untitledSending a note is as easy as handing it over, or as tricky as hiding it. Long ago a Persian king sent a note to his general by shaving a man’s head and tattooing the note onto the man’s bald scalp. The hair grew back and covered the note. Then the man carried the message to the general, without anyone guessing what he hid. To read the note, the general shaved the man’s head.
The Persians also carried messages by hand. A man on foot could carry a note more than 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) a day. If a message had to travel a long way, a new runner was placed every 30 miles (50 kilometers) or so to take over carrying the message.
In China, where people used the same hand-to-hand system, the runners wore bells on their belts. From a long way off, the jingling bells warned the new runner to get ready for a mail delivery. If a message had to go quickly, the sender stuck a feather on it. The feather meant “Carry this letter as fast as a bird flies.” Even though the note never left the ground, you could say it went airmail express.
The Spy Who Combed Her Hair
Even when mail could travel by boat and train, spies found hand-to-hand delivery safer. In the 1860s, during the American Civil War, Rose Greenhow spied for the Southern states. One day, she found out that the Northern (Union) army was ready to march South. She asked a young friend, Betty Duvall, to carry a warning to the Southern (Confederate) army. She wrote the message in cipher, folded it into a tiny packet, and sewed it with silk. Then Betty wound her long hair into a bun and placed the packet in her hair, holding it in place with a comb. Dressed as a farm girl, Betty safely carried the message in her hair.
When Rose Greenhow feared that she might be caught, she smuggled all her spy papers out of her house. Some she hid in the folds of her dress, some she asked a friend to carry out in her shoes, and others were carried out in a guitar case.
After she was caught (by Allan Pinkerton, who founded the U.S. Secret Service), Rose Greenhow still sent and received spy messages. She coded them by sewing them into cloth. The colors of the thread gave news of the war. The soldiers guarding her never stopped the traffic in secret messages—after all, it was nothing but sewing!…
“Secret Messages from History” by Sharon Bailly. From Pass It On, copyright © 1995 Sharon Bailly. Reprinted with the permission of Sharon Bailly.
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Throughout history, people have used many clever ways to send secret messages. Read this article to discover how these messages were sent. Then answer the questions. Some questions may ask you about certain paragraphs. The numbers are found on the left side of the paragraphs.
Secret Messages from History by Sharon Bailly
0414
A. lost.
B. decoded.
C. delivered.
D. misunderstood.
150823-0414
1. In paragraph 1 of the article, the word tattooing means
A. brushing.
B. pinning.
C. gluing.
D. marking.
150827-0414
1. Which happened first in the incident involving the Persian messenger?
A. The king tattooed the messenger.
B. The general shaved the messenger’s head.
C. The king shaved the messenger’s head.
D. The messenger delivered the message.
150830-0414
1. In paragraph 2, the author states that “A man on foot could carry a note more than 30 miles.” This is
A. a belief.
B. an opinion.
C. a fact.
D. an idea.
1. Chinese messengers differed from Persian messengers in that they
A. delivered messages by hand.
B. wore bells on their belts.
C. ran for long distances.
D. relayed messages among runners.
150826-0414
1. Betty Duvall agreed to carry Rose Greenhow’s message just after Rose
A. learned of the Union army’s plans.
B. was captured by Allen Pinkerton.
C. wrote the message in cipher.
D. dressed as a farm girl.
150834-0414
1. In paragraph 5 of the article, the word smuggled means
A. immediately mailed.
B. quickly threw.
C. secretly carried.
D. angrily chased.
A. Messages can be sent in unusual ways.
B. Allan Pinkerton founded the U.S. Secret Service.
C. Women spied during the Civil War.
D. Persians ran many miles to deliver messages.
150835-0414
1. Why did Rose Greenhow remove all her spy papers from her house?
A. They were needed elsewhere.
B. She was afraid she would be caught.
C. She wanted to test the enemy’s security.
D. She had a safer place to hide them.
150836-0414
1. Based on the entire article, what question could best be answered?
A. What clever ways do people use to send secret messages?
B. How fast does a Persian runner run?
C. How are secret messages sent today?
D. How was traveling by boat and train safer for people who deliver messages?
150837-0414
Please write your response in the space below.
1. Tell 1 word that describes what spies are like. Then give 3 examples from the article to support your choice.
150828-0414
Item # Correct Answer
Strand Sub- Strand
Benchmark Cognitive Level
150823-0414 C MC I C 5 B 150827-0414 D MC I B 4 A 150830-0414 C MC I C 13 B 150833-0414 C MC I C 8 C 150826-0414 B MC I C 10 B 150834-0414 A MC I C 7 B 150832-0414 C MC I B 4 A 150835-0414 A MC I C 5 B 150836-0414 B MC I C 5 A 150837-0414 A MC I C 3 B 150828-0414 See Annotation CR I D 8 C
MCA-II Item Sampler Rubric, Sample Responses and Answer Annotations
Grade 5 Reading Rubric:
Score Description 4 Student response includes one word that describes what spies are
like and uses three examples from the article that supports the descriptive word.
3 Student response includes one word that describes what spies are like and uses two examples from the article that supports the descriptive word. OR Student uses three examples from the article that supports the descriptive word.
2 Student response includes one word that describes what spies are like and uses one example from the article that supports the descriptive word. OR Student uses two examples from the article that supports the descriptive word.
1 Student response includes one word that describes what spies are like but does not use examples from the article that supports the descriptive word. OR Student uses one example from the article that supports the descriptive word without an example from the article that supports the descriptive word.
0 Response is incorrect or irrelevant. Sample Response: Rose Greenhow was tricky. She didn’t send messages by regular mail because her enemies might stop them. When she thought she was about to be caught, she smuggled all of her spy papers out of her house. Even after she was caught she was tricky enough to send messages by using color-coded thread in her clothes.
Score Point: 4 This response completed all four components. This response describes spies as “sneaky.” As well the response gives at least three examples from the article in support (1 – “she smuggled a letter out of the Union’s area by sticking the note in her friend’s hair,” 2 – “she hid notes in folds on her dress,” 3 – “her friend shoes,” and other examples).
Score Point: 4 This response completed all four components. This response describes spies as “brave.” The response also gives three examples from the article in support (1 – “she spied in the war,” 2 – “she got caught, but she kept on sending messages,” and 3 – “smuggled her spy stuff out of her house”).
Score Point: 3 This response completed three of the four components. This response describes spies as “sly.” The response gives only two examples from the article that supports their word choice (1 – “messages were hidden” and 2 – “acted normal so nobody could find out that they are spies”).
Score Point: 3 This response completed three of the four components. This response describes spies as “sneaky.” The response gives two examples from the article that supports their word choice (1 – “they smuggled papers and other stuff out,” and 2 – “code and syfer” to communicate).
Score Point: 2 This response completed two of the four components. This response does provide a word to describe spies (determined). The response does give an example from the article (“they went long distances”).
Score Point: 2 This response completed two of the four components. This response provides a word to describe spies (sneaky). The response gives an example from the article (“she found a way to hide the note, she dressed as a farm girl and carried it in her hair”).
Score Point: 1 This response completed only one of the four components. The response describes spies as sneaky. There are no accurate examples from the article that supports this word. (“Not noticeable with the shaved head” is inaccurate).
Score Point: 1 This response completed only one of the four components. The response does not give an appropriate word to describe spies according to the article. This response does provide one long example (“Rose was working for the northern states, she told the southern states...”).
Score Point: 0 This response does not identify an appropriate word or examples from the article. The spies in the article did not “search” for information but rather passed it along.