Social Studies 5

Mr. Peter Vooys

Mrs. Tamara Sampson
December 8, 2015
Child Labour
GLOs from Alberta
Program of Studies
Social Studies GLO 5.3:
TSW will demonstrate an
understanding of the
events and factors that
have changed the ways of
life in Canada over time
and appreciate the impact
of these changes on
citizenship and identity.
SLOs Assessments
Social Studies SLO Formative Assessment
5.3.1 : Discussion, questioning,
TSW appreciate how thumbs-up/thumbs-down
changes impact procedures.
citizenship and identity:
recognize how economic Read student journal work
and political changes to observe completion,
impact ways of life of use questions to inspire
citizens. improvement of
organizing their thoughts.

Lesson time: 45 minutes

1. Introduction-10 minutes
2. Body of Lesson- 25 minutes
3. Closure- 10 minutes
Materials: Voices of Canada textbook, looseleaf paper (2 sheets per child), costume piece for teacher,
industrial soundscape, computer and speakers.
Objective: TSW participate in a role-play simulation of child factory labour, and will journal about their
experiences.
Introduction (10 minutes):
Note: the students will be briefed before this activity, to ensure they are ready for the experience. Teacher
Associate Mrs. Sampson has cleared this activity, and my rapport with the students is high, so this will be
a low-risk, though dramatic activity.
The classroom will be modified for this activity. In this first iteration, the lights were turned off in the
classroom, and an industrial soundscape from YouTube was played on the classroom speakers. Mr.
Vooys wore a bright safety vest to distinguish his character, Mr. Sanchez, from himself. He also modified
his voice and physical mannerisms.
The students will line up in the hallway. The student teacher, in character, will greet them severely, and
tell them that he has a job for them today, and that they will be paid for their work. He will ask them to
sign a piece of paper, and will bring them inside the classroom. The lights will be off, and his character
will ask them to sit down. They will be instructed in the activity they must do. They must write the letter
L in cursive, as neatly as possible. If their letter Ls are not neat enough, their paper will be torn up and
they must start again. Talking is forbidden. If they do not work hard enough, they will be removed from
the classroom, where they must stand silent and still.
After 9 minutes, the teacher will leave the classroom, and remove the costume piece.
Body (25 minutes):
The teacher, no longer in character will return to the classroom, and the class will gather on the carpet to
debrief the experience, through readings, sharing, and questioning.
Questions:
How did you feel having to do this job?
What did it feel like to have your work torn up? (to a student who had their paper thrown out)
Did you know that kids your age had to work in conditions that were even worse than this 100 years ago?
The class will read page 254 in their social studies textbook, Voices of Canada, which details the
experience of child factory labourers in early-20 th Century Canada.
How do you think life is better for you now than it would have been for child labourers?
The teacher will explain that the piece of paper they signed was a form of contract, and that child
labourers today will often sign contracts that they do not understand, which give exploitative employers
(questionable) pretext for keeping them bound in labour.
Depending on time factors, and length of discussion, the teacher will then read excerpts from an article
about child labour, and show a brief video of child labour abuses perpetrated today.
Journaling Activity:
Students will write 1) a first-person journal paragraph of their 10-minute experience in a factory, and 2)
a paragraph about how they would have faced working conditions in a factory 100 years ago.
A third question was provided, if students wanted to write a third paragraph: How does it make you feel
to know that there are kids (in countries like India and Bangladesh) who still have to work in factories
like this?
Differentiation: upon completion, several students proposed further questions like How would you feel if
you were a parent with a child who had to work in a factory? I encouraged them to add these questions
to the above questions written on the board, and a number of students wrote responses to the student-
generated questions. Another student asked if he could draw, and I encouraged him. He drew a great
picture of a factory, which he shared with the class.
Slower learners were in a group with the school resource teacher, who helped them to focus their writing
on a single first-person paragraph about their experience in our factory. Focusing on one of the two
assigned paragraphs led to a marked improvement in the slower groups written work.
Closure (10 minutes):
The teacher will lead a brief class discussion about the activity, and inquire if students better understand
the conditions faced by children in Canadian factories 100 years ago, and in different countries now.
Note: this section of the lesson included sharing of responses from several students.
Post-lesson notes:
-My Grade Five practicum class is a very talkative class of social learners, which can be both productive
and non-productive. We had a long and fruitful discussion about their experiences in our imaginary
factory, which took longer than intended.
-At the end of the lesson, several of the learners who went with Mrs. Eckhart wanted to share their
responses, as did one of the students in the main group. They shared their written work, which was of
superior quality! One student in particular, Anna, wrote something far better than anything Id seen
from her in the practicum. During our debrief, Mrs. Sampson commented that this experiential lesson had
been a great way to reach students who are not generally served by a read and respond approach. This
was an eye-opening experience, and will shape future Social Studies lessons I teach!