Industrial+Age+America

Lyddie Worthen learns first-hand what it means to be "independent" in this realistic look at life in 1840s Industrial era New England. Forced to leave the family farm and enter the working world at the pivotal age of thirteen, Lyddie soon learns of the hardshihps women face at this time. Dealing also with themes of child labor and slavery, //Lyddie// is a well researched historical fiction novel that allows readers to appreciate the value of true freedom when the main character, who survives as a result of her strong will as much as her work ethic, must choose between keeping her job in a woolen mill factory or speak up for better working conditions.

__Major Assignments:__
Study Guide


 * --Journal Entries**: answer in paragraph form; label each entry by number and turn in as one long document.

1.) Make two predictions about the story based on what you have read so far. What do you think will happen to Lyddie? to her family? 2.) Write a 5-6 sentence summary about what you have read thus far. 3.) Choose a quote from any chapter you have read so far and copy it down with its page number after it. Explain the quote in detail. Explain why you chose this quote; why is it important to the story? 4.) Design a classified ad that Lyddie could have seen that advertises both the job at the mill and the lodging she ultimately found. Make sure any prices for salary/wages and rent are realistic for the novel's setting. 5.) Use a dictionary to locate and write a defintion of the word "dependent". Discuss how the concept of dependency is addressed and how it changes throughout the story. How does Lyddie become more INdependent as the story goes on? 6.) Lyddie taught herself to read, write and spell by laboriously reading //Oliver Twist// by Charles Dickens. Why was she so impressed by this book? Choose a piece of literature (book, short story, or poem) that deeply impressed you when you read it, and explain its influence on you.


 * --Compare & Contrast Essay:** Venn diagram given in class; assignment instructions in pdf file below.
 * --Child Labor Description Activity**: given in class
 * --Novel Project:** [[file:Lyddie Novel Project.pdf]]