Activity 1: Formative Assessment

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1. Why did many children work in factories and mines in the 1800s?
   1. Adults could not work as many hours as children
   2. The parents wanted to keep their children out of trouble
   3. Families needed the money that children could earn
   4. Children needed the money to help pay for school
2. What was one problem that girls who worked in mills and boys who worked in mines both faced?
   1. They needed a lot of education to work in mills and mines
   2. They didn't have as much time to do their homework
   3. Their families didn't want them to work
   4. Their jobs in mills and mines were both dangerous

3. Compare and contrast the work in the factories with the work in the coal mines? In what ways were they alike and in what ways were they different?

   ALIKE	DIFFERENT

4. Pretend that you are the parents of a girl working in a textile mill. Why would you be concerned about allowing your daughter to work at the mill? Be sure to discuss:

   • Working conditions were dangerous and unhealthy
   • Wages much lower than adults
   • Health concerns such as unhealthy air, dirty working conditions, bad lighting, and unsafe machinery
   • Education: No option to go to school