jugs of water
c. catch Rabbit near the well
d. beat Rabbit in a physical fight
8. When readers read “Tar Baby stood still,” they probably react with _____ because they know Tar Baby is
a doll.
a. amusement
b. sadness
c. anger
d. fear
9. As he struggles with Tar Baby, what does rabbit unknowingly give the other animals?
a. water
b. a funny show
c. the well
d. gratitude
10. Which of the following is this folktale?

a. myth
b. trickster tale
c. legend
d. tall tale

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
Reverse psychology is a method of getting people to do something by letting them think you want them
to do the opposite. Rabbit uses reverse psychology on the other animals to get them to throw him into the
briar patch. Why do they do it?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.7 | “The Headless Hant”
1. Why does the couple stop at the house?

a. to steal some money
b. to rest and get warm
c. to find out who lives there
d. to visit a friend
2. What is the state of the kitchen when the couple arrives?

a. messy
b. prepared
c. empty
d. elegant
3. How does the headless man come into the house?

a. through the window
b. through the closed door
c. through the open door
d. through the fire
4. What does the “hant” want?

a. his treasure
b. his head
c. his dinner
d. some friends
5. Why does the “hant” tell the woman about himself when he can’t tell other travelers?
a. She is pretty.
b. She says, “In the name of the Lord.”
c. She talks to him.
d. She is an honest woman.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.7 | “The Headless Hant”
6. The narrator says it is “the kind of house rich people live in,” so it’s likely the traveling couple are ____.
a. rich
b. poor
c. realtors
d. students
7. What does the state of the kitchen suggest?

a. The house is abandoned.
b. A poor person lives there.
c. An able and prosperous person lives there.
d. Children live there.
8. “And he started to tell the woman, without no mouth to tell her with” is NOT an example of ______.
a. third-person narrative
b. dark humor
c. dialect
d. metaphor
9. Why does the “hant” want help with his burial?

a. to rest in peace
b. to punish the robbers
c. to have a family
d. to keep his treasure
10. What trait does the couple demonstrate by washing up and making supper after their ghoulish task
is done?
a. cruelty
b. sensitivity
c. strength
d. generosity

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.7 | “The Signifying Monkey”
1. What according to Monkey, is Elephant’s opinion?

a. Lion is king.
b. Lion is not king.
c. Lion is foolish.
d. Lion is hot-tempered.
2. Why does Lion run to find Elephant?

a. to beat him up
b. to question him
c. to get away from Monkey
d. to yell at him
3. What does NOT happen in Lion’s fight with Elephant?

a. Lion proves his superiority.
b. Elephant fights back.
c. Lion gets hurt badly.
d. Elephant wins easily.
4. When does Monkey take back his threats toward Lion?

a. when he sees Lion’s injuries
b. when Lion backs down
c. when the tree limb breaks and he falls
d. when Lion is on top of him
5. Whom does Lion blame for his injuries?

a. Monkey
b. himself
c. Elephant
d. no one

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. Why doesn’t Monkey come down?

a. Monkey is polite.
b. Monkey is afraid of Lion.
c. Monkey wants to talk to Lion face to face.
d. Monkey is impolite.
7. What is Monkey’s most obvious character flaw?

a. He’s a coward.
b. He’s disloyal.
c. He’s a gossip.
d. He’s mean.
8. What mistake does Lion make in his burst of fury?

a. defending his mother
b. running from Monkey
c. underestimating Elephant’s strength
d. attacking Elephant from above
9. What does Monkey like to do?

a. hold pleasant conversations
b. help Lion keep his position
c. create social justice
d. make trouble for stronger animals
10. Who is really to blame for Lion’s getting beaten up?

a. himself
b. Elephant
c. Monkey
d. no one

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
What lessons does Lion learn?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.8 | “An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley, Ethiopian Poetess”
1. What did BOTH Jupiter Hammon and Phillis Wheatley do?

a. escape slavery
b. gain recognition as accomplished poets
c. serve as preachers
d. serve vicious slave masters
2. In the first three verses, what reason does the speaker give to Phillis for her capture and enslavement?
a. becoming American
b. getting a formal education
c. becoming Christian
d. helping fellow slaves
3. What is Phillis’s share of Christian faith worth, according to Verse IV?

a. the raging main
b. all the gold of Spain
c. God’s tender mercy
d. the slaves’ freedom
4. In Verses IX and XVI, the speaker uses the verb _____ in telling Phyllis what to do.
a. pray
b. work
c. seek
d. write
5. What is Verse XXI most like?

a. a prayer
b. a lullaby
c. a request
d. a command

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. Jupiter Hammon wrote this poem to Phillis to encourage her to _______.

a. build religious faith
b. seek freedom from slavery
c. study African-American poetry
d. return to Africa
7. In what way does Hammon view Africa as “a dark abode”?

a. It is the home of dark-skinned people.
b. It is the home of non-Christians.
c. It is a dimly lit jungle.
d. It is a gloomy place.
8. In verses IV, V, and VII, the speaker describes how God and Jesus rescue Phillis from _____.
a. slavery
b. death
c. other slaves
d. grace
9. In what does the speaker not place high value?

a. holy souls
b. earthly toys
c. the word
d. saints
10. Which of the words below BEST describes the rhyme pattern of this poem?
a. regular
b. plain
c. irregular
d. nonexistent

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
What is the main purpose of this poem?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.8 | The Work of Phillis Wheatley
1. In the first poem, what is the speaker asking Christians to believe?

a. that Negroes are Pagans
b. that Negroes can be Christian
c. that angels are scornful
d. that mercy is from Africa
2. What does the speaker say she did not seek in Africa?
a. Cain
b. redemption
c. freedom
d. enslavement
3. What is the speaker praising in the poem to S.M.?

a. youth
b. Salem
c. paintings
d. heaven
4. The speaker encourages S.M. to look toward _____ for inspiration.

a. heaven
b. poetry
c. her
d. slave owners
5. What reward does the speaker suggest to S.M.?

a. fame
b. money
c. eternal life
d. comfort

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.8 | The Work of Phillis Wheatley
6. In the first poem, what does the speaker believe about her enslavement?
a. that it harmed her
b. that it saved her
c. that it had no effect on her
d. that it was a necessary evil
7. What offends the scornful Christians in Line 5 of the first poem?

a. dark skin
b. paganism
c. slavery
d. Cain
8. What do Phillis Wheatley and S.M. have in common?

a. creativity
b. happiness
c. heaven
d. purpose
9. Who would MOST likely encourage an enslaved artist?

a. the public
b. his master
c. another slave
d. a free artist

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.8 | The Work of Frances E.W. Harper
1. In Verse 2 of the first poem, what would keep the speaker from rest in her grave?
a. footsteps
b. darkness
c. silence
d. gloom
2. In the first poem, the speaker asks for _____ in a place without slavery.
a. a hill
b. land
c. a plain
d. a grave
3. How would the speaker react to the sight of young girls sold away from their mothers’ arms?
a. with shame and mourning
b. with rage
c. with fear
d. with surprise
4. The first three words of the second poem give the reader a sense of _______.
a. misery
b. shock
c. calm
d. anger
5. Verses 3 and 4 of the second poem express the idea that _____ is God’s creation.
a. grief
b. dark skin
c. slavery
d. parenthood

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. The word “shadow” in Line 7 is an example of ______ imagery.

a. sound
b. visual
c. tactile
d. scent
7. In Verse 4 of the first poem, the mother probably shrieks because her child is _____.
a. missing
b. free
c. in physical pain
d. a slave
8. According to the first poem, the speaker would exchange _____ for _____.
a. death/life
b. a monument/peace
c. slaves/graves
d. spirit/rest
9. Why are the girls and mothers crying in the second poem?
a. fear of being whipped
b. fear of being separated
c. fear of leaving home
d. fear of men
10. According to the second poem, the grief over forceful separation from a loved one is worse than the grief
over a loved one’s ____.
a. pain
b. hatred
c. death
d. voluntary departure

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
Are these Frances Harper poems effective in making you feel sympathy with the slaves? Why or why not?

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Reading Check 2.9 | “Self Reliance”
1. What was James Whitfield’s job?

a. journalist
b. carpenter
c. doctor
d. barber
2. Whose laws does this man “earnestly pursue”?

a. his own
b. his family’s
c. God and nature’s
d. his community’s
3. Lines 30–34 suggest love is strengthened by _____.

a. youth
b. heartbreak
c. the infinite
d. mystery
4. What has no lasting charm for a man like this?

a. pleasure
b. love
c. friendship
d. fame
5. Toward what does this man “strike boldly” in the last line?
a. the true and just
b. the light of reason
c. the weak and helpless
d. the meek and mild

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
6. “Self-Reliance” encourages men who do the right thing ______.

a. in public
b. at work
c. without praise
d. in church
7. What do the powers combine against?

a. his soul
b. his friends
c. God
d. his welfare
8. In Lines 20–34, the _____ in his soul falls and then rises toward God for blessing.
a. hope
b. finite
c. love
d. vision
9. In Line 59, the _____ of the poem shifts back to light.

a. sorrow
b. speaker
c. mood
d. character
10. For whom does the man seek help and benefit?
a. the weak
b. the good
c. the true
d. everyone

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Assessment Essay
What is self-reliance to this kind of man?

TEACHER GUIDE
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
READING CHECK ANSWER KEY
Kidnapped The People Could Fly

1. c, 2. c, 3. c, 4. d, 5. d, 6. b, 7. b , 8. a, 9. a, 10. c, 1. d, 2. b , 3. answer not marked and I couldn’t find
Possible Essay Response: The Christian principle is the reading…, 4. b, 5. d, 6. a, 7. c, 8. c, 9. d, 10. a,
the golden rule: do unto others as you would have Possible Essay Response: It can travel above earthly
them do to you. The slavers are not behaving like troubles and escape captivity. ,
Christians, but they call themselves Christians. So Tar Baby
they are Christians in name only, “nominal Chris- 1. b, 2. b, 3. b, 4. d, 5. a, 6. a, 7. c, 8. a, 9. b, 10. b,
tians.”, Possible Essay Response: They hate Rabbit so much
The Confessions of Nat Turner they go against his words without even thinking.
1. b, 2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. a, 6. a, 7. b, 8. c, 9. c, 10. c, The Headless Hant
Possible Essay Response: Turner views the Travises 1. b, 2. b, 3. b, 4. b, 5. b, 6. b, 7. c, 8. d, 9. a, 10. c,
as a barrier blocking his path to fulfilling his destiny. The Signifying Monkey
Though they have been kind to him, he murders 1. b, 2. a, 3. a, 4. d, 5. a, 6. b, 7. c, 8. c, 9. d, 10. a,
them. He judges their lives as being less valuable than Possible Essay Response: He learns that he should
his own because of their color and status. not listen to Monkey’s gossip. He learns that he isn’t
Incidents in the Life of a Young Slave Girl as strong as Elephant. He learns that Monkey does
1. b, 2. a, 3. c, 4. a, 5. a, 6. a, 7. b, 8. a, 9. d, 10. d, not tell the truth. He learns that he is stronger than
Possible Essay Response: Children are not able to Monkey. ,
control their behavior and speech and would have “An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley, Ethiopian
revealed her to Dr. Flint. She was right not to tell Poetess”, 1. b, 2. c, 3. b, 4. c, 5. a, 6. a, 7. b, 8. b,
them. 9. b, 10. a, Possible Essay Response: The purpose is
Speech at Akron Convention to make Phillis and others become followers of the
1. b, 2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. c, 6. c, 7. a, 8. d, 9. b, 10. d, Christian faith.
Possible Essay Response: She speaks naturally and 2.8 “On Being Brought from Africa to America”,
authoritatively. She speaks from her own experience. “To S.M. A Young African Painter, On Seeing His
She treats the crowd with frank, motherly affection Works”, 1. b, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. c, 6. b, 7. a, 8. a, 9.
and addresses opponents with sharp, witty argu- b, Possible Essay Response: ,
ments. “Bury Me in a Free Land”, “The Slave Auction”
The Knee-High Man 1. a, 2. d, 3. a, 4. b, 5. b, 6. b, 7. a, 8. b, 9. b, 10. c,
1. b, 2. a, 3. c, 4. a, 5. b, 6. c, 7. a, 8. b, 9. c, 10. c, Possible Essay Response: Yes, they have vivid images,
Possible Essay Response: Think before you act to a strong narrative line, and a direct conversational
change yourself. Be happy with yourself as you are. , style.

GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Unit 2 Vocabulary Tests
2.3 from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
2.7 The Poems of Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Frances E.W. Harper
2.8 The Work of James Whitfield
2.9 From Clotelle: A Tale of Southern States

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.1 | “Horrors of a Slave Ship,” from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano, Part 1
Circle the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.
1. Countenance 4. Loathsomeness
a. ability to count a. scariness
b. facial expression b. laziness
c. small change in coins c. nastiness
d. a group of counts and countesses d. ugliness
2. Consternation 5. Brute
a. righteous indignation a. angry man
b. aggravation or annoyance b. animal
c. paralyzing dismay or fear c. strong man
d. extreme embarrassment d. handsome man
3. Salutation
a. military salute
b. formal letter
c. farewell
d. greeting
Circle the vocabulary word that best matches each definition.
6. Pointless; to no avail 8. Plentiful

a. valiant a. gaudy
b. copious b. overpopulated
c. false c. copious
d. vain d. wealthy
7. Infected with contagious disease; deadly 9. Extremely sad, despairing

a. mortified a. nominal
b. contaminated b. atoned
c. pestilential c. copious
d. quarantined d. dejected

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.1 | “Horrors of a Slave Ship,” from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano, Part 2
Choose from the words in the list to complete the paragraph.
dejected (past participle)

mariner
pacify
scruple
nominal
render
kindred (noun)
refinement
atone
Captain Reilly came home from the sea, where he had been living the carefree life of a ___________ for
decades. Because his only sister and her husband had died suddenly, he became the ___________ father to his
youngest ___________. These children had grown up in private schools with servants and were accustomed
to an atmosphere of ___________ in their home. They were very distraught over their parents’ deaths, and
the captain at first tried to ___________ them with tales of adventure on board his merchant ship in the
North Atlantic. Instead, they were terrified.
Old Reilly began to have a ___________ about the effect these stories had when he saw the children backing
away from him, clinging to one another, and sobbing in fear. The poor man had to ___________ the children
calm again with hot tea and bedtime stories from Mother Goose. Then, to further ___________ for his error,
he played them a round of sailor’s lullabies on his hornpipe.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.2 | From the Confessions of Nat Turner
Read each definition, and write the vocabulary word it defines where it belongs in the crossword puzzle. The
first word across and the last word down are given to you.
ACROSS DOWN
1. To abuse verbally 1. To inspect or check an area
2. To evoke by means of a magic spell 3. Permanent
3. To cause or lead to 4. To free of, rid
6. Open revolt against government 5. A joining together
7. Predestined
8. To show remorse or regret; make amends
9. Mischief
5 2
9 4

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.2 | from The Confessions of Nat Turner, Part 2
Circle the word that best completes each sentence.
1. By 2006, many began to think that the penny 3. His mental _____ allowed him to operate the
was a _____ coin. entire business by himself.
a. tedious a. austerity
b. sentinel b. fertility
c. trifling c. fragility
d. cutaneous d. posterity
2. Marco’s _____ is evident from his size eighteen 4. Because Kate is so _____, she usually finds out
shoe to his fourteen-inch scarlet ringlets. what everyone’s doing for vacation before she
makes her own plans.
a. fertility
a. invasive
b. singularity
b. conspiratorial
c. incredulity
c. inquisitive
d. assiduity
d. incorrigible
Write the letter of the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.
5. ___ zealously a. To punish
6. ___ inculcate b. Having to do with the skin
7. ___ austerity c. Stated, expressed, proclaimed
8. ___ chasten d. With enthusiastic devotion
9. ___ avowed e. The quality of being stern or disciplined
10. ___ cutaneous f. Guard
11. ___ sentinel g. To impress on the mind through repetition

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.2 | from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Write the letter of the word that best completes each sentence.
a. stratagem
b. compliance
c. depravity
d. chattel
e. divest
1. Mama’s _____ for getting Louis to practice piano began with signing him up for a talent competition.
2. It is a requirement for many religious communities that new members _____ themselves of material
possessions.
3. The military is very strict about _____ with orders from superior officers.
4. During the last days of the Roman Empire, displays of gluttony, greed, and other forms of _____ were
common.
5. In a system of slavery, human beings are considered _____ to be bought and sold and transported against
their wills.
Write a sentence with each of the following vocabulary words.
6. console
7. abhor
8. loathe
Write the letter of the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.
9. ___ apt a. Miserable, unhappy, distressed

10. ___ urchin b. Continued at full strength or force
11. ___ prudence c. Quick to learn and understand
12. ___ unabated d. Untrustworthy, dangerous, unreliable
13. ___ wretched e. Mischievous, playful youngster
14. ___ treacherous f. The exercise of good judgment

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.3 | from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Part 1
Write a sentence with each of these verbs.
1. Chime in
2. Perpetuate
3. Equivocate
4. Concede
5. Affirm
6. Flay
7. Rebuke
8. Rouse
9. Reign
10. Sunder
11. With her almond-shaped eyes and glistening long, black hair, beauty was (embodied, empowered) in
Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti.
12. Poor Brutus got another (reproach, approach) every time he met Olive.
13. Olive’s (rebound, rebuke) this time was that Brutus was too loud.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Choose from the words in the list below to complete the paragraph.
intolerable
servitude
obdurate
disparity
lament
impudence
denunciation
The founders of America decided to fight for a separation from Great Britain in order to escape the economic
____________ of high taxation and little representation. Although colonists tried more peaceful means of
escaping what they felt were ____________ crimes against their new nation, ____________ Great Britain
remained unmoved by colonial requests for more reasonable laws. The ____________ between the wealth
of the British merchants and that of the American merchants caused an outrage that led colonists to issue a
public ____________ of Great Britain’s actions. The colonists undermined British authority by committing
great acts of ____________, such as dumping a British merchant’s tea overboard into the Boston Harbor. The
Revolutionary War that followed caused both British and colonial families to ____________ the loss of loved
ones, but colonial victory resulted in the formation of America, an independent nation that, for many
families, made every hardship seem worthwhile.
Write the letter of the vocabulary word that best matches each definition.
8. ___ A song of praise

9. ___ Worshipful, pious
10. ___ Tending to overwhelm, devastating
11. ___ Pompous, inflated speech
12. ___ Form of government ruled by a tyrant, someone with absolute power and authority
a. devout
b. anthem
c. despotism
d. bombast
e. withering

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
1. In a (monarchy, theocracy), the crown passes from parent to child or younger sibling.
2. As a matter of (piety, propriety), a dancer will curtsy to her choreographer.
3. Carlton intended to make a short statement, but it turned into a long (discourse, dialogue).
4. If you see a check for a billion dollars, it is probably a (shim, sham).
5. Mark Twain was an author and a popular (despot, orator) who lectured frequently in public.
6. Casey likes a quiet home and asked Jim not to be so (tyrannical, tumultuous) when he comes in with his
friends.
7. Horatio is a (stolid, plaintive) wrestler and never feels sorry for himself when he loses.
8. The village held an anniversary (jongleur, jubilee) and forgave everyone’s tax debt.
9. Traci likes Mark and plans to give an (informative, affirmative) answer to his invitation to the dance.
10. With its drooping cheeks and downcast eyes, the basset hound seems to have a (painstaking, plaintive)
attitude.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.4 | from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 1
Read each definition, and write the matching vocabulary word where it belongs in the crossword puzzle. The
first one down and the last one across have been given to you.
DOWN
1. Boldly arrogant or offensive
2. From the mother’s side of the family
3. Incompleteness or inadequacy
4. Freedom from time-consuming duties,
responsibilities, or activities
ACROSS
5. Detestable or loathsome thing or act
6. Adequate for the purpose; capable
7. To show or determine clearly
8. Something that impairs growth or
withers hopes and ambitions
9. In an attentive and thorough manner
Write a sentence with each of the following vocabulary words.
10. avail
11. bequeath
12. malice
13. fervently
14. bewilder

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.4 | from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 2
1. In England, a (constable, comestible) does not carry a gun and patrols the neighborhood on foot, wearing
a tall, rounded hat.
2. The (procurement, provocation) for the battle was the kidnapping of two soldiers along the border.
3. One way to (convey, avail) students to school is by school bus.
4. Nathan tried to walk home during a (provocation, tempest), but he stopped at the train station after
falling several times.
5. The surgeon had to (litigate, lacerate) her patient in order to remove the infected appendix.
Think of a synonym or equivalent phrase for each vocabulary word.
6. _____________________________ contrive
7. _____________________________ intolerable
8. _____________________________ consolation
9. _____________________________ impertinent
10. _____________________________ irascible
11. _____________________________ tedious
12. _____________________________ monotony
13. _____________________________ precaution
14. _____________________________ vicinity
15. _____________________________ gay

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.5 | “Ar’n’t I a Woman?”
Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.
1. ___ Gaunt a. Restrained in expression; shy
2. ___ Uncouth b. Thin and bony; haggard
3. ___ Disapprobation c. Sharp criticism
4. ___ Reticent d. To draw out
5. ___ Timorous e. Disturbance, racket
6. ___ August f. Frustration, disappointment,

or embarrassment
7. ___ Discomfiture
g. Condemnation; moral disap-
8. ___ Betoken
proval
9. ___ Tumult
h. A crowd of people
10. ___ Throng
i. Inspiring awe or admiration
11. ___ Rebuke, noun
j. Crude, unrefined
12. ___ Elicit
k. Nervous
l. To give a sign of

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.6 | Benjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson
Choose from the words in the list below to complete the paragraph.
brutish
endowment
sentiments
providential
pitiable
candor
peruse
eradicate
imbibe
Anthony’s tall and powerful build caused many people to assume that he was a rather ____________ charac-
ter who enjoyed exerting his dominance over the weaker and more ____________ people in the world. This
misleading assumption caused Anthony terrible distress, as his mind actually possessed much more creative
and tolerant ____________. He would often ____________ the books of his favorite authors, favoring the
____________ tales in which the characters narrowly escape danger and form new, happy lives. Anthony
wished to share these wonderful stories with others, so that they, too, could ____________ the knowledge
radiating from these works. He finally joined a local book club where he could speak with ____________
about the merits of each work. His knowledge and passion for the subject were soon to ____________ the
fears that many of his peers felt toward him. Anthony found that the ____________ of friendship was much
more valuable than any book he had ever owned.
10. The school began to (seizure, censure) students for bullying.
11. The last snare drum beat will be (concave, concurrent) with the cymbal crash.
12. The distance to the farthest stars is (interminable, inestimable).
13. Elijah is so (solicitous, sequential) of his girlfriend that Mark is afraid to look at her.
14. Nadine views creamed corn with (abhorrence, abdication).
15. Dante is (insidious, assiduous) in his housekeeping chores.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.8 | “Bury Me in a Free Land,” “The Slave Auction” by Frances Harper
1. The village was in _____ after the earthquake.

a. shambles
b. shaddock
c. shaman
d. shamrock
2. Salt is _____ to an open wound.

a. yearning
b. galling
c. ugly
d. gallous
3. Miguel has a _____ stomach when it comes to cheese.

a. yearling
b. desolate
c. yearning
d. yawing
4. An amusement park in New York looks _____ in the middle of winter.

a. distended
b. insulate
c. desultory
d. desolate

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.9 | “Self-Reliance” by James Whitfield, Part 1
1. Lofty 6. Allay
a. high up in the air a. to relieve
b. egotistical, pompous b. to set aside
c. elevated in character c. to place gently
d. spiritual, unearthly d. to lie down
2. Adverse 7. Canker
a. harmless or favorable a. complainer
b. harmful or unfavorable b. small blue shellfish
c. poetic advertisement c. to infect with decay
d. forward looking d. a slipknot used in sailing
3. Ardent 8. Harbinger
a. very difficult a. a harbor bird
b. lacking energy b. one that signals the approach of something
c. passionate c. trick intended to ensnare someone
d. very angry d. a violent storm
4. Blight 9. Tempest
a. difficulty a. violent storm
b. mark or stain b. sun shower
c. disease c. tantrum
d. trick d. desert storm
5. Rend 10. Lurid

a. to provide a service a. tasteless and offensive
b. to infect b. tempting
c. to tear violently c. shining with the glare of fire
d. to relieve d. lacking energy

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.9 | “Self-Reliance” by James Whitfield, Part 2
1. Maraya thought that her new necklace was very (alluring, aligning) with its jewels and gold beads.
2. The low pressure at the top of the soda straw creates a vaccum that will (suction, succor) the soda out of
the can.
3. Keenan had to use clever (guile, wile) to get into the convention for an interview with the Secretary of
State.
4. Bloodhounds have a(n) (innate, natal) ability to track a scent and find a lost person.
5. After her long run, Sabrina flung her (languid, lingual) body down onto the sofa and stayed there for the
rest of the afternoon.
6. Hannah volunteers at the homeless shelter, teaches Sunday school, and is generally a model of
(rectitude, guile).
7. The toddler’s facial expression was (dire, dank) as he gathered breath for the next tantrum.
8. Traditionally, African folk heroes are more likely to use a (gall, wile) rather than physical strength to get
what they want.
9. Cara expressed her (rectitude, ire) at Michael by glaring at him in stubborn silence.
10. The ballerina’s (unflattering, unfaltering) talent and energy helped her through ten years of stardom.

Name: Date:
GRACE ABOUNDING
Unit 2
Vocabulary Test 2.10 | Clotelle: A Tale of Southern States

1. heart-rending 6. juncture
a. exciting a. point in time
b. disappointing b. point in space
c. romantic c. intersection
d. causing deep distress d. angle
2. lamentation 7. anecdote
a. varnish a. riddle
b. mourning b. children’s story
c. cheering c. treatment for poisoning
d. singing d. short account of a funny or interesting event
3. ascend 8. accrue
a. to float a. to climb
b. to say yes b. to increase
c. to climb c. to decrease
d. to walk d. to collect
4. deck
a. to decorate
b. to clean
c. to knock out
d. to organize
5. chastity
a. caution
b. patience
c. purity
d. prudence

TEACHER GUIDE
GRACE ABOUNDING
The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art,
Unit 2
VOCABULARY ANSWER KEY
“Horrors of a Slave Ship” from The Interesting our friendship beyond the summer vacation.,
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Part 1 3. Attorney General Martinez did not want to answer
1. b, 2. c, 3. d, 4. c, 5. b, 6. d, 7. c, 8. c, 9. d the senator’s question, so he began to equivocate.,
4. Clara will concede that Robin is the better run-
“Horrors of a Slave Ship” from The Interesting ner if Robin will concede that Clara can hit the ball
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Part 2 farther., 5. Joseph is willing to affirm the statement
1. mariner, 2. nominal, 3. kindred, 4. refinement, he made the other day about the cafeteria brawl.,
5. pacify, 6. scruple, 7. render, 8. atone 6. A cat’s claws can flay through skin in a moment.,
7. After you rebuke the child, she will probably avoid
from The Confessions of Nat Turner, Part 1 you., 8. Nat Turner’s Rebellion planned to rouse the
ACROSS, 1. revile, 2. conjure, 3. induce, slaves from sleep to massacre their masters., 9. After
6. insurrection, 7. ordained, 8. atone, 9. roguery his mother dies, Prince Charles will reign as king if
DOWN, 1. reconnoiter , 3. indelible, 4. divest, he is still alive., 10. The marriage blessing commands
5. communion that no one be permitted to sunder what God has
joined together., 11. embodied, 12. reproach,
from The Confessions of Nat Turner, Part 2 13. rebuke
1. c, 2. b, 3. b, 4. c, 5. d, 6. g, 7. e, 8. a, 9. c, 10. b,
11. f from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Part 2
from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick 1. servitude, 2. intolerable, 3. obdurate, 4. disparity,
Douglass, an American Slave 5. denunciation, 6. impudence, 7. lament, 8. b, 9. a,
1. stratagem, 2. divest, 3. compliance, 4. depravity, 5. 10. e, 11. d, 12. c
chattel, 6. Zoe tried to console Peter by telling him
he could have another kitten., 7. At first, Kai liked from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
going to camp, but after the third day of hiking in Part 3
the rain, he began to abhor it., 8. Nature is said to 1. monarchy, 2. propriety, 3. discourse, 4. sham,
loathe a vacuum., 9. c, 10. e, 11. f, 12. b, 13. a, 14. d 5. orator, 6. tumultuous, 7. stolid, 8. jubilee,
9. affirmative, 10. plaintive
from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Part 1 from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 1
1. Jamie likes to chime in whenever the conversation DOWN, 1. presumptuous, 2. maternal,
turns to movies., 2. If we want to, we can perpetuate 3. deficiency, 4. leisure

TEACHER GUIDE
GRACE ABOUNDING
The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art,
Unit 2
VOCABULARY ANSWER KEY
ACROSS, 5. abomination, 6. competent, 7. evince, “Bury Me in a Free Land,” “The Slave Auction” by
8. blight , 9. diligently, 10. Kevin was glad to avail Frances Harper
Letitia with his kitchen skills., 11. Gertrude plans to 1. a, 2. b, 3. c, 4. d
bequeath her wedding dress to her granddaughter.,
12. Maurice, the cat, has malice in his eyes when he “Self-Reliance,” by James Whitfield, Part 1
looks at my canary., 13. Shane stared fervently at 1. c, 2. b, 3. c, 4. c, 5. c, 6. a, 7. c, 8. b, 9. a, 10. a,
Miranda but was afraid to say hello., 14. This
computer’s features bewilder everyone, including the
“Self-Reliance,” by James Whitfield, Part 2
teacher.
1. alluring, 2. succor, 3. wile, 4. innate, 5. languid,
6. rectitude, 7. dire, 8. wile, 9. ire, 10. unfaltering,
from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Part 2
1. constable, 2. provocation, 3. convey, 4. tempest, 5.
lacerate, 6. plan, 7. unbearable, 8. comfort, 9. fresh, from Clotelle: A Tale of Southern States
10. testy, 11. tiresome, 12. sameness, 13. preparation, 1. d, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. c, 6. a, 7. d, 8. d
14. area, 15. delightful
“Ar’n’t I a Woman?”
1. b, 2. j, 3. g, 4. a, 5. k, 6. i, 7. f, 8. l, 9. e, 10. h, 11.
c, 12. d
Benjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson

1. brutish, 2. pitiable, 3. sentiments, 4. peruse,
5. providential, 6. imbibe, 7. candor, 8. eradicate,
9. endowment, 10. censure, 11. concurrent,
12. inestimable, 13. solicitous, 14. abhorrence,
15. assiduous

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GRACE ABOUNDING

The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art

Teacher Kit Unit 2

About the Teacher Resource Kits

Reading Check Tests

2.1 from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

2.2 “The Confessions of Nat Turner”

2.3 from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

2.4 from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

2.5 Letter to Thomas Jeﬀerson by Benjamin Banneker

1 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Time: Forty-ﬁve minutes

Mini Lesson 1: Introduction to Rhetorical Questions

Mini Lesson 2: Rhetorical Questions in Writing

rhetorical question. A question to which no answer is expected

2 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

The Rhetorical Question 1

3) “Must every tender feeling be sacriﬁced to your avarice?”

3 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

The Rhetorical Question 2

4 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

5 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Lesson Plan 2.2 | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”

Skill Objective: To be able to analyze and describe tone in literary writing

Time: Forty-ﬁve minutes

Mini Lesson 1: Understanding Tone

Mini Lesson 2: Wordplay

(continued on next page)

6 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Lesson Plan 2.2, continued | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”

diction. Choice and use of words in speech or writing

colloquial speech. Speech used by speciﬁc groups of people in everyday conversation

7 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Student Handout 2.2 | “The Confessions of Nat Turner”

8 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Lesson Objective: Write sentences using a variety of structures

Time: Forty-ﬁve minutes

Mini Lesson 1: Sentence Variety Overview (Student Handout 1)

Mini Lesson 2: Varying Sentence Structure (Student Handout 2)

9 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Varying Sentence Structure

10 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

3. My torment came from thinking about my enslaved condition.

11 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

9. Looking forward to a time in which it would be safe for me to escape.

12 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Lesson Plan 2.4 | From Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Concept Objective: Observe that punctuation rules contribute to clarity of meaning

Time: Forty-ﬁve minutes

Mini Lesson: Applying the Rules of Punctuation

13 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Student Handout 2.4 | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Applying the Rules of Punctuation

14 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Student Handout 2.4, continued | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

15 © 2006 Core Knowledge Foundation

Student Handout 2.4, continued | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

8) The air was stiﬂing; the darkness total.

9) I had a shuddering superstitious feeling, that it was a bad omen.