Historical Fiction: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Historical fiction does not have to mean historical “friction” for students. If you include creative and interesting activities for students to complete, you can actually make historical fiction fun. Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Uprising is an excellent choice for middle school students. Haddix has masterfully included information about the history of immigration, the struggle for women’s rights, the origins of the organized labor movement, and the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. Uprising includes all of these wonderful ingredients within a narrative full of fascinating characters and action.

This book would be an excellent choice for students to use as inspiration for a simulated journal. Have students research the time period of the book and learn about their favorite character’s culture and background. Uprising includes a wide variety of characters from different cultures and socioeconomic status; therefore, this would be an excellent opportunity to tackle these issues.

Another possible activity would be to have students compare the cost of living in 1911 to today. Ask students to bring grocery sale papers from home. The class can work in groups to find ads online from 1911. Have them compare prices of important food items like bread and milk. Also ask students to calculate how much money per hour Bella was earning at the factory.

It would also be a good activity to allow students to create a poster about the characters and what they learned from the book. I have included some photos below of  cards created about Uprising characters Bella and Jane.