The Great Molasses Flood
Choose a PDF, read on screen, and try the word game.
Teacher preview: this event includes loss, violence, discrimination, or a criminal case. Choose a suitable reading together. No reenactment of harm is needed.
Choose your PDF reading
All four include an image, vocabulary, comprehension questions, a follow-up reading, and teacher guidance. These English PDFs have selectable text; use the reading below for adjustable text and listening tools.
Read on this page
Words to know
- damage
- harm that makes something less safe or useful
- responsibility
- a duty to care for something or answer for an action
- protect
- keep someone or something from harm
A large storage tank broke in Boston’s North End. Molasses rushed through nearby streets. Twenty-one people died. The disaster harmed workers and neighbors and raised questions about industrial safety.
Talk about the reading
What happened? Point to a detail that supports your answer. What does the picture help you understand? What would you like to investigate next?
Follow-up: The Boston Police Strike
Many Boston police officers stopped work during a labor dispute. Disorder followed. Governor Calvin Coolidge called in the State Guard. The event brought national attention to conflicts over work and public safety.
How are the two events connected or different? Their order does not prove that one caused the other.
Read the follow-up event →Word match: use the reading
Select a word, then select its meaning. You can use a keyboard or tap. Read the word bank if you need a clue.
Choose a word to begin.
Check the evidence
Research source for this event ↗
Original site illustration. Image source and rights ↗
Historical images, later portraits, reconstructions, and modern topic illustrations are identified in their captions. They are different kinds of evidence.
Try a source investigationVisit a Massachusetts place
Try a source investigation