Labor Day! While I
know many teachers will just be gearing up to start school again after Labor
Day (I’m looking at you friends and colleagues in Chicago!), many of us have
already been back to school for weeks!
Typically, especially as time marches out, Labor Day is
thought to be just another day off of work and school. My goal for this year is to create meaningful
classroom materials for these holidays that might otherwise be overlooked or
brushed aside.
A lot of the materials floating around the internet in
regards to Labor Day is very much aimed at Jr. High (or Middle School if you prefer...the kids around here in Knoxville look at me like I'm crazy when I say Jr. High!) students and beyond. I wanted to create something accessible and
appropriate for the early grades that would resonate and impress upon students
the importance of Labor Day and why it should matter to them!
I came up with this fun interactive book that focuses on
what Labor Day is, dictionary skills, and text features such as bold words and
a glossary. The book is intended to be
colored in, drawn in, and written in. I
have found that allowing young students this opportunity to interact with the
material that they are supposed to be learning from increases their engagement and understanding. I also chose to focus
on things that need repetitive reinforcement for mastery in the classroom such
as dictionary skills and text features. Also included is a vocabulary activity
to draw upon those text features and help students synthesize the information
they just learned! Check it out in my TpT store by clicking here or clicking on the pictures below!
Next is my favorite part of the bundle! I must admit that having worked with 3rd graders for the
first time last year, I came to realize that I have not been teaching writing using best practices! When my 3rd graders took the
standardized state test writing portion, they were given several pieces of
information (written essays, etc.) and then asked to answer a prompt using the
information they just read! I absolutely
LOVED this format…only I hadn’t once exposed them to this unfamiliar way of
doing things. I felt terrible and spent
the rest of the year (albeit short) doing as many writing activities in this
manner as possible. (Check out my kiddos’ favorite, our Who Would Win writing activity!)
Now whenever I create a writing prompt, I do so using the aforementioned format to prepare students for what writing assignments will be like all the way through
college! (I see what you did there college and career readiness standards...) For Labor Day I have created
one essay for the students to read and 3 different prompts that can be used
with it. Use 1, 2, or all 3! The essay
delves into the laws and protections that have been afforded to laborers as
well as a little on child labor (meant to resonate with the young students and
have them think globally!) The informative prompt asks students to tell about three
laws that now exist to help protect workers, the persuasive asks students why
child labor should not be allowed, and the creative asks students to imagine
what it would be like to be a child laborer and how they would feel.
The last page includes and extension activity to support an organization aimed at stopping child labor around the world. Volunteerism can be a great way to unite a classroom and teach students about the importance of community and what people can accomplish when they work together! Choosing one cause to focus on all year is a great way to teach kids about follow through as well as allow ample learning opportunities and opportunities to see their effort grow into tangible results! The fact that it is focused on children should heighten your students' interest and empathy. Hope you all enjoy the back to school season and the first day off from school to celebrate all the hard work you do ;)
Happy teaching y’all!
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