Shutting Out the Sky

Marcus earned his first seventy cents after Mrs. Segal...

• gave him a dollar, and he went to the street to peddle chocolate pieces

• showed him how to wash windows, and lent him her ladder

• called her cousin, who allowed Marcus to cut leather pieces for shoes

• gave him a recommendation at the fruit-and-vegetable stand on the corner

Why did Maurice Hindus's head swim with triumph when he applied for school?

• He scored higher than the applicants who had been born in America.

• Everyone on the school staff greeted him and made him feel welcome.

• He was allowed to eat free meals in exchange for helping in the kitchen.

• Nobody had asked about his family's social standing or religion.

What did Jacob Riis do to help the plight of immigrants?

• He opened the first soup kitchen in New York City.

• He gave them job opportunities at his tire factory.

• He exposed the horrible conditions of the tenements in his powerful photos.

• He funded a medical screening area and translators at Ellis Island.

What was one result of "The Uprising of the Twenty Thousand"?

• Women were allowed to vote in state elections and federal primaries.

• The groundwork was laid for future successes in the garment industry.

• Immigrants could apply for citizenship as soon as they were employed.

• Children were required to attend school at least four hours per day.

Why did Leonard Covello argue about a school being built in the 1930's?

• He thought the school should include a nicer gymnasium and cafeteria.

• He wanted the intended trade school to offer regular academics.

• He thought translation should be available to non-English=speaking students.

• He wanted scholarships to be based on academics, not on athletic abilities.

What happened after Leonard Covello won a physical education prize?

• His father's reaction caused Leonard to despair and quit school.

• Thinking Leonard had acted shamefully, his mother refused to speak to him.

• Leonard was given a college scholarship to become a teacher.

• Leonard was offered a job guarding the freight at his uncle's docks.

One dangerous game Samuel Chotzinoff and his friends played was to...

• dare each other to outrun the trolley cars

• jump to roofs of different-sized tenement buildings during tag

• dive into the harbor to collect junk thrown off freight ships

• throw stones at horses pulling vegetable carts to try to tip carts.

When Rose's father met her in America, she could hardly believe he

• was driving a carriage pulled by two white horses

• was not wearing a yarmulke

• refused to take her to see other immigrants from their Russian town

• had trimmed his beard and shaved his earlocks

How did many immigrants families earn money to make ends meet?

• They charged new immigrant families a fee for translations and directions.

• They rented out space in their apartment to boarders and lodgers.

• They cooked ethnic dishes and then sold them in factory cafeterias.

• They collected rents and other fees for landlords and rental agents.

Why was Constantine Pannzio disappointed in his first job possibility?

• He hoped to work in a fish market similar to the one he owned in Italy.

• He thought he would get paid much more for knowing how to make men's suits.

• He thought the two words he had learned meant some form of office work.

• He planned to learn to read and write English in his new job.