Lesson Plan: Labor Union Activism – Teaching With Primary Sources (Scaffolded Writing Resources)

Subjects:

U.S. History, Civics/Government

Grade Level:

7-12

Lesson Duration:

• Two 40-55 minute class periods

Essential Questions:

• How effective are unions in helping workers manage challenging situations and improve their working conditions and wages?

• How have governments and organizations attempted to improve working conditions?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Develop a position and present a viewpoint based on historical evidence.

• Explain the potential impact of labor unions on workers by watching a video, answering questions, completing an outline and drafting a paragraph.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “Labor Union Activism Is on the Rise, Recalling the Great Depression” (Transcript)

• Video Guide and Question Sheet

• Video Guide Key 

• Paragraph Outlines

  • No scaffolds

  • Partial w/Topic and Concluding Sentence

  • Partial w/Evidence to Sort

  • Full Scaffolding – Sorted Evidence

• Primary Source Pack

• Primary Source Analysis Activity

Key Vocabulary:

• Labor union: a group of workers or employees organized together to negotiate with an employer about working conditions or wages

• Sit-down strike: an act where workers occupy (sit down in) their place of employment and refuse to work or allow others to work until the strike is settled.

• Private sector: the part of an economy that is controlled by individuals or organizations other than the government

• National Labor Relations Board or Wagner Act: passed in 1935, this important U.S. labor law ensures the right of private sector workers to organize into trade unions, negotiate using collective bargaining, and take collective action like a strike.

Procedure:

1. Review: Ask students if they know anyone who is a member of a union. Can they share what the purpose is? If no one knows a union member, can they name any high-profile strikes in recent news (i.e.” Hollywood” Writers Guild of America strike in 2023, United Auto Workers strike in 2023, International Longshoremen’s Association port strike in 2024)?

2. Guided Instruction: Have students watch the “Labor Union Activism Is on the Rise, Recalling the Great Depression” video.

   1. This can be done as a whole class, or individually on computers or using the EdPuzzle platform.

   2. The video guide and question sheet poses two guiding questions for the whole video, along with several sentence stems that students can complete as they watch.

   3. After reviewing responses, and highlighting exemplary answers, the teacher will distribute the scaffolded outlines to students.

3. Outline and Writing Prompt: Each version of the outline has the same writing prompt. For this activity, students will respond to the following prompt: How effective are unions in helping workers manage challenging situations and improve their working conditions and wages?

   1. Demonstrate how responses on the video guide and question sheet could be used to craft topic and concluding sentences.

   2. Guide students through creating categories and details on their version of the Outline form.

      1. Depending on time and classroom set-up, students can work together or independently to turn their categories and details into full sentences.

      2. Be sure to emphasize that each detail can be more than one sentence.

4. Primary Source Analysis: Have students complete one or more of the Primary Source Analysis activities provided for this lesson.

   1. Students are encouraged to draw upon one or more primary sources to support their answer and evidence while constructing their outline.

5. Outline Construction: Have students complete whichever scaffolded outline they were given.

6. Paragraph Construction: Using the outline that students completed, have them construct their full paragraph.

To learn more about the evidence-based instructional methodology used here for teaching writing, see: The Hochman Method | The Writing Revolution

About the Author:

Kate Harris has taught U.S. History and Government/Civics courses in public schools in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and helps run voter registration programs and the Feminist Student Union at her school.

Standards

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

• D1.5.6-8. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.
• D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.
• D2.Civ.5.9-12. Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
• D2.Civ.13.9-12. Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
• D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
• D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
• D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
• D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
• D3.1.6-8. Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.
• D3.3.6-8. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources to support claims, noting evidentiary limitations.
• D4.1.6-8. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments.

Common Core Literacy Standards

• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequences of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact or develop over the course of a text.
• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.