I give 'Counting on Grace', by Elizabeth Winthrop, 5 stars. The focus of this book is the exploration of child labor in the manufacturing industry at the turn of the 20th century. The book details the story of fictional character, 12 year old Grace, who is required to leave school to work a very dangerous job, replacing thread spools on looms in a clothing mill in Pownal, VT. The story explores emotions related to leaving school, Grace's feelings of insecurity about her abilities and the challenges of her job, and her strained relationship with her mother. Grace experiences few joys, other than her friendship with Arthur (a boy who was also required to leave school to work in the mill) and their secret lessons with their former teacher.
The text is a true treasure and amazing example of the historical fiction genre. While experiencing a fictionalized story, the reader gains insights into the real-life topic of child labor and the power of just a few voices standing up for what is right. Historical topics explored in this text: child labor (forced and "voluntary"), children's civil rights, the Child Labor Board, Lewis Hine (real-life undercover photographer of child labor workers), manufacturing (and life in general) at the turn of the 20th century. Another important 'social-emotional learning' topic, explored throughout the text: the power of friendship.
This topic is very personal for me, as both of my paternal great-grandfathers were "breaker boys", who picked slate as children in northern Pennsylvania. I would share my family's story with the class and discuss the significant impact that child labor (and not having the opportunity to attend school) had on their lives. Valuable extension activities include class exploration of nonfiction text sets relating to American child labor and modern-day child labor across the world. Students would be required to choose a form of child labor (mining, farming, domestic service, railroad work, manufacturing, etc.), research the topic, and create a presentation to share with the class. A culminating activity could be to share the movie, 'Newsies' with the class.
The text is a true treasure and amazing example of the historical fiction genre. While experiencing a fictionalized story, the reader gains insights into the real-life topic of child labor and the power of just a few voices standing up for what is right. Historical topics explored in this text: child labor (forced and "voluntary"), children's civil rights, the Child Labor Board, Lewis Hine (real-life undercover photographer of child labor workers), manufacturing (and life in general) at the turn of the 20th century. Another important 'social-emotional learning' topic, explored throughout the text: the power of friendship.
This topic is very personal for me, as both of my paternal great-grandfathers were "breaker boys", who picked slate as children in northern Pennsylvania. I would share my family's story with the class and discuss the significant impact that child labor (and not having the opportunity to attend school) had on their lives. Valuable extension activities include class exploration of nonfiction text sets relating to American child labor and modern-day child labor across the world. Students would be required to choose a form of child labor (mining, farming, domestic service, railroad work, manufacturing, etc.), research the topic, and create a presentation to share with the class. A culminating activity could be to share the movie, 'Newsies' with the class.
Counting on Grace