Lyddie

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What was the Industrial Revolution? How did this period of dramatic social and economic change impact the American way of life?

Teaching Suggestion: You may decide to provide your students with these links to explore as part of their prereading homework assignments, assign them computer lab time for the same purpose, or bring up these resources on a smart board or other projection system in your classroom. Many students will have a familiarity with this period in history, but perhaps not the ways in which it directly pertains to the events of Lyddie.

• “The American Era of Child Labor”: This page from the Social Welfare History Project provides a historical overview of child labor in the United States from the Industrial Revolution through the 1920s. Primary sources on the page include several photographs and a political cartoon.
• Timeline of the History of Lowell: This timeline, produced by the Lowell Historical Society, covers the history of the city beginning in the 17th century, but the portion cataloguing the 19th century can be especially valuable for providing students with a chronological context for Lyddie. This section is dominated by crucial events in the evolution of Lowell as an industrial city before, during, and beyond Lyddie’s tenure there, including events related to the labor movement.

2. What were conditions like for children and young adults who joined the industrial workforce during this period of history? What opportunities, challenges, and dangers did they face? What were the expectations and responsibilities placed upon these working children, and how do those duties differ from what is expected of children today?

Teaching Suggestion: This second question narrows the approach to child labor and the experiences of textile mill girls specifically, offering an orientation to the practice of allowing children in the workforce and defining the parameters under which Lyddie lives during her time at the Concord Corporation.

• “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part I: Little Children Working”: The first part of an extensive academically researched historical series on child labor in America from the United States Department of Labor, this resource delves into the economic and social factors that fueled the surge in children entering the workforce. It is especially informative in its deep exploration of the various industries in which children worked and the roles they occupied. In addition to its focus on industrial labor, it also addresses children in domestic employment positions.
• “Lowell’s Mill Girls”: This 11-part interactive educational website from the Tsongas Industrial History Center explores the topic of textile workers in Lowell.

3. How did industrial workers, including children, begin to oppose the exploitative and unsafe conditions of their employment? What did that opposition look like, and what were the consequences of taking on these large corporations?

Teaching Suggestion: This question and the accompanying materials prepare students for one of the most important threads that runs through the narrative: the issue of workers’ rights and the developing resistance to changing conditions in the mill. Creating an awareness of these issues will prepare students to understand parts of the story in which workers at the Concord Corporation begin to resent and push back against their employer.

• “Lowell Mill Women Create the First Union of Working Women”: This article from the official website of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizers addresses the 1836 strike in the Lowell textile mills. In the novel, Lyddie learns that Betsy participated in this strike when she was a 10-year-old doffer. It is during this period of resistance that she learned the song with the refrain “I cannot be a slave,” which she later sings in Lyddie’s presence.
• “Lowell Female Labor Reform Association”: This page from the Lowell National Historical Park’s website provides historical background on the labor reform group to which Diana belongs and mentions both their publication “The Voice of Industry,” which Betsy acquires a copy of, and Sarah Bagley, a close friend of Diana’s.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Imagine that you will be moving away from your home to take a job in an industrial setting in the 1840s. Which industry job would be the most logical choice for you based upon where you live and any applicable skills you may have? What might you be wondering about as you prepare to take this step? What do you think would be the biggest adjustment for you? What would you be most worried about? What aspects of your personal experience up to this point would be an asset in your new role? What might hinder your ability to adjust to the rigors associated with the strenuous work conditions in the industrial setting?

Teaching Suggestion: You might want to allow your students to draw upon the previous resources in this prereading section as they develop their response to these questions. This is an opportunity for them to develop empathy by placing themselves in the position of a hypothetical character in the world of Lyddie. Your students will likely be the same age as some of the characters in the book, and this peer-to-peer comparison will deepen their engagement with the text.