Free Printable Labor Day Coloring Pages and Lesson Plans

Spring is a poignant time in labor history. March 25, 1911 remembers 146 workers, mostly women, lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 16 mourns Ireland's Easter Rising of slain Feinians. April 28 marks Workers' Memorial Day, on which the organized labor movement pays tribute to the fallen in workplace accidents or in organized labor struggles. May 1 is May Day, honoring International Workers' Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot at a 1886 labor rally. May 19, 1920 is a day when the organized labor movement grieves the Matewan and Mingo County massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 those who would from unions were assaulted at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

Organized labor history is taught as part of American history, but there is no American (or world) history without labor history. Unions, collective bargaining--the fight for workers' rights impact every industry, occupation and person. Teachers and homeschoolers, you can educate students about unions with these free printable May Day and labor history lesson plans. These links include websites, activities, worksheets, movies and books on the organized labor movement.

The American Labor Studies Center offers a gamut of free printable organized labor movement lesson plans. It covers history, events, strikes, lockouts, workplace injuries, child labor, working conditions, collective bargaining, 8-hour workday, sweatshops, slavery, organizing, indentured servitude, socialism and labor, women's rights, African American labor issues, minority discrimination concerns, ULP (unfair labor practices). Lessons cover the Triangle fire (the worst workplace accident in history), West Virginia labor, Pullman Strike (1894), Lawrence Textile Strike (1913), Lowell Strike, Paterson Silk Strike, agriculture strikes and other events. Get free printable union labor worksheets, fill-ins, puzzles and study guides. There are links to films

Explore famous labor leaders: Noam Chomsky, Joe Hill, "Big Bill" Haywood, Pete Seeger, Jimmy Hoffa, Caesar Chavez, the Wisconsin 14 and others from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), AFL-CIO, Teamsters and more. This site has biographies of women labor leaders including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Mary Harris "Mother" Jones and more. To use in lessons, print the list of names on one side and short bios on the other side (mixed up). Students match person with details. Print photos and pin to a map at places they are associated with. Or make a time line along the wall. Plot images in history.

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers two companion lessons in its series The Industrial Age in America. "Sweatshops, Steel Mills and Factories" and "Robber Barons and Captains of Industry" define the problems faced by workers in labor history and the reasons for the organized labor movement. Use the worksheets and activities with middle school and high school students.

The Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit maintains the largest organized labor history archive in the U.S. It has an impressive collection of images in physical exhibits and digital archives on The Labor Movement and Organizations. Walther Reuther who was one of several injured at Ford's Rouge factory "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

The United Farm Workers is the union begun by Cesar Chavez that tends to itinerant and agricultural labor issues. Along with labor movement, the UFW educates people about food safety, immigration, deportation, earth and green initiatives, pesticides and more. An important piece is the youth activism page. UFW seeks to take union and agricultural awareness beyond the classroom walls and into real life.

In honor of May Day, here's a quote from the Albert Shanker Institute. "Imagine opening a high school U.S. history textbook and finding no mention of-or at most a passing sentence about-Valley Forge, the Missouri Compromise...Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark. Imagine if these key events and people just disappeared as if they'd never existed...That is what has happened in history textbooks when it comes to labor's part in the American story." Use these lesson plans to keep the May Day stories and message alive.

How to set up a Job Club: Vocational School Lesson Plans

What is the purpose of education? To prepare students for real life jobs, careers and situations. Here are real life lesson plans for students using a Job Club format. Teach economics, technology, marketing, business English, freshman success, STAR, adult education, alternative education, communications and real life skills. 

Job Club Foundation: Prepare students for real life circumstances and choices by working within the world of work. Align content to students' career paths and current job situations. Teach working collaboratively on real life skills, not just busy work. 

Assess career aptitude and interest. Choose measures which reflect current trends, are positive and enjoyable. Informal discussion can produce some useful information. Validate and realistically support student choices. Guide student research into job market and practical career outlook. 

Develop student focus groups. Divide into four basic areas: science/ engineering (electronics, building trades, HVAC, technology, forestry, and trades) helping/ human services (counseling, medical, teaching, child care, culinary arts,etc.), arts and entertainment (media, musicians, sports, design, art, theater). Where you assign students will depend upon the slant they choose to explore, where they may currently work, how far they plan to go into the trade, etc. Match groups based upon common skill Change groups occasionally if after research, students choose different careers or the focus of the career path changes.

Job Club Framework: If job club is part of a larger curriculum (marketing, economics, etc.) meet once a week; Mondays or Fridays are best. 

Job Club Materials:  

  several computers with Internet access for research.

  smartphones to set up interviews, job shadowing, appointments, etc.

  phone books, local maps, and current occupational reference handbooks

  focus group bulletin board for job postings, career seminars and information, opportunities

Job Club Meeting Format of the job club: Focus groups gather to share and then present to large group. 

Each person gets a limited time to share. Discussion should focus on two areas: real life experiences and research. Real life discussion might include: experiences, difficulties, opportunities experienced in workplace, tips to help each other, job openings, new legislation. Research discussion should include training school reviews, internships, career fairs, skill set development, useful websites, trade journals, new frontiers, emerging specialties, job openings, scholarships, college opportunities, course offerings, apprenticeships, test prep, local and state businesses within the field, community resources, job search site evaluations. 

  

Job Club Syllabus and Homework. Students should generate a resume, complete at least three job interviews (for a full year class); one could be simulated, complete and maintain an online job profile, apply for 5 jobs, programs or colleges using different methods (fax, email, in person, ZOOM or virtual, online application, phone), bring in one piece of information per week, practice active listening, provide useful reflective feedback, take notes and disseminate information via meeting minutes, monthly newsletter, emails or a webpage, problem-solve within their groups, be accountable supportive to group members.

This framework should provide a good start toward career preparation within the classroom.