Lesson Plan - The Fire That Changed America

Build Background Knowledge

Give students some background information about the Triangle Waist Company factory fire: It happened in New York City in 1911. Many of the factory’s workers were young immigrant women. Nearly 150 workers died in the fire. Then assign the Skill Builder Charting Your Knowledge from the Graphic Organizer Library at junior.scholastic.com/library. Have students complete the first two columns of the KWL chart with what they know about the fire and what they want to know.

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms commission, curator, evacuate, garment, iconic, manslaughter, poverty, and testify. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. Have students complete the last column of Charting Your Knowledge as they read.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• Study the illustration at the beginning of the article. What do you notice? How does it support the article? (Visual Literacy)
The illustration shows what the artist thought 16-year-old Ethel Monick might have looked like after the fire. I notice that she’s wearing a blouse similar to the ones manufactured at the Triangle Waist Company, and it’s ripped near the shoulder. She has soot on her hands, face, and clothing, and I can see how young she was. The illustration also supports the article by showing the flames engulfing the top three floors of a 10-story building. Firefighters are trying to put out the fire with water, and a ladder is too short to reach the fire. The illustration also includes sewing machines like those the workers used.

• How does the introduction set the scene? Which of the 5W’s and an H (who, what, where, when, why, and how) does it answer? (Author’s Craft)
The introduction sets the scene with descriptive details about the factory and the fire. Author Bryan Brown helps readers imagine what it might have been like when “flames and hot choking smoke were everywhere” and describes the sounds of the ending bell and Ethel screaming fire. The introduction answers who (Ethel and 500 other workers), what (a fire that was one of the worst workplace disasters in U.S. history), where (New York City), and when (Saturday, March 25, 1911) but does not answer why or how.

• What details support the idea that the Triangle Waist Company factory building “was not fire safe”? (Text Evidence)
Although a historian says that it “was considered a state-of-the-art building,” the building had narrow, twisting stairs that made it difficult for many people to evacuate quickly. Additionally, it “had only one rickety fire escape.” Although experts knew sprinklers and fire drills could save lives, those measures weren’t required by law or used at the factory.

• What was the Lower East Side like in the early 1900s? (Key Details)
In the early 1900s, the Lower East Side was home to many immigrants. About 500,000 people lived in the neighborhood of just 1.5 square miles. Many of the immigrants lived in often cramped, run-down apartments called tenements. The sidewalks were filled with pushcarts selling all kinds of goods. A mix of languages could be heard on the street.

• How did Ethel Monick survive the fire? Why did so many workers not survive? (Analyzing Events)
Ethel was able to survive because she got pushed into an elevator that took her down to the street. One reason that so many of her coworkers didn’t is that they were not warned that the fire was coming. Other reasons include: Only a few means of escape were accessible. The fire escape collapsed. One staircase door seemed to be locked. There were two working elevators, but only about 24 people could fit at a time. The water pressure from the fire hydrants was too weak to quickly subdue the flames. A ladder set up to rescue workers only reached the sixth floor.

• Summarize the section “Seeking Justice.” (Summarizing)
In the half hour it took firefighters to contain the blaze, 146 employees died. Many New Yorkers channeled their outrage into protests where labor union leaders like Rose Schneiderman spoke up for workers’ rights. When seven of the victims who couldn’t be identified were buried in a single grave about two weeks later, more than 120,000 people marched in the funeral procession. Many people placed blame on the factory owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, and they were put on trial for manslaughter in December. However, the jury couldn’t agree on whether the staircase door had been locked or whether the owners had been aware of it, and they were acquitted.

• How did the Triangle fire lead to “profound change” and become “an iconic event”? (Cause and Effect)
The Triangle fire made New Yorkers sad, angry, and frustrated. It pushed them to protest for safer conditions and more rights for workers. A state commission recommended dozens of new laws that amounted to sweeping reforms. Most businesses were required to have automatic sprinklers and to hold fire drills. Many other states passed similar laws. The disaster also resulted in the growth of labor unions as millions of workers joined the groups to fight for their rights. Reforms were passed to protect workers from hazardous machinery. Twenty-seven years after the fire, the Fair Labor Standards Act limited the workweek to 40 hours and set a minimum hourly wage.

Identify Fire Safety Precautions

Guide students to complete the Your Turn activity on page 23. You might brainstorm a list of precautions as a class and then have students write a paragraph to answer the questions.

Analyze Causes and Effects

Use the Skill Builder Causes and Effects to help students identify three causes and three effects of the fire with a graphic organizer. After students complete the activity individually or in pairs, review responses as a class.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.