Book Detail

Growing Up in Coal Country

Publication Information
Author:  Bartoletti, Susan Illustrator:  
Title:  Growing Up in Coal Country Date:  1996
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin City:  Boston
ISBN, paperback:   ISBN, hardback:  0-395-67914-5

Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes ESOL:  
Family:   Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:  

General Information:
Book Type(s):    nonfiction

HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies

Summary:
Based on primary documents and oral histories, this book tells the stories of life in the coal mines in eastern Pennsylvania around the turn of the 20th century.

Teaching Ideas:
The book presents many issues to work with: child labor, safe working conditions, then-and-now comparisons. Semantic mapping and other graphic organizing would be useful, with headings such as "mining jobs," "mining life and conditions," "mining stories" and so forth. Details could then be mapped out as the text is read. Students could then be supported in developing summary writing by reworking the headings into introductory sentences. Using (Write and Share)2 students could share responses relating to their own working conditions, their own ethnic and social issues in preparation for writing about them. Teachers could use this book in several text sets including work, child labor, and the work of photographer Lewis Hine.

Teaching Strategies:
bullet Creating a Classroom Magazine
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/create_class_zine.pdf
bullet Helping Students in the Writing Process
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/help_writing_process.pdf
bullet Semantic Mapping
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/semantic_mapping.pdf
bullet (Write and Share) 2
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/write_share2.pdf
bullet Venn Diagrams
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/venn_diagrams.pdf

Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > physical issues > health
bullet Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > Pennsylvania
bullet Geography > economics
bullet Hardships > adversity
bullet History > region > U.S. history > labor laws
bullet Literature and Language > storytelling
bullet Science > physical/earth science > mountains
bullet Social Studies > sociology > social issues > child labor
bullet Social Studies > sociology > social issues > immigration
bullet Work > occupations > mining


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