PBS
Organizing the Farm Worker Movement
The food on young scholars' tables was likely harvested by hands that fought for fair wages and working conditions. By examining the life of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, learners connect their daily meals with the struggles of those...
Pulitzer Center
China's Rising Labor Movement
Young historians will explore the complex causes and effects of industrialization in China by perusing the numerous articles included in this webpage. Throughout the resource, there are many writing and discussion prompts to help direct...
Center for History Education
Methods of Reform: The Lowell Mill Girls
Although the girls and women who worked in the Lowell Mills are not often seen this way, they are the forbearers of the American labor movement. Pupils examine primary sources, including testimony about life at Lowell and labor laws, as...
Curated OER
The Movement Before the Movement: Civil Rights Activism in the 1940s
Many educators focus on the civil rights movement as it occurred after Rosa Parks incited the bus boycott. Extend the understanding of the fight for civil rights in the United States with this post-WWII instructional activity. Learners...
Curated OER
Labor Matters
Students examine the labor movement. In this labor issues lesson, students discuss the role of labor organizations and research their beginnings in order to better understand the debate over the Employee Free Choice Act.
City University of New York
African Americans and the Populist Movement
Why did the Populist Party fail to ally itself with African American farmers? To answer this essential question, class members investigate the Populist Era (188-1900) and read an article written by Tom Watson, a Populist leader.
National First Ladies' Library
Workers, Take a Holiday! the Beginning of Labor Day
When your upper elementary class returns in the fall, have them identify and define the beginnings of the labor movement and Labor Day in the United States. They thoughtfully reflect on changes that have occurred in the way we think...
Curated OER
Development of Labor Unions
Students examine the conditions that led to organized labor unions. In this 20th century America lesson, students compare and contrast the Knights of Labor Constitution, the American Federation of Labor Constitution, and the Industrial...
Curated OER
African-Americans and the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps
Students discover the responsibilities of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In this New Deal lesson, students analyze the impact that the inclusion of African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps made on race relations in the...
Curated OER
Native American Music: Call-and-Response
Young scholars are introduced to call-and-response form of Native American song and dance. They identify and describe a call-and-response form as used in "0 Hal'Lwe."
Male students will perform "0 Hal'Lwe" in call-and-response style with...
Curated OER
Introduction to Reform Movements of the 1800s
Eleventh graders consider the impact of reform movements of the 19th century. In this Progressive Reform lesson, 11th graders examine documents and images associated with women's suffrage, prohibition, and labor reform. Students respond...
Curated OER
Federal Holidays
Third graders complete various activities pertaining to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veteran's Day. They conduct research and complete writing and art activities on the...
Curated OER
The Industrial Age in America: Sweatshops, Steel Mills, and Factories
Young scholars investigate the working conditions during the Age of Industrialization. They research how workers reacted to the conditions and discuss the results of labor movement.
PBS
Hidden Messages in Spirituals
Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...
Curated OER
Understanding Past and Present Labor Injustice through Music
Pupils explore early 19th century labor conditions through the use of period songs. For this tolerance lesson, students listen to period songs and respond. Pupils write their own song that protests unfair and dangerous working...
Curated OER
The Impact of the IWW on the Nation or Who were the Wobblies?
Students evaluate the role labor groups had on the U.S. Government in the early 1900's. In this teaching American history lesson, students complete several activities, including response writing and listening to music, that...
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
Students examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a position...
Curated OER
Labor Day
Students examine the events which led to the observance of Labor Day as a national holiday, and analyze the role of labor unions in American history, past and present, through a variety of activities.
Curated OER
History of American Child Labor
Learners study the historical and social issue of child labor. They examine the photographs of Lewis Hine to see evidence of child labor and decide how the photographs depict the historical impact of the practice. They write a letter to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"Sí, se puede!": Chávez, Huerta, and the UFW
"Sí, se puede!" Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta believed organizing farm workers and changing their working conditions were possible. Scholars examine provisions of the Bracero Program, videos, and the United Farm Workers' (UFW) work....
PBS
Women's History: Glass Windows; Glass Ceilings
Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...
Curated OER
Back To Africa
Pupils analyze the massive immigration after 1850 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity, and how the Progressive movement influenced different groups in American...
Curated OER
A New Society Project
Ninth graders examine the social and political movements of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. In this American history lesson, 9th graders work in groups to form their own society and laws. Students make a diagram of their town and...
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Eyes on the Prize "Awakenings"
Dive deeper into the Montgomery Bus Boycott with this multi-stage lesson, centered on the essential question: Why did the boycott last so long? Historians investigate the Jim Crow south through a video clip (not included), then analyze...