University of Wisconsin
Why Did the Triangle Fire Occur?
An investigation of the 1911 New York City Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire leads class members to examine primary and secondary source materials related to the event and apply what they learn about the working conditions at the time to...
Curated OER
Concept Formation Lesson Plan: Understanding "Protest"
After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and components...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Chávez’s Central Claim
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...
Curated OER
Lattimer Massacre: What's Beneath the Surface?
Middle schoolers research the growth of unions due to issues related to the Lattimer Massacre. They research primary source documents and create posters, skits and role plays.
Curated OER
Your Land is My Land: A Look at Bootleg Coal Mining During the Depression
Learners examine the extreme conditions of unemployment during the Great Depression. In this multiple perspectives lesson, students analyze photographs of coal mining, research and adopt the perspective of a person affected by...
ESL Holiday Lessons
English Lesson Plan on Labor Day
Download a reading and have learners follow along on a transcript about Labor Day. A series of worksheets follow that include matching, filling in blanks, and unscrambling word spellings. An online multiple choice activity is also...
Curated OER
Badges of Pride
Fifth graders investigate jobs and how people identify with their job. In this labor lesson, 5th graders create a book from illustrations of various jobs. Students read an article about labor and answer questions about the article....
Curated OER
The Struggle to Organize
Students analyze correspondence and a news release regarding the Harlan, Kentucky, mine strike of 1931-1932. They use these documents to discuss the problems of organizing industrial trade unions before the New Deal.
Curated OER
Labor Day Newspaper
Learners examine the history of the Labor Day holiday and write a newspaper article about it. They practice using new vocabulary words and discover the layout of a newspaper.
Curated OER
Equal Opportunity Employment
Students list and discuss the types of discrimination they are protected from under the EEOC. The class brainstorms ideas for protecting themselsevles against employment discrimination. Students write a summary paragraph discussing the...
Curated OER
Communist Revolution
Students examine the Russian Communist Revolution of 1917. They watch and discuss a video, take notes and answer video discussion questions, and read and evaluate newspaper articles about how Lenin and Stalin are viewed today in the...
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 reinforce...
Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Winners and Losers in the Job Market
The second lesson in "The Color of Law" shows how government policies supported economic inequality. Scholars read additional excerpts and respond to text-dependent questions from "The Color of Law" text, examine primary source documents...
National Woman's History Museum
Dolores Huerta: The Life and Work of a 20th Century Activist
Extra! Extra! High schoolers read about Dolores Huerta, the social activist who helped organize the United Farm Workers. Researchers read primary and secondary sources about Huerta's work and craft a headline, supported by three pieces...
Curated OER
Lyddie
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.
Appalachian State University
Glory: Motion Picture Study Guide
This is an excellent resource for teachers to use for incorporating the motion picture Glory into the classroom! Breaking down the film into particular noteworthy and telling scenes, the guide offers important considerations for each...
Curated OER
Striking a Deal
Students explore the economic repercussions of a potential Major League Baseball strike. Then, through researching other labor strikes in American history, students consider the importance and impact of labor unions in United States...
Curated OER
Property Rights: Soviet Farms
Students examine the problems with the collectivized agriculture program in the Soviet Union. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, participate in a property rights scenario activity, create a plan for maximizing the value of land, and...
Curated OER
Child Labor
Students examine how how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so. They describe how workers with specialized jobs and the ways in which they...
Federal Reserve Bank
Turn Your Radio On
After listening to and analyzing a series of FDR's Fireside Chats, groups create their own recordings, and using New Deal programs, address a current economic condition.
Curated OER
Working Where The Sun Never Shines
Students analyze documents of miners and identify their working conditions. In this industrial revolution instructional activity students view documents and photographs of miners and discuss their conditions and what some possible...
Curated OER
Lambert Castle Museum, Great Falls, NJ
Students complete a variety of activities that go along with the study of the 1913 silk strike in Great Falls, NJ. They examine evidence of historic industries and how they have changed in their own community.
Federal Reserve Bank
What Really Caused the Great Depression?
Falling wages. Rising unemployment. Falling prices. Sound familiar? Young economists look at the role the US banking system had in causing the Great Depression.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Driver’s Licenses And Unauthorized Immigrants
Should driver's licenses be granted to unauthorized immigrants? That is the question class members grapple with in a instructional activity that asks them to first read a fact sheet that details the arguments for and against...