“Labor Day & Labor History”
Labor Day might be a day your students associate with barbeques, end-of-summer sales and the start of a new school year. But this federal holiday dedicated to American workers is also an opportunity to dive deep into history. In this lesson, students will look at events, inventions and policies that shaped the lives and rights of American workers during the Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age. Students will synthesize their learning by writing a journal entry from the perspective of a worker.
Students will:
- Describe important events, inventions and policies of the Industrial Revolution and Gilded Age;
- Analyze how these events, inventions and policies affected the lives and rights of American workers.
Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
Materials
- Flocabulary Industrial Revolution video
- Flocabulary Gilded Age video
- Industrial Revolution & Gilded Age worksheet
- Journal entry page
Products Created
- Completed worksheet that includes keywords (events, inventions and policies) and their effects on American workers
- A journal entry from the perspective of a worker describing life and working conditions
Time
- One class period
Sequence
- As a warm-up, have students reflect on how they celebrated Labor Day. You might ask what Labor Day-related events or celebrations they know of or have attended and why they think the holiday is observed.
- Explain that Labor Day is a federal holiday dedicated to American workers and their achievements. Connect the purpose of the holiday to current events by asking what labor rights issues students know of from the news. If time allows, you can watch and discuss this Week in Rap that addresses LA’s minimum wage or this Week in Rap that addresses the rights of nail salon workers in New York City.
- Tell students that you are going to study events, inventions and policies that impacted the rights and lives of American workers in the Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age to better understand the need for the Labor Day holiday.
- Watch the Flocabulary Industrial Revolution video. As a class, read and discuss the lyrics and infoboxes. Pay particular attention to the lyrics and infoboxes in verse 2, which focus on working and living conditions.
- On the worksheet, students will list events and inventions from the video that shaped the rights and lives of American workers in this time period. When they are finished, have students share out. List their responses on chart paper or on the whiteboard and encourage students to add anything they might have missed to their own lists. (Answers may include: factories, assembly lines, child labor, urban migration, tenements, etc.)
- Watch the Flocabulary Gilded Age video. You might discuss how events of the Industrial Revolution let the Gilded Age develop. As a class, read through and discuss the lyrics and infoboxes.
- Students will add to their worksheet, listing events and inventions that shaped the rights and lives of American workers. They may include policies as well. (Answers may include: trusts, laissez faire policies, The Sherman Antitrust Act, capitalism, monopolies, the Knights of Labor, the Haymarket Riots). Be sure students understand the definition of each word or concept listed.
- Tell students that they are going to think deeply about the keywords listed on their worksheets by playing the role of laborers. Divide students into pairs. Each pair will choose 3-5 keywords from the list. They will discuss and take notes on their worksheet explaining how each word affected their rights and lives. Prompt students to play a specific role, for example a child laborer or a railroad worker. Ask and answer “How has this event/invention/policy changed what my life was like before?” and “What does this allow me to do or prohibit me from doing?” While many of these keywords represented great obstacles, point out that some of the words on the chart may have improved their lives or had both positive and negative results.
- Bring pairs back to the whole group. Ask volunteers to share out from their notes and conversations. They should tell the class what specific role they played, what keywords they focused on and how these affected their lives. Record the effects students describe next to the keywords on the chart paper or whiteboard. If any keywords remain unexplained, discuss how these would have impacted workers’ lives.
- Working independently, students will now write a letter from the perspective of a worker in either time period. They must pick a specific type of worker and city to live in. Encourage students to think of the keywords, the worksheet and their partner conversations as they write. Their journal entry should describe their daily life and working conditions. At the end of class, volunteers can share all or part of their writing.
Wrap Up/Extensions
- Have students brainstorm events, inventions and policies that are affecting the lives of American workers today. Ask what is or could be done to protect workers’ rights.
- Return to the Gilded Age video. Click the hyperlink below the lyrics that says, “America Speaks.” Have students return to their pairs and discuss one of the quotes on this page. What does it mean? Do they agree or disagree? Why or why not?
Guided Reflection
- “I used to think _______, and now I think _______.”
- “One thing I learned is __________, and one question I still have is _________.”