The Children's March

Preview Text Features, Introduce Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading

• Ask students by a show of hands if they would prefer to go to school or work at a job. Call on a few volunteers on each side to explain their answers. Then draw students’ attention to the image on page 24 and the child holding a sign that says “We want to go to school.” Ask students to make a prediction about why kids are holding this and other signs.
• Point out the words “Historical Fiction” at the top of page 24 and discuss what this genre is: a story based on historical events that includes some made-up characters and actions or dialogue. Draw students’ attention to the Character Box on page 25. Ask: Which characters in this play were real people? (Eddie, Gus, James, and Mother Jones)
• Build background knowledge about the issues and characters in the play by showing the Text Features Slideshow. Students can complete the accompanying Text Features Skill Builder.
• Show or digitally assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging terms, most of which are related to the kids’ fight for fair treatment in the mills. Follow up before or after reading with the Vocabulary Skill Builder. Highlighted terms: textile, strike, take a stand, piercing, patriots, permit, justice, sacrificed.
• Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 25.

• Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class or in groups. Students can also listen to our Author Read-Aloud of the play as a first read.
• After reading, put students in small groups to discuss the close-reading questions. Then talk about the critical-thinking questions as a class.

Close-Reading Questions

• Which details in the Prologue and Scene 1 suggest that working in mills is dangerous and difficult? (identifying a problem) The work appears difficult because children as young as 5 worked long days, six days a week, for low pay. The machines in the mill are loud and “roar like monsters.” The work seems dangerous because Rose must slip under the machines to oil them, and Gus is warned that if he doesn’t change the spools of thread fast enough, something terrible could happen to his hand.
• Based on the end of Scene 1, Scene 2, and Scene 4, what are the risks of going on strike? What could be the benefits? (key details) The risks are that workers would have to go without pay when they desperately need money; they could lose their jobs altogether; and the strikes could become violent. The benefits are that workers could gain rights they deserve, like fair pay, fewer hours on the job, safer conditions, and age limits so that children can go to school rather than work.
• In Scene 2, Mr. Rangnow tells his family that people call Mother Jones “the most dangerous woman in America.” Mother Jones organized strikes and helped people demand their rights. Who might have seen these activities as dangerous? Why? (inference) The owners of mills and other factories might have seen Mother Jones as dangerous, because strikes and demands for rights, like fairer pay and more reasonable hours, could lead to a decrease in the amount of money the factory owners could earn and keep for themselves. So they didn’t want Mother Jones to inspire their workers to ask for change.
• What can you infer from Scene 3 about the Kensington Mill owner? Does he care about his workers? Explain. (inference) You can infer that he does not care about his workers. He keeps the windows nailed shut, even though it’s very hot for the workers, to protect the thread. When Rose is injured, he reacts by ordering everyone to go back to work.
• How does Mr. Rangnow change in Scene 4? (character) Mr. Rangnow goes from being against the strike to being in favor of it. He realizes that what happened to Rose’s hand was wrong and that people need to speak out about the unfair treatment of workers—especially children—that is happening in the mill.
• In Scene 6, what convinces the police officer to let the children march through New York City? What does this scene show about the effectiveness of the Children’s March? (plot) Gus convinces the police officer to let the children march by asking whether the officer would want his own children to work in dangerous factories instead of going to school. The scene shows the effectiveness of the march because large crowds hear the children’s messages and cheer them on. You can infer that this will help lead to change.
• Think about Gus’s line in Scene 8, after the president refuses to see the marchers: “We did this so people would know about us. And now they do.” Why is this statement important? (key idea) The statement shows that even though they didn’t achieve everything they wanted, they got their message out, which is the beginning of making a change.
• Based on the Prologue, what changes did the march help bring about? (identifying solution) Because of the attention the march brought to the children’s situation, Pennsylvania banned work for children under 14, and eventually, a law was passed to prevent kids from working in factories across the country.

Critical-Thinking Questions

• Think about the problems that led Gus, Eddie, and James to join the Children’s March. At the end of the play, do you think the boys likely thought they had solved their problems? Explain. (problem and solution) Answers will vary. The boys went on the march to draw attention to the problems they and other children who worked in textile mills faced: They worked long hours at low pay in dangerous jobs and couldn’t go to school because they were working. At the end of the play, even though they had joined the strike and gone on the march, they still had to go back to work at the mill. Some students will say they likely didn’t think they had reached a solution since nothing changed for them. Others may say that they likely did think they had reached a solution because they made their voices heard, which was the first step in making change, and a few years later, new laws were passed.
• Based on what you read in the play, what characteristics do you think it takes to try to make a change? Use examples from the play in your answer. (character traits) Answers will vary, but students might say that it takes courage to try to make a change. The kids had to risk going without pay or losing their jobs by going on strike. Plus, they could have faced violence. Making change also takes energy. To spread the word about conditions in the mill, the children went on an exhausting march, and only Gus, Eddie, and James went the entire way. Finally, it takes patience. Despite their efforts, laws to improve conditions for working children still took a few years to pass. As Mother Jones said to them, “Change doesn’t always come when you’d like . . . but it does come.”

Featured Skill: Problem and Solution

• Assign the Problem and Solution Skill Builder or assign the Slide Deck. Have students complete it independently or together with a partner. This skill builder will help prepare students to respond to the writing prompt on page 28.