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WorksheetsThe GReat Chicago Fire
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 14mins
What year did the Great Chicago Fire start?
1881
1901
1891
1871
Who lived in the small house that owned the barn?
The O'Leary family
The McLaughin family
The Sullivan family
The Smith family
What was a common cause of fires in Chicago at the time?
Gas leaks
Electrical faults
Lightning strikes
Wooden structures
What mistake did the fire-alarm operator make?
Informed the firefighters it was just a small fire
Did not sound the alarm at all, which cause no firemen to arrive
Sounded the wrong alarm and sent firemen to the wrong location
Broke the fire alarm the night before
How did the fire spread so quickly?
Because of the water shortage
Because of the dry wood and gusty wind
Because of the metal structures
Because of the stone buildings
What helped bring the fire under control?
The fire department
The lake
The rain
The river
How was the fire able to cross the river?
There were other fires starting on the other side of the river
The wind was so strong that it caused the flames to move across the water.
The river was filled with oil and garbage, which caught on fire.
The was a tornado looking fire in the water that started.
Why couldn't anyone have pulled the fire alarm box sooner?
The fire alarms were very old and not working.
The alarms could only be sounded by firemen
The fire alarm boxes were locked and you needed to get a key first
No one could find the closet alarm box.
Where did people go to stay safe from the fire?
They went to the Chicago River to be close to water.
Many went to Lake Michigan into the water.
People crawled under the wooden streets.
They went to the south neighborhoods near the O'learly's.
About how many people died in the CHicago Fire?
3,000 people
300 people
1,200 people
100 people
True or False? There were many fires that occurred in Chicago before the Great Chicago Fire.
True
False
Long ago, there was a very big fire in Chicago. All the houses
were made of wood. The streets were wood, too. Wood burns
easily. It was hard to put out the fire. The fire burned for more
than 30 hours. People could not stop it. Because of the fire, many blocks had burned. Many houses were
gone. People needed to move the burned things out of the way.
They wanted to build new homes.
Which text structure does this paragraph show?
Problem and Solution
Sequence
Cause and Effect
Compare and Contrast
The fire began at around 9:30 pm at the O'Leary barn. Next the fire spread three or four blocks because the fire department had come late. By midnight, the fire had spread and burned down the waterworks building. Then, the fire continued to cross the river. By the next day, the fire had spread all the way to the north part of Chicago by Lincoln Park.
What type of text structure is this paragraph?
Problem and Solution
Cause and Effect
Sequence
Description
How many buildings were destroyed after the fire stopped?
Around 1, 000
Over 17,500
Over 200,000
Around 100
How long did the fire last?
2 days
4 days
3 hours
2 hours
True or False. The fire was caused by a cow kicking over a lantern in Mrs. O'leary's barn.
True
False
What do the characters smell when they exit the train?
bathrooms
the dirty Chicago river
skunks
The union stockyard and slaughterhouse
What is Oscar's most prized possession?
Papa's sheriff's badge
Papa's shirt
his laptop
Papa's watch
Why did the little girl ask for Oscar's help at the train station?
She was lost.
She wanted to distract him.
She couldn't find her parents.
Her friends dared her to talk to him.
Why does talk of fire frighten Mama and Oscar?
Oscar's school burned down.
They burned themselves making dinner.
Papa died in a fire.
A forest fire nearly destroyed their home.
Where did Oscar used to live?
An abandoned building in New York.
In an apartment building in Wisconsin.
An old house in South Dakota.
On a farm in Minnesota.
Which text evidence shows that Oscar is HARDWORKING?
“Oscar had no time for cards. All he wanted to do was work.”
"Papa was the toughest man Oscar knew."
"Oscar stared out the window in shock as the train pulled into the city."
"But how could he leave here if those kids were still in the house?"
What does Mr. Morrow do for a living?
doctor
artist
lawyer
actor
Which building survived in the Chicago fire?
Willis Tower
The watertower
Chicago tribune building
Palmer Hotel
How did Chicago recover from the great Chicago fire?
They got lots of donations and supplies from other places to help rebuild
Chicago never really recovered
Chicago quickly built houses and factories with cheaper materials.
Thousands of people traveled from all over the world to help rebuild the city
