This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Uprising
Summary: In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston reluctantly recalls her experiences at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, including miserable working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire that took the lives of her two best friends, when Harriet, the boss’s daughter, was only five years old. Includes historical notes.
Author Web Site: http://www.haddixbooks.com
Teacher’s Guide (Indepth Lesson Plan):
http://urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us/lessonplans/triangle/index.html
Related Links: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Triangle Factory Fire Online Exhibit by Cornell University
Related Links: The Gilded Age
Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt (NPR Article with Photos)
Related Links: New York City History
Big Apple History from PBS Kids
Related Links: Shirtwaists
Related Links: Strikes and Labor Unions
AFL-CIO: The Uprising of 20,000 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Related Links: Women’s Suffrage
Alva Vanderbilt Belmont: Suffragist
Related Links: Wright Brothers
Discovery Channel: The Wright Stuff
National Geographic: Short Video on History of Flight
Read Aloud Recommendation: This book would be a good choice when studying the Industrial Revolution, suffrage/women’s rights, immigration, the Gilded Age, or American immigration. It’s also an engaging example of historical fiction. Knowing that two characters perish in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, but not knowing which character survived keeps the reader intrigued.