Riding Freedom

60 pages • 2 hours read

Riding Freedom

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

“IN THE BEGINNING”-CHAPTER 3

Reading Check

1. How do Charlotte’s parents die?

2. What horse does Charlotte ride in the race against William?

3. Who is Charlotte’s best friend at the orphanage?

4. Who helps Charlotte run away from the orphanage?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Vern approach the naming of the horses?

2. What happens to Freedom, and how does it affect Charlotte?

3. Why does Charlotte run away from the orphanage?

4. How does Charlotte disguise herself as she runs away? What are her reasons?

Paired Resource

“Women Soldiers of the Civil War”

This history reference article from the National Archives details several of the women who disguised their identity to serve as soldiers in the Civil War.
This article’s content connects to the themes of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices and Persevering Despite Any Obstacle.
What difficult decisions has Charlotte made, and what advice might she offer to others?

CHAPTER 4-“IN THE MIDDLE”

Reading Check

1. As Charlotte runs away, what signal does she leave to let Vern know she is safe?

2. Who comes looking for Charlotte?

3. Where does Charlotte stay the first night after arriving in Worcester, Massachusetts?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Ebeneezer gives Charlotte the chance to drive a coach with six horses, how does she approach the challenge?

2. What does Charlotte do to maintain her identity as Charley, and what does this reveal about her?

Paired Resource

“Fighting for Rights”

This Time for Kids article presents information about Rena Kanokogi, who fought for gender equality in judo.
This resource connects to the themes of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices, Persevering Despite Any Obstacle, and Gender Roles in 19th-Century America.
Though they lived at different times, what similarities exist between Rena and Charlotte?

CHAPTERS 6-8

Reading Check

1. Why does Charlotte steer the horses into the mud bog on purpose?

2. Of whom does Charlotte remind Ebeneezer?

3. How long does it take for Charlotte to get to California from the East Coast?

4. How does Charlotte lose sight in her eye?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Charlotte go to California?

2. How does Ebeneezer react to Charlotte telling him she is leaving for California?

3. On the first drive she completes with sight in only one eye, how does Charlotte save the lives of everyone on her coach?

Paired Resource

“Stagecoach Driver: Charley Parkhurst”

This resource from the Elk Grove Historical Society includes information about the life of Charlotte Parkhurst.
This information connects to the themes of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices, Persevering Despite Any Obstacle, and Gender Roles in 19th-Century America.
What facts in this article match those in the novel? In what ways did the novel’s author take literary liberties?

CHAPTER 9-“IN THE END”

Reading Check

1. Who puts the sign on Charlotte’s property?

2. Who arrives and helps deliver the horses on Charlotte’s property?

3. What names does Charlotte give the two new horses born on her ranch?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Charlotte help Margaret? What does this reveal about Charlotte’s character?

2. What does casting her vote mean to Charlotte?

3. How does Vern’s influence continue to affect Charlotte years after last seeing him?

Paired Resource

“Women’s Suffrage Movement”

National Geographic Kids explains important information about the movement to grant women the right to vote.
This resource site includes information that connects to the novel’s themes of Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices, Persevering Despite Any Obstacle, and Gender Roles in 19th-Century America.
How does Charlotte respond to Hay about voting? What aspects of this article might she have included in her response?

Recommended Next Reads

Gold Rush Girl by Avi

In the mid-1800s, Victoria has few rights, but she takes matters into her own hands by sneaking onto a boat to California. When her brother is kidnapped, she is determined to find him, despite the danger.
Shared themes include Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices, Persevering Despite Any Obstacle, and Gender Roles in 19th-Century America.
Shared topics include friendship, danger, the gold rush, travel, growing up, helping others, and identity.

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

One day, three girls from a fairy tale save a young boy and trust him with their freedom. As their enchanted harmonica passes from person to person throughout the 1930s to the 1950s, lives intertwine across space and time.
Shared themes include Having the Courage to Make Difficult Choices and Persevering Despite Any Obstacle.
Shared topics include history, helping others, danger, friendship, orphanages, oppression, and identity.
Echo on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

“IN THE BEGINNING”-CHAPTER 3

Reading Check

1. In a stagecoach accident (“In the Beginning”)

2. Freedom (Chapter 1)

3. Hayward (Hay) (Chapter 1)

4. Hay and Vern (Chapters 2-3)

Short Answer

1. Vern believes the names should be important and help to communicate a story. For example, Vern named Freedom for his own dangerous journey to freedom from slavery. (Chapter 1)

2. Freedom dies from an infection. Charlotte is very upset, but rather than avoid horses, she turns to cleaning the stables to distract and comfort herself. (Chapters 1-2)

3. Charlotte feels trapped. Mrs. Boyle prevented Charlotte from being adopted when she was young. As Charlotte grows older, she is told she can no longer ride or care for the horses and must spend all her time in the kitchen. Also, Hay is adopted and moves away. (Chapters 2-3)

4. Charlotte disguises herself as a boy, knowing boys can travel unquestioned, while a girl would be sent back to the orphanage. Also, she is safer as a boy on her own than she would be as a girl. (Chapter 3)

CHAPTER 4-“IN THE MIDDLE”

Reading Check

1. A pile of rocks by the town sign (Chapter 4)

2. Mr. Millshark (Chapter 5)

3. In the hayloft of the barn where the stagecoach horses live (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Charlotte finds driving the stagecoach very difficult at first, but even when Ebeneezer suggests she stop, Charlotte perseveres until she can drive the vehicle safely. With each attempt, she learns from her mistakes and improves. Charlotte shows determination and also sees this opportunity as a test Ebeneezer is giving her; she hopes to be able to stay and work for him. (Chapter 5)

2. Charlotte dresses as a boy and then a man through the years. She develops a raspy voice from shouting at horses on stagecoach runs, and she learns to talk and act as people would expect from a man to conceal her true identity. Her choices reveal her determination to be a stagecoach driver; they also demonstrate her courage and perseverance. (“In the Middle”)

CHAPTERS 6-8

Reading Check

1. In the interest of revenge, Charlotte makes Mr. Millshark get out to help so that he will be sprayed with mud. (Chapter 6)

2. His daughter who died (Chapter 7)

3. One month (Chapter 7)

4. While she was trying to put a shoe on a horse, the horse kicked her. (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Men she used to work with visit and talk about the benefits. Charlotte still has her dream of owning property (the dream she shared with her friend Hay), and land is cheaper out West. (Chapter 7)

2. At first, Ebeneezer tries to talk Charlotte out of moving. He is concerned for her safety but also reveals he will miss her. She is an amazing employee, and he cares about her well-being. (Chapter 7)

3. During a storm, Charlotte stops to test the bridge and insists that her passengers walk safely across before bringing the stage across. The weight of the stage causes the bridge to collapse, and had the passengers still been inside, they would have been swept into the raging water. (Chapter 8)

CHAPTER 9-“IN THE END”

Reading Check

1. Hay (Chapter 9)

2. Ebeneezer (“In the End”)

3. Vern’s Thunder and Freedom (“In the End”)

Short Answer

1. Charlotte buys the land Margaret lives on and only asks that she help with the chickens and cooking. This action reveals Charlotte’s generosity and compassion in helping another woman struggling against unfair laws. (Chapter 9)

2. Charlotte has proclaimed women know as much as and sometimes more than men who get to vote. She knows she deserves to vote even though the law has not changed yet. She reflects that her vote is a way to give voice to all women, a chance to stand up for herself as a young girl, and an action that honors Vern, whose voice was also silenced. (Chapter 10)

3. Charlotte thinks of Vern often. When her horses are born, she reflects on what advice Vern would give her. Charlotte also honors his way of naming horses as she carefully considers how to name Freedom and Vern’s Thunder. (“In the End”)