Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Colonial America (1492-1776)
Fugitive Slave Laws

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

Fugitive Slave Laws
Print Fugitive Slave Laws Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print Fugitive Slave Laws Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print Fugitive Slave Laws Reading Comprehension

Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.37

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    abolitionists, disobedience, vermont, inspiration, secede, salary, slavery, jury, cases, sponsor, testify, courthouse, provided, colonial, federal, purpose
     content words:    Native Americans, United States, Fugitive Slave Law, Underground Railroad, Anthony Burns, South Carolina, United States Congress

Fugitive Slave Laws
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     In colonial times many different types of people were slaves. Indentured servants were treated like slaves in many cases. Indentured servants promised to work for their sponsor for seven years. In return, the sponsor provided passage to the colonies on a boat, a place to live, and a job. Many times they would pay a small salary to the servant. Those seven years could be very hard.
 
2     Native Americans who were captured by settlers were sometimes forced to be slaves. They would have to do hard labor for their captors for little or no pay. Their life was hard also.
 
3     Thousands of Africans were kidnapped and brought to the colonies for the sole purpose of being sold as slaves. They were paid nothing. They lived in shacks provided by their masters. They became the property of their masters. When you buy a book, it becomes your property. A slave owner paid for a slave. The slave was now his property.
 
4     Many times slaves tried to run away. This was not easy to do. The slave owner would send out search parties when he found a slave was missing. Most of these search parties had dogs that were used to sniff out the scent of the missing slave. The slaves had to be very careful. They would try to escape through rivers and streams to make the dogs lose the scent. If a slave could, he carried ground pepper with him. He would drop the pepper behind him. When the dogs sniffed at the pepper, it made them sneeze. It also stopped up their noses. They would lose the scent.
 
5     If a slave was captured, he had no rights. The slave could be beaten, tortured, or even killed by the owner for disobedience.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Feedback on Fugitive Slave Laws
Leave your feedback on Fugitive Slave Laws   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
             Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

Colonial America (1492-1776)
             Colonial America (1492-1776)

United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 

United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861) 		 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830) 		 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870) 		 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991) 		 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806) 		 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865) 		 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945) 		 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900) 		 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918) 		 
 
    World War II  
 

50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit

Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



Copyright © 2018 edHelper