Article
GRANGER, NYC/THE GRANGER COLLECTION

Newsies

Meet the working kids who fought back against their bosses—and won!

By Mack Lewis (based on the true story of the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899)
From the December/January 2021 Issue

Learning Objective: As students read this historical fiction play about kids who sold newspapers at the turn of the 20th century, they will identify the theme of young people working together to make things better.

Guided Reading Level: O
DRA Level: 34
Think and Read: Big Idea

This play shows that kids can be powerful. As you read, look for what characters do to make important changes.

Characters

Choose the character you will play.   *Indicates large speaking role

Narrators 1, 2, and 3 (N1, N2, N3)

Crowd, the whole class

Ani, a 12-year-old girl who just moved to New York City

Rose, Sully, Boots, Newsies—kids who sell newspapers

Manager, a man in charge of the newspaper office

Man 1, 2

William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner

Prologue

N1: In 1898, there were no TVs.

N2: There were no computers or cell phones, either.

N3: Newspapers were the only way to find out what was going on in the world.

N1: Every day, the papers were sold on the street by kids.

N2: These kids were called “newsies.”

N3: Newsies worked from early in the morning to late at night.

N1: They were poor and often homeless.

N2: They worked to feed themselves and their families.

N3: When newspaper owners stopped treating them fairly—

Crowd: —the newsies stood up for their rights.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

KIDS AT WORK

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, millions of children went to work. They earned money for their families. Some sold newspapers on the street. Others took dangerous jobs in factories and mines.

Scene 1

A newspaper office,

New York City,

April 1898

Ani: Is this where you sign up?

N1: The newsies look her over.

Rose: Why ain’t you at school?

Ani: I have to help my family.

Sully: Don’t we all.

Ani: How do I sell these?

Boots: You buy two newspapers for a penny.

Rose: Then you sell each paper for a penny.

Sully: That’s how you make money.

N2: Boots walks up to the manager.

Boots: I’ll take 100 papers.

N3: Boots hands over 50 cents.

Manager: Sorry, kid. Price for 100 papers is now 60 cents.

Boots: That means I won’t earn as much money selling papers!

Manager: But these papers will sell fast. Look at the headline: America Declares War!

Boots: Then give me 200!

N1: Ani and Rose buy some too.

Scene 2

Later that day 

Boots: These will be easy to sell.

Rose: That’s right. The news is good.

Ani: How is war good news?

Rose: Boring news doesn’t sell papers.

Boots (shouting): Hot off the press! America at war!

N2: In just a few minutes, Boots sells a dozen papers.

Rose: Now you try, Ani.

Ani: Read all about it! War with Spain!

Man 1: I’ll take one.

BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

PACKED WITH PEOPLE

In the late 1800s, many people came to New York City. The smells of food and factory smoke were in the air. The streets were very crowded—and often very dirty.

Scene 3

July 1899 

N3: The war has ended.

N1: The newsies stand on a street corner. People walk past.

Ani: No one’s buying papers.

Rose: There’s no more war.

Boots: I give up for today.

Ani: I still have papers left. If I stop now, I’ll lose money!

Rose: Sorry, Ani.

N2: Ani stands on the street. No one buys her papers.

Scene 4

The next morning 

N3: Ani, Rose, and Boots enter a room packed with newsies.

N1: Sully speaks to the crowd.

Sully: The newspaper owners said they would drop the price once the war was over.

Crowd: Yeah!

Sully: Did they?

Crowd: No!

Sully: The time has come to take a stand. I say we strike!

Ani: We’re going to stop selling papers?

Rose: That’s right. We’ll force the newspaper owners to lower our price back to 50 cents.

Ani: But I won’t earn anything!

Rose: Sometimes you have to give a little now to get more later.

Sully: Stick together. Nobody sells papers. If you see anyone selling papers, tear them up!

JACOB A. RIIS/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

NOWHERE TO GO

Many kids slept in empty buildings—or even on the streets.

Scene 5

Central Park,

August 1899 

N2: Ani and Rose pass out flyers.

Man 1 (reading): “Don’t buy the newspapers.” What’s this?

Rose: We’re on strike.

N3: The man crumples it up.

N1: A factory worker passes by. He gives them each a penny.

Man 2: Stay strong, kids.

N2: Boots runs up, excited.

Boots: All the newsies have started a protest. Come on!

Scene 6

The Brooklyn Bridge 

N3: Ani, Rose, and Boots join 1,000 children on the bridge.

N1: Traffic is stopped.

Crowd: Newsies on strike!

Sully: We demand a fair deal!

N2: A wagon carrying papers tries to get through the crowd.

Boots: Get those papers!

N3: The protesters tip the wagon over. They throw papers over the side of the bridge.

N1: William Randolph Hearst’s car pulls up.

Rose (whispering to Ani): He’s the owner of the newspaper.

Boots: And one of the most powerful men in New York.

N2: The crowd gets quiet.

Hearst: Listen up! The papers will cost the same. But if you go back to work, I’ll buy back every paper you don’t sell.

Ani: Is that a good deal?

Boots: Sure. When you can’t sell your papers, you’ll get your money back.

Ani: I like it!

Rose: Me too!

Sully: We’ll take it!

BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

A CHANGING WORLD

The newsies were part of a larger change in America. Around that time, all kinds of workers—including many kids—began to demand better treatment at work.

Epilogue

Ani: Selling papers saved my family from being homeless.

Rose: I went back to school.

Boots: You were lucky. I had to keep working.

Sully: Life was still hard.

Ani: But the strike gave us power. It showed us that we had rights—

Boots: —even though we were just kids.

N3: Back then, many kids in the U.S. worked in unsafe and unfair jobs.

N1: Almost 40 years later, a law was passed to help them.

N2: Today, kids can’t work more than 18 hours during a school week.

N3: And all children have the right to an education.

Rose: Those laws didn’t pass in our lifetimes.

Ani: But our bravery helped inspire change for the future.

video (1)
Video
In the Time of the Newsies: 1890-1915

See what life was like for the newsies during the early 1900s.

In the Time of the Newsies: 1890-1915

See what life was like for the newsies during the early 1900s.

Slideshows (1)
Slideshow
Vocabulary Slideshow: Newsies

<p>Our interactive vocabulary slideshows help unlock challenging vocabulary words with great visual and audio support.</p>

Vocabulary Slideshow: Newsies

Our interactive vocabulary slideshows help unlock challenging vocabulary words with great visual and audio support.

Audio (1)
Thumbnail
Play: Newsies

December 2020/January 2021
Play: Newsies
Play Read Aloud
(06:31)
Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Show This

The play’s opening image is a photo by Lewis Hine, a reformer who took thousands of pictures of child laborers working in America. Have your students take a closer look at his powerful work in the Library of Congress collection.

From the Storyworks 3 Archives

Have your students read another play about young workers who decided to strike, The Dangerous Life of Harriet Hanson from the October/November 2017 issue. Ask them to write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the experiences of Ani (from Newsies) and Harriet (from The Dangerous Life of Harriet Hanson). 

 

Bring the Play to Life

In Scene 5, Ani and Rose pass out flyers about the newsies’ strike. Have your students create a flyer that tells people about the strike. Encourage them to include details from the play, like who is striking and why.

More About the Article

Content-Area Connections

Social Studies: American history

Social-Emotional Learning: relationship skills (communication, teamwork); responsible decision-making (identifying problems, analyzing situations, solving problems, reflecting)

Key Skills

theme, text features, vocabulary, fluency, summarizing, plot, interpreting text, key idea, setting, cause and effect, inference, character’s motivation, main idea, narrative and explanatory writing

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Set a Purpose for Reading/Explore Text Features/Watch a Video (10 minutes)

  • Look at pages 22-23 with the class. Point out the labels “Play” and “Read-aloud play.” Then read the title and subtitle with students. Ask them to describe the illustration. 

  • Explain that the photos and captions on pages 22-27 provide information about life in America in the late 1800s and early 1900s and will help them better understand the events of the play.

  • Show or assign the video “In the Time of the Newsies: 1890-1915.”

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 22 and the Think and Write box on page 27.  Remind students to keep in mind  the Think and Read prompt as they read the play.

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

  • While the play does not include definitions of vocabulary words with the text, a Vocabulary Skill Builder online previews eight challenging terms (available in your Resources tab). You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow where images help students with comprehension.

  • Vocabulary terms: stood up for, press, declares, strike, protest, crumples, demand, inspire

2. FOCUS ON FLUENCY

Bridging Decoding and Comprehension

  • Storyworks 3 plays provide a perfect opportunity for students to build fluency.

  • Remind students that the stage directions tell a reader or actor how to say a line or perform an action in the play. Direct students to page 26. Point to the word reading  in column 1. Read the dialogue aloud with appropriate expression or actions. Ask students to repeat after you.

3. CLOSE READING

4. SEL FOCUS

Young Changemakers

The newsies’ strike in this play shows that kids can be powerful even if they are young.

Ask: Can you think of other examples of ways kids have taken action to make changes? Have you ever done something to try to make a change or improve the world around you? Perhaps you’re a committed recycler who cares about the planet. Or a good friend who tries to help when someone is having a hard time. Answers will vary. Students might have heard of changemakers like the climate activist Greta Thunberg or Marley Dias, who started #1000BlackGirlBooks. Closer to home, they might know of kids who have made changes in their school or community. Finally, kids might talk about ways they have helped others during the pandemic or at other times. Remind your students that even small actions can be powerful.

5. SKILL BUILDING AND WRITING

Featured Skill: Theme

  • Distribute the Theme Skill Builder (available in your Resources tab) and have students complete it in class or for homework.

  • Ask students to write a response to the prompt in the Think and Write box at the end of the play. Remind them to write an exciting headline for their newspaper article.

GREAT IDEAS FOR REMOTE LEARNING

  • Our new Learning Journey Slideshow is designed to make your life easier. Have students move through at their own pace or assign smaller chunks for different days. You can also customize the slideshow to your liking.

  • Gather a small group in your remote classroom for a virtual play reading. Share the play on your screen and assign parts. (Students might read more than one part, depending on the size of the group.) Then read the play aloud together. Encourage students to be expressive as they read! Repeat with other groups until all students have had a chance to participate.

Differentiate and Customize
For Struggling Readers

To help students visualize the different historical settings that this play takes place in and to draw them into the world of the play, show them archival images of outside a New York City newspaper office (Scene 1), Central Park (Scene 5), and the Brooklyn Bridge (Scene 6).

For ELL Students

This play has several words that can be used both as nouns and verbs. Point out these words: press, strike, protest, and demand. Use the words in sentences in both ways. Then go back to the play and ask students to note whether the words are used as nouns or verbs. 

 

For Advanced Readers

Have students read another play about young workers who decided to strike, The Dangerous Life of Harriet Hanson from the October/November 2017 issue of the magazine. Ask them to write a short essay comparing and contrasting the experiences of Ani (from Newsies) and Harriet (from The Dangerous Life of Harriet Hanson). 

For School or at Home

In Scene 5, Ani and Rose pass out flyers about the newsies’ strike. Create a flyer that tells about the strike. Include details from the play, like who is striking and why.

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