Riding Freedom

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Charlotte’s Scrapbook”

In this activity, students will design and create a scrapbook of Charlotte’s travels.

Disguising her gender, Charlotte traveled throughout the 1800s. Research some of the places she would have seen and create a scrapbook of her travels.

• Review sections of the novel to list places Charlotte travels and details mentioned.
• Note Charlotte’s voice, how she interacts with others, and how she reflects on situations.
• Research 3-5 places she experiences. List details to show what each location would have been like in the 1800s.
• Using your research and details from the novel, create a scrapbook Charlotte might have made for her travels. Include visuals and words. Stay true to Charlotte’s voice.
• Include a bibliography of resources you use.

Present your scrapbook, explaining key details you learned about the geography or history of the places Charlotte experienced.

Discuss Charlotte’s voice, what details from the novel you noticed, and how you applied them to your project.

Teaching Suggestion: This project connects to the themes of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices and Persevering Despite Any Obstacle as Charlotte faces danger and hardship traveling in pursuit of her dreams. Conducting a think-aloud for an example of part of this process could benefit students. For example, students can read a short section of the novel aloud, discuss what they notice about Charlotte’s voice, identify details about places she went, and discuss how they apply them to part of a scrapbook page. As an alternative to whole-class presentations, students might participate in a gallery walk and display the scrapbooks in class.

ACTIVITY 2: “The Real Charlotte Parkhurst”

In this activity, students will research the protagonist.

The novel is a fictionalized account of Charlotte Parkhurst’s life. Research more about this historical figure and identify true facts in the novel, any ways the novel shifted from historical events, and additional facts about her real life.

• Find at least two trustworthy nonfiction resources about Charlotte Parkhurst.
• Read each and take notes.
• Prepare to discuss what you can verify in the novel as accurate, any inconsistencies, and additional facts you find.

Discuss your research in your small group.

Write a journal about your reflections on Charlotte Parkhurst. What lessons can we learn from her life?

Teaching Suggestion: This project provides an opportunity for studying or reviewing what makes a trustworthy research source. The class also might revisit any of the resources from the unit. As an extension, students could include a bibliography or annotated bibliography in their project. It could be interesting to add a discussion regarding why the author might have taken any liberties with the truth in the novel. Additionally, this project could serve as an opportunity to study or revisit the “Author Summary” at the end of the novel.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Though years pass in which Charlotte does not see Vern, Vern remains influential in Charlotte’s life.

• In what ways is Vern important to Charlotte? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss the times in the novel when Vern’s influence on Charlotte is clear. Incorporate at least 3 quotations and additional evidence to support your points.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain a lesson the reader can learn from Vern.

2. In the presidential election between Grant and Seymour, Charlotte casts her vote.

• What is the significance of Charlotte’s vote? (topic sentence)
• Explain how previous events in the novel lead up to or “set the stage” for the moment Charlotte votes. Analyze and discuss how her vote also reveals and/or reaffirms her character traits.
• In your conclusion, evaluate the effectiveness of Charlotte’s vote in the structure of the novel.

3. A novel’s title can carry multiple meanings. Reflect on the title, Riding Freedom.

• What is the strongest, clearest meaning behind this title? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss at least 3 different meanings the title conveys in the context of the events of the book. Provide rationale for your topic sentence (why your choice is the strongest meaning behind the title). As you develop your essay, incorporate details and examples that support your ideas.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how the strongest meaning of the title relates to the present day.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Charlotte demonstrates her extraordinary nature in many ways. What traits does Charlotte display throughout her life? What do her choices in the orphanage, while growing up, and as an adult reveal about her? Which characteristics stand out at different ages? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze Charlotte’s traits, explaining how her choices reveal both consistency in her attributes and growth in her character.

2. The novel begins with a ride. What large journeys do characters make and why? How does daily movement affect characters? In what ways are these shifts in place symbolic? In a 3- or 5- paragraph essay, discuss the role of movement in the novel. Explain how movement affects and reveals the characters and builds a lesson for the reader. Connect your analysis to the theme of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the significance of the bracelet Charlotte wears?

A) Vern gives Charlotte the bracelet after her first horse race; wearing it throughout her life gives her strength to persevere.

B The bracelet is made of the rein she was found holding after the death of her parents; she later shares it with Hayward, connecting them across distance.

C) Charlotte crafted the bracelet while taking care of the horses in the orphanage, and its shape reminds her of Freedom; she reflects on it when making important choices.

D) The bracelet includes material from her days in the orphanage kitchen; it reminds Charlotte to pursue her goals and motivates her through challenges.

2. Which scene best develops the theme of Persevering Despite Any Obstacle?

A) Charlotte buying her own ranch in Watsonville

B) Hay writing to Charlotte over the years and her returning the letters

C) Ulysses S. Grant running for president despite opposition

D) Ebeneezer leaving his home on the East Coast and moving out West

3. What does Charlotte’s experience illuminate about Gender Roles in 19th-Century America?

A) Women could have the same jobs as men but did not have the same rights with money.

B) Women had equality in the west, but in the eastern cities, they encountered discrimination.

C) Women expected to work in stables, while men had easier jobs in a household.

D) Women were excluded from many jobs, experiences, and rights.

4. Which of the following best describes Charlotte’s relationship with horses?

A) Throughout her life, Charlotte is drawn to horses and cares deeply about them.

B) Charlotte is uneasy around horses until she begins to drive the stagecoach.

C) Charlotte enjoys watching horses and owns several horses later in life.

D) Charlotte bets on the horse races, which is how she gets the money to buy her own land.

5. How does getting kicked by a horse soon after arriving in California affect Charlotte?

A) It deprives her of driving rights initially, but after hard work, she drives again and makes it part of her legend.

B) It shifts the course of her life, leading her away from driving a stagecoach and toward politics.

C) It makes her a target of other drivers; their harassment leads her to seek isolation and avoid people.

D) It keeps her in the hospital for months; when she returns to work, she becomes a scheduler instead of driver, which she prefers.

6. Which of the following best describes Vern?

A) Unkind, lonely, and stubborn

B) Quiet, moody, and resourceful

C) Compassionate, determined, and wise

D) Funny, caring, and wealthy

7. Why does Charlotte dress as a male most of her life?

A) Charlotte prefers men’s fashions after first trying on Hay’s clothes in the orphanage.

B) Charlotte maintains this disguise to hide from Vern, who is trying to find her.

C) Charlotte thinks men’s clothes make it easier to run in the races she competes in.

D) Charlotte wants to travel and work in ways that would be denied her as a woman.

8. What type of figurative language does the following quotation incorporate?

“News of how the one-eyed stage driver saved the lives of those people spread like warm honey.” (Chapter 9)

A) Irony

B) Hyperbole

C) Simile

D) Personification

9. How are Charlotte and Margaret similar?

A) They both drive for Ebeneezer’s stagecoach company and fight for women to be able to vote.

B) They both are clever and strong, and seek ways to survive in a world that withholds their rights.

C) They both are about the same age, prefer cities to open land, and lost their parents when they were young.

D) They both spend time in the hospital after getting injured at work and protest for better medical conditions.

10. What trait does Charlotte possess her entire life?

A) Self-doubt

B) Confidence

C) Haughtiness

D) Humor

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What is symbolic about Charlotte’s decision to vote?

2. What is important about the names Charlotte gives to the two horses born on her ranch?