Uprising

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.

“Drawing the Women’s Escape into Their Dreams”

After reading Uprising, students reflect on the three main characters’ struggle to escape their circumstances and pursue their dreams. Students then create a visual representation of the text’s symbolic use of fire escapes to represent the characters’ escape into their individual dreams of the future.

When Bella, Yetta, and Jane talk together on the fire escape, they imagine how their lives might someday change. The fire escape is more than just a literal place to go to try to escape a fire—it’s also a symbol of their desire to escape their dreary circumstances and find a better life. During the Triangle Fire, unfortunately, not all of the women are able to use a fire escape to save themselves; not all of the women live to find a better future. Imagine, however, that during the fire, there are three fire doors leading to three magical fire escapes. Each fire escape leads directly to the future that one of the women dreams of. Draw each woman opening the door to her own fire escape and depict the future she is about to step into.

Part A: Your Research

Before you start drawing, gather details and evidence from the story. Looking for places where the text describes the three women—their appearances, their values, and their hopes and dreams. Your drawings should be based on this evidence and should be appropriate to the period in which the story takes place. (You may want to research images online to use as inspiration.)

Part B: Your Drawings

Use three separate sheets of paper for your drawings. Each drawing should show one of the three women opening a fire door with the view of her dream future on the other side. The design and composition of your drawing is up to you; for example, perhaps the viewer sees the character’s back framed by the open doorway and can look past the character into her future. Instead, you may want to create a series of panels, like in a graphic novel.  Maybe you have a different idea; any style of drawing is fine, as long as each drawing contains all of the required parts.

Part C: Your Reasoning

At the bottom or on the back of each drawing, write a paragraph that supports the choices you made in the drawing. Give details from throughout the text to support the way you drew the character and her future.

Teaching Suggestion: Although this entire assignment can be completed individually, it can also be assigned to small groups in the interest of time. Even if Parts B and C are completed individually, you might wish to allow students to collaborate on Part A, in small groups or as a whole class; they may find richer and more varied evidence through collaboration. Part C can be made more challenging by asking students to provide specific kinds of evidence—direct and indirect characterization, for instance, or both plot detail and diction.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who are English language learners or those with attentional or executive function challenges may benefit from being allowed to gather and discuss evidence with a partner or small group before moving on to complete the other two steps of the assignment. English language learners or those with difficulties with written expression might be allowed to simply list evidence rather than providing it in the form of a paragraph. Students with visual or small motor challenges can be asked to describe the images they imagine using text instead of graphic representation, or they can work with computer drawing programs or images sourced online if this is more appropriate for their needs. Students whose processing speed makes the assignment too lengthy can be asked to complete only one of the three required drawings.