Click here for .pdf to
download and print
Two 50-minute classes
The year was 1908. Sergeant O’Leary
worries about the O’Malley family. The father has just
lost his job. The mother is in her seventh month and can’t
work. Johnny is twelve years old. He looks as though he is
fifteen. He is a strapping kid, almost six feet tall and getting
muscular early. “Yeah,” the Sergeant tells the
clerk, “I’ll vouch for the kid. He’s fourteen
if he’s a day. A hard worker, too.” The clerk fills
out the working papers and says, “Good luck, kid.” This
was not an unusual scene in America in 1908. It is still not
an unusual scene in many parts of America and other countries
in the world. Necessity often turns children into adults far
too early. Are the parents to blame? The answer is not that
easy. Poverty, lack of education, and the need to simply survive
are the basis of child labor. This lesson connects America’s
past fight for fair labor laws and the end of child labor with
the present battle against the lost of innocence and the salvation
of pride within the family unit wherever it may exist.
Through the activities in this lesson, students will become familiar
with several of the first labor leaders, conditions in the factories,
child labor at the turn of the Twentieth Century, and child labor as
it exists today. After examining the video clips and Web sites, the students
will participate in hands-on activities that will define the Child Labor
Laws, where child labor exists today, and examine ways in which they
can help combat the abuse toward children around the world. This lesson
can be used alone or in conjunction with the lesson plans offered in
the PBS series, Freedom: A History of US.
Social
Studies, History and English/Language Arts
Students will be able to:
• Describe the working conditions of
the factories at the turn of the Twentieth Century.
• Identify principle
labor figures and their fight for freedom of speech.
• Explain the reasons
children were allowed to work.
• Relate the literature
of Upton Sinclair and the artwork of Ben Shahn to the
Labor Movement.
• Analyze Child Labor
Laws and identify countries in the world where child
labor exists today.
Geography Education National Standards
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/standardslist.html
Places and Regions: How culture and experience influence
people’s perceptions of places and regions
Human systems: How the forces of cooperation and
conflict among people influence the division and control
of Earth’s surface
Louisiana Department of Education
http://www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp?I=CONTENT
Louisiana English Standard 6
Students read, analyze, and respond to literature as a record of life
experiences.
Benchmark
ELA-1-H4: interpreting complex texts with supportive explanations
to generate connection to real-life situation and other texts (e.g.,
business, technical, scientific); (1, 2, 4, 5);
Louisiana Social Studies Standard
5
Organizing Information: Students effectively sort, manipulate, and organize
the information that was retrieved. They make decisions on how to use
and communicate their findings.
C-1B-H4: evaluating issues related to the
differences between American ideals and the realities
of American social and political life; (1, 2, 4, 5)
Video:
Freedom: A History of US, Episode 9: Working for Freedom
and 10: Yearning to Breathe Free.
Web sites:
Freedom: A History of US. Home PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html
This Web site offers segments from the PBS series, Freedom: A History
of US, pertinent links to related information, and educational
guidelines.
Images of Child Labor and the
Global Village: Photography for Social Change
http://www.childlaborphotoproject.org/childlabor.html#us
This Web site answers many questions about child labor: What is a child,
what is child labor, where does child labor exists, does child labor
exist in the United States?, etc.
The History Place
http://www.historyplace.com/index.html
This Web site includes investigative child labor photos by Lewis Hines
and links to many more important events in history. http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/dunbar.jpg for
the picture on the Web.
Ben Shahn at Harvard, An Exhibition
of Protest
http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/Shahn/exhibitiontour/artistsprotest.html
This Web site offers the social protest artwork of Ben Shahn during the
Great Depression.
U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau
on International Affairs
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat5/toc.htm
This Web site explores international views of child labor, the laws,
and steps being taken to limit child labor to acceptable practices.
Kids Can Free the Children
http://www.freethechildren.org/
This Web site informs the viewer of international activities to reduce
child labor practices around the globe. It even has a link to “Oprah’s
Angel Network”.
National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA)
http://www.archives.gov
Per Student:
• A copy of Child Laborers – Why? (
Attachment 1)
• Pencil and paper
• Video Questions (Attachment
3)
Per Group (of 4 – 5 students):
• Activity sheets for research
(Attachment 4)
• Writing assignment – You
are a Child Laborer (Attachment 5)
Prior to teaching this lesson, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson
on each computer in your classroom. (THIS IS OPTIONAL: Go to Teacher
Resources for a companion lesson plan by Johns Hopkins University. These
lesson plans can be used in conjunction with each other.)
Prepare the hands-on element of
the lesson by copying the group activity sheets.
Create groups of 4 – 5 students each.
Read excerpt from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (Attachment
2).
Step 1. Ask the students if they are going on vacation
this year. Ask them if they think that their great grandparents
went on vacation. (Nearly every student will raise their hand
and have a place that their parents have already discussed.
Inform the students that the common worker at the turn of the
Twentieth Century did not go on vacation. They worked six days
a week, twelve hours a day. The only day off was Sunday. There
were no paid vacation days. If a worker took days off to travel,
he/she would not have a job when they came back.)
Step 2. Distribute the
picture of a mother and child worker to each member of the class
(Attachment 1). These people are shucking oysters. Do you think
that this could be a scene in New Orleans? What do you think
this child’s life is like? Is there any legitimate reason
that a child should go with his mother to work and be put to
work at the age of five? Why are the very little children there?
(Guide the students to understand that many immigrants had come
to America. They were desperate for jobs. This scene very well
could have taken place in New Orleans or any other port city
where fishing was a major industry. In those days there was no
welfare or free day care for children. Many of the immigrants
could not read or write. The children are there to work or because
there is no one at home to take care of them. Explain that the
workers are shucking oysters, even the little girl with the apron.)
Step 3. Read the excerpt
from Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle. (Attachment
2) (Tell the students that this book took place in the Chicago
meat packing plants and played a large part in the reform of
labor laws and safety laws.)
Step 4. Ask the students
if they could have started working at the age of eight or ten?
Why not? (Guide the students to understand that the legal age
for leaving children unattended is twelve or else the parents
can be held responsible for child neglect. Even baby sitting
is out of the question until a child is twelve or older. The
legal age for a part time job is sixteen. Yet even today in the
United States and other countries around the world, these laws
are being broken just as the law was broken for little Stanislovas.)
1. Ask your students what they believe “freedom
of speech” is. (The right to say what you think in public
without the possibility of arrest.) Tell the students that
they are about to watch an excerpt from Freedom: A History
of US, Episode 9, Working for Freedom. Distribute Video
Questions (Attachment 3).
2. Insert Freedom:
A History of US, Episode 9, Working for Freedom,
into the VCR. Provide your students with a FOCUS FOR
MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to answer the following
questions:
• What was this time
in the industrial age called?
• What complaint did
the workers have against their jobs?
• What happened if
a worker complained?
• Tell the students
to look closely for children among the workers.
START the tape at “The Rise of Labor” where
a “newsy” is in front of a streetcar and
STOP at the picture of the boys on the ladder. This segment
should last about two minutes.
Students will answer the questions and the teacher will guide them in
a discussion. (Guide the students to understand that this was called
the Gilded Age because of the progress that was being made and the tremendous
amount of money earned by people called tycoons. These were men who could
invest in such industries as the steel industry. The workers’ main
complaint about their jobs was that the hours were too long. If a worker
complained, got hurt, or had to take off work he probably would get fired.
Explain that there are children among the adult workers because many
families needed their income to survive.
3. Tell the students that they
are about to watch another excerpt from Freedom: A History
of US. This segment will show the beginning of social
revolt against working conditions. Provide a FOCUS FOR
MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to answer the following questions:
• Who called “working
men to arms”?
• What happened to
Spies and three of his organizers?
START the film at stop point and play until the
view of the segment title “Hard Times” appears.
This segment will run approximately four minutes.
Students will answer the questions and the teacher will guide them in
a discussion. (Guide the students to understand that August Spies was
a labor leader that felt talk was not enough to cause changes. Part of
this was because the police did not agree with demonstrations and the
bosses had no sympathy for the workers. Spies and his organizers were
arrested and hung.)
4. Tell the students that
they will see the growing pains of the first United States union,
the IWW. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION,
asking them to answer the following questions:
• Who was the main
organizer of the IWW?
• What does IWW stand
for?
• When IWW workers
sought to speak in public, what happened to them?
• What were they asking
for?
• When the Massachusetts
State Legislature changed the women and children’s
working day from fifty-six hour to fifty-four hours,
what did the factory owners do?
• What act led to a
factory hearing on the factory conditions?
• The Mill owners finally
agreed to what new conditions for the women and children?
FASTFORWARD manually to “Speaking Out”.
Start the film and continue to “Finally a Statesman”. STOP the
film. This segment is approximately four minutes.
Students will answer the questions and the teacher will guide them in
a discussion.
(Guide the students to understand that Big Bill Haywood was the main
organizer of the IWW. IWW stood for Industrial Workers of the World.
They sought freedom of speech in order to let people know what went on
in the factories and things could change. They wanted shorter hours,
better pay, and safer conditions. In that time, a worker could not sue
his employer and the owners of the companies had enough money to influence
control the police and the courts. Workers needed to be kept in their
place. They not only were uneducated, but should be grateful for all
America has to offer. When the Massachusetts State Legislature lowered
the women and children’s weekly hours to fifty-four, the bosses
increased the speed of the machines in order to increase production and
took two hours of pay from their paychecks. This increase in speed made
the work even more dangerous. The women and children went on strike.
The children were encouraged to go to sympathetic families outside of
town. As they gathered at the railroad station, the Lawrence police appeared
and started beating them. This called for a congressional hearing and
the news stories informed the world of the conditions under which women
and children worked. The mill owners finally agreed to a raise in wages,
overtime pay, and to rehire the strikers.)
5. The teacher will tell the
students that they are about to watch another segment from Freedom:
A History of US, Webisode 10, Yearning to Breathe Free. Explain
that this segment is entirely on child labor. Provide students
with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, asking them to answer
the following questions:
• What is the name
of the woman who fought for children’s rights?
• At the cotton mill
in Alabama, what injuries happened to young children?
• Why was Mother Jones
arrested?
• What is written on
the signs the children carried?
• When asked who gave
her the right to speak, what was Mother Jones’ answer?
Insert Webisode 10, Yearning to Breathe Free. START the
film after the initial part on the Statue of Liberty where the Statue
of Liberty has fire works going off. Continue the segment to “America
the Beautiful” and stop. This segment is approximately four minutes.
Students will answer the questions
and the teacher will guide them in a discussion.
(Guide the students to identify Maria Harris Jones. Discuss the conditions
of the children at work. This was 1903 and employers hired very young
children. Very often in the cotton mills, they could lose a finger or
a hand. Mother Jones continued to champion the children and was arrested
for being a public nuisance. The children marched with signs that said, “We
want to go to school”. When asked who gave her the right to speak,
she said, “Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.” Explain
to the children that although laws had been passed after 1903 to make
the working age for children sixteen, many employers, priests, family
members, and officials ignored them in order to keep cheap labor for
industry and money coming into the family. Remind them of the excerpt
from The Jungle. The family felt as if they had no choice.)
1. Inform the students that the next activity will involve
researching child labor practices in the U.S. and around the
world, protests, and efforts to change child labor abuse. Many
families feel that they have no choice when it comes to having
their children work. Survival is at the top of the list. This
not only exists in other countries, but still exists in the
U.S. today. Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION,
asking them to fulfill the individual assignments with their
Web sites. The teacher will hand out the group assignments
and explain the purpose of each group. (Attachment 5)
2. While students are taking
turns on the computer, the groups will collaborate on scripts
designed around a written monologue from a child who is a laborer.
These written assignments are detailed in the attachment. The
students will present their character to the class. (Attachment
6)
3. The students take turns
going to the computer for the research. They will utilize the
assigned Web sites. The students will create a word processing
page as the first step. They will then minimize it and go to
their designated Web site. They will cut and paste necessary
information from the site by first highlighting it and then going
to Edit, Copy. At that point, minimize the Web site and bring
back up the word processing page. Go to Edit, Paste and the highlighted
material will paste into place. Continue this process until the
students have the needed information and then print out a copy.
4. Assessment of this lesson
can be a quiz from the video questions, the paper written on
the child laborer, and the presentations. Encourage students
to go to the Freedom: A History of US Web site
in order to review the scripts from Webisodes 9 and 10. This
can be used in development of their script and review for a quiz.
They should also utilize the additional resources segment for
more detailed information. Tell the students to explore the Web
site for other Webisodes of American history in which they are
interested. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS:
• Have the
students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair or A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Compare these
books to the film clips and the history of labor in the United
States.
MATHEMATICS:
• Research
the economy at the turn of the Twentieth Century. How
much was the average salary of a wage earner? What was
the average salary of a farm laborer? If a family of
four (father, mother, and two children over the age of
ten) were all working, what would their income be?
TECHNOLOGY/SOCIAL STUDIES:
• Research
the tycoons of this industrial period. How much did they
earn? Find examples of their “American Castles”.
How did these tycoons use the new immigrant population?
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS:
• Research
artists involved in the labor movement such as Ben Shahn,
an artist that fought for labor rights during the Great
Depression. How was poster art used to educate the people
about labor reform?
• Have
a union leader visit the classroom and give a talk on the history
of unions and what impact unions have on industry today.
• Visit
local museums to view the manner in which people lived
during this time period.
• Start
a local group that works to prevent child labor.
• Have
students find the businesses in their area that will
hire teenagers and investigate the current labor practices.
See attached. Student Materials include:
• Child
Laborers – Why?(
Attachment 1) ( PDF )
• Excerpt
from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (Attachment 2) ( PDF )
• Video
Questions (Attachment 3) ( PDF )
• Activity
sheets for research (Attachment 4) ( PDF )
• Writing
assignment – You are a Child Laborer (Attachment 5) ( PDF )
