Uprising

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

Pages 1-69

Reading Check

1. What did Harriet’s father own?

2. Who is Yetta’s sister?

Short Answer

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

1. For what two reasons does Pietro think it would be better for Bella to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory instead of for Signora Luciano?

2. How do the young women with whom Jane has tea react to her comments about seeing the factory girls?

3. What does Rahel tell Yetta when Yetta suggests that Bella should be invited to join their union?

Paired Resource

“Bread and Roses” by James Oppenheim

• Lyrics to a protest song about the 1912 textile workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, often referred to as the “Bread and Roses Strike.” The phrase “bread and roses” originates in a speech by women’s suffrage activist Helen Todd.
• Students can listen to the song here.
• This content relates to the themes of In America, Money Is God and The Dismissal of Women as a Group.
• What ideas about women and the labor movement does this song express? How do these ideas reflect what is happening in the lives of Yetta, Bella, and Jane? How do you imagine each of these women would respond to the song “Bread and Roses”?

Pages 70-121

Reading Check

1. Besides English, what language is Yetta’s sign printed in?

2. What does Signor Carlotti offer the workers to enjoy during their lunchtime?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Bella give her wages to Signor Luciano?

2. Why does Jane lose interest in Eleanor’s proposed European tour?

3. What must Yetta explain to Jane about how long the strike will last for workers at the larger factories?

Paired Resource

“1909 Uprising” and “Clara Lemlich at the Cooper Union (Reenactment)”

• These 2-minute and 1-minute videos offer background on the 1909 strike and the stirring speech given by a 23-year-old worker from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The second video is a reenactment of Clara Lemlich Shavelson’s speech in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.
• This content relates to the themes of In America, Money Is God and The Dismissal of Women as a Group.
• How do these videos help you understand the power and significance of Clara Lemlich Shavelson’s speech? After watching the videos and thinking about how women in the book are treated, why do you guess the author chose female perspectives in the narration of this story? Why do you think Mrs. Livingston would say that the story really begins with the strike Shavelson inspired?

Pages 122-167

Reading Check

1. What terrible news does Signor Luciano tell Bella when she asks him whether he sent her money to her parents?

2. Who acts as a translator between Jane and Bella?

Short Answer

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

1. When Yetta says she is tired of the society women, what does Rahel point out to Yetta about their contributions to the strike?

2. When Jane brings Bella to her home, how does Jane’s behavior toward Bella contradict Miss Millhouse’s instructions?

3. After Yetta and Bella leave her house, what does Jane remember her mother telling her?

Paired Resource

“The Difficult Path” by Grace Lin

• This 25-minute video offers both the text and an audio version of Grace Lin’s short story about how literacy changes the life of a girl who has been sold into servitude.
• This content relates to the themes of Coded Spaces and Rules of Engagement, Communication and Language Barriers, and The Dismissal of Women as a Group.
• How does Lingsi’s literacy offer her a route to escape both her living situation and the constraints of gender roles? How does Bella’s inability to read limit her control over her own life? What themes and motifs do “The Difficult Path” and Uprising have in common?

Pages 168-228

Reading Check

1. Whom does Rahel tell Yetta she is going to marry?

2. What does a child try to steal from Jane when she is in the streets outside the place she shares with Yetta and Bella?

Short Answer

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

1. What causes Bella to refuse Signor Carlotti’s gifts at first?

2. What advice does Eleanor give Jane about her father?

3. What careless habit of the cutters presents a danger to everyone in the factory?

Paired Resource

“2022 International Women of Courage Award”

• The article offers brief profiles of the 12 women honored by the US Department of State for their leadership in international human rights causes.
• This content relates to the themes of Coded Spaces and Rules of Engagement and The Dismissal of Women as a Group.
• Which of the women in this article do you most admire? What kinds of risks are these women willing to face in order to promote social justice? How are Jane, Bella, and Yetta each willing to make sacrifices and take risks for their cause?

Pages 229-286

Reading Check

1. What does Charles Livingston study?

2. Who accompanies Jane when she goes to the factory on the day of the fire?

Short Answer

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

1. When Jane and Yetta ask Bella what she wants from life, what unrealistic wish and what realistic wish does she express?

2. What has Jane’s father been telling people about her absence from home, and why does he tell them this?

3. When the factory catches fire, why does Yetta not immediately leave the factory?

Paired Resource

“The Ethical Dilemma of Self-Driving Cars”

• This 4-minute video from TED-Ed offers an introduction to ethical considerations in the programming of self-driving cars.
• Do you agree that in some situations it might be morally right for a car to be programmed to sacrifice your life? What does Yetta want Rahel to sacrifice for their cause? How might these two women react to the question about how to program self-driving cars?

Pages 287-330

Reading Check

1. When Bella looks down the fire escape, what does she see at the bottom?

2. Whom does Bella imagine that she sees in the smoke on the 10th floor?

Short Answer

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

1. When Yetta tells Jacob that she does not want to burn, what story of Rahel’s is she remembering?

2. What stops Jane from telling the elevator operator who she is?

3. What does Harriet realize about Mrs. Livingston, and why is the woman’s identity so important to Harriet?

Recommended Next Reads

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson

• Young adult historical fiction that portrays children impacted by the Bread and Roses Strike
• Shared topics include unionizing, labor strikes, labor conditions in the early 20th century, immigrant life, sacrifice, and family relationships during times of crisis.
• Shared themes include In America, Money Is God; Coded Spaces and Rules of Engagement; Communication and Language Barriers; and Romance and Dreams.
• Bread and Roses, Too on SuperSummary

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

• A highly regarded young-adult novel in verse that tells the story of Clara Lemlich and her work on behalf of the American labor movement
• Shared topics include unionizing, the Triangle Shirtwaist strike, labor conditions in the early 20th century, Jewish immigrant life, courage, and sacrifice.
• Share themes include In America, Money Is God; Coded Spaces and Rules of Engagement; and The Dismissal of Women as a Group.