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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Lewis Hine Shedding Light on Child Labor through Photographs

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The Industrial Revolution: long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions. An eye-opening activity explores the darker side of industry and exposes the realities of child labor with photos. Scholars view four photos from the famous...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Strength in Solidarity: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Campaign for Fair Food

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Not all food is created equal. The lesson dives into the world of migrant farm workers to show their struggles to earn livable wages and better working conditions. Academics learn why the Coalition of Immokalee Workers was created and...
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Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Automation and the American Worker

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
A thought-provoking resource examines the future of automation and the effects on employment. Academics read informational text, complete written prompts, and participate in activities to understand automation and the possibilities for...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment: Analyzing the Structure of Chávez’s Wrath of Grapes Speech

For Teachers 7th Standards
César Chávez gave his 1986 "Wrath of Grapes" speech to educate consumers about pesticide use. Scholars complete an end of unit 2 assessment, applying what they learned throughout the unit to a new text. They then analyze the structure of...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Synthesizing Chávez’s Central Claim

For Teachers 7th Standards
Class members play an interactive game, matching strips of paper containing rhetorical devices with examples from César Chávez use rhetoric in his 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Next, partners discuss...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Speech Structure: Part 2 of the Commonwealth Club Address

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars continue reading and analyzing César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Working with partners, they answer text-dependent questions about how governments and consumers affect working...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: How Chávez Develops His Claims in the Commonwealth Club Address

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars complete a mid-unit 2 assessment, analyzing how César Chávez supports his claims in his 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Learners focus on paragraphs 18 and 19 of the speech, answering text-based...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Speech Structure: Unions as Agents of Change— Part 2

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars continue reading César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Working with partners, they complete graphic organizers to determine a claim that Chávez makes about the UFW. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading Closely and Introducing Rhetoric Toolbox: Unions as Agents of Change—Part 1

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars explore the question of whether labor unions are the agents of change as they continue reading César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." They discuss rhetoric in Chávez's speech and discover...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading Closely: Introducing Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address and Considering the Plight of the Farmworker

For Teachers 7th Standards
How can a persuasive speech help inspire social change? Scholars read along as they listen to the first half of César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Commonwealth Club Address." Next, pupils use graphic organizers to analyze one of Chávez's...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge: Planning The Two Voice Poem

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars build background knowledge to understand the life and work of the union leader and labor organizer César Chávez. As they read teacher-selected resources, they complete a Building Background Knowledge worksheet and engage in...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing an Argumentative Essay: Crafting a Claim

For Teachers 7th Standards
As scholars prepare to craft their essays based on Katherine Paterson's Lyddie, they learn about using compelling reasons in their writing. Next, they develop a claim about whether Lyddie should sign a petition to speak out against...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Forming Evidence-Based Claims: Should Lyddie Sign the Petition?

For Teachers 7th Standards
Pupils reread selected passages from Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. After they finish, individuals gather textual evidence supporting whether Lyddie should sign a controversial petition and record their findings on graphic organizers.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Framing Lyddie’s Decision and Practicing Evidence Based Claims

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars grapple with whether the title character of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie, should sign a petition about working conditions at the factory. They engage in close reading and discussion before adding their thinking about the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment about Working Conditions in the Mills

For Teachers 7th Standards
Pupils demonstrate their knowledge of how setting impacts character development by completing a mid-unit assessment based on Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. They answer multiple-choice questions and cite textual evidence to explain...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Textual Evidence: Working Conditions in the Mills

For Teachers 7th Standards
Deafening, dusty, debris. Such were the working conditions in the 1800s textile industry as portrayed in Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. Scholars watch a short video clip about life and work in the mills. Next, they work with partners...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing Working Conditions in the Mills

For Teachers 7th Standards
 Scholars discover how working in a textile mill in the nineteenth century affected the title character from Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. Partners analyze quotes from the novel and then add evidence and questions about working...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Character: Who is Lyddie?

For Teachers 7th Standards
Character analysis can help readers feel more connected to a literary text. Scholars explore the topic by writing an acrostic poem about the main character from Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. Then, pupils watch a short video to help...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Launching Lyddie

For Teachers 7th Standards
Pupils engage in a close reading of chapter one of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. After answering text-dependent questions based on their reading, they complete reader's notes about how the setting, characters, and plot interact.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Word Choice: Understanding Working Conditions in the Mills

For Teachers 7th Standards
Ravenous or hungry, happy or ecstatic—why does word choice matter? Scholars continue to analyze working conditions in the mill and how the conditions affect the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. They engage in a close...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing Module 2: Working Conditions—Then and Now

For Teachers 7th Standards
Let's get visual! Scholars embark on a gallery walk around the classroom to view quotes, images, and videos about historical and modern working conditions in various professions. They consider how working conditions have changed over...
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Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

Safe at Work

For Teachers 8th Standards
From minimum wage to minimizing injuries, young workers need to know their rights! The sixth and final instructional activity in a series of college and career readiness activities gets eighth graders thinking about safety and labor laws. 
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Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

Hazards in the Workplace

For Teachers 11th Standards
Safety first! Safety first! A short video and a PowerPoint presentation introduce job seekers to child labor law awareness, safety standards, and ways to reduce workplace injuries. Class members first take a short workplace safety quiz...