The Knowledge Ninja is looking for third- through fifth-graders to complete this challenge and become Knowledge Ninjas. Use your ninja skills to investigate, then answer the questions below by October 13 to be entered in a raffle to win a prize to help you continue your ninja training. Watch for more challenges coming soon!
On the night of October 8, 1871, in a small barn on DeKoven Street, a fire started. Two days later, 300 people were dead, 100,000 were homeless and 3.3 square miles of Chicago were in ruins.
Books
The Great Fire: This award-winning book is considered the definitive guide to the Chicago Fire.
Want to learn more? Check out our complete list of recommended titles.
Articles
- The Chicago Tribune from October 11, 1871: The Tribune’s front-page account from just days after the fire was extinguished.
- Great Chicago Fire: Disasters, Accidents and Crises in American History article on the fire and its impact.
- The Great Chicago Fire: National Geographic World explores a family's story of survival during the three days of the fire.
- Retrospect: October 8, 1871: The Great Chicago Fire: Did the weather or Mrs. O’Leary’s cow start the fire?
- Time Trip: A look at the key facts about the fire.
Websites
- The Chicago Fire of 1871 and the “Great Rebuilding”: National Geographic explores the fire and examines how the city was rebuilt.
- Great Chicago Fire 1871: What role did the weather play in the Great Chicago Fire?
- The Great Chicago Fire and The Web of Memory: Chicago History Museum’s site includes maps, photographs and illustrations, eyewitness accounts and much more.
- Progress of the Chicago Fire of 1871: Follow the fire as it travels across the city.
- What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire: A Smithsonian.com exploration of the fire.
Explore Further
- At home or school, search the catalog using these keywords: great fire, Chicago history, disasters, fires and firefighting
- At the library, check these call numbers for more books: F548.42 and F548.33
Think About It
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