Uprising

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you know about American immigration at the beginning of the 20th century? What countries did most immigrants come from during this period? What were their reasons for coming to the US? Where did the largest numbers of immigrants settle? Generally, what were their lives like once they arrived?

Teaching Suggestion: The first question in this series can be answered from students’ prior knowledge, but the more specific questions that follow may be beyond some students’ historical knowledge. You might ask students to pause after answering the first question, then allow them time to peruse the resources listed below before attempting to answer the remaining questions.

• This article from UShistory.org offers an introduction to the “new immigrants” in turn-of-the-century America.
• This presentation from the National Women’s History Museum offers a historical overview of the female immigrant experience in America.

2. What is a sweatshop? When were sweatshops most common in the United States? What kinds of people worked in these places, and what were their working conditions like? Are sweatshops completely a thing of the past?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students will have at least some understanding of the term “sweatshop” and be able to answer the first question in this series from their own knowledge. It may be beneficial to allow students time to learn more from the resources listed below before they attempt to answer the remaining questions.

• This article from the National Museum of American History offers a thorough historical overview of sweatshops in America.
• This article from the Los Angeles Times describes modern-day sweatshop conditions in Los Angeles.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Imagine that you are an adult and that the country you presently live in is experiencing severe food shortages, hyperinflation, and a collapsing economy. You decide to move to a country where you can get a job and build a future for yourself. What are some of the qualities you would look for when choosing a new country? Why? What are some of the characteristics you would want to avoid? Why? How do you imagine you would feel if your choices were severely limited, and you had to move to a country that did not meet your most important criteria?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be beneficial to guide students away from using the names of particular countries or generalizations about particular regions of the world. Instead, students might focus their responses on criteria such as a familiar language, openness to immigration, the strength of the economy, etc. Some students may protest that they would never leave their country; for the purposes of this prompt, they have already decided and are only being asked what would make a good or bad host country. If you choose to have students respond in writing, you might afterward ask some to share their answers to the final question aloud—a discussion of this point will help students develop empathy for the characters in the book they are about to read.