Labor Day Lesson Plan: Time, Continuity, and Change

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Labor Day Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Labor Day, and addresses the standard of identifying the impact of the Industrial Revolution on economic and societal changes. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display the word “Labor.” Ask:

• Who do you think we honor on Labor Day? Why do we celebrate Labor Day?
• What comes to mind when you see this word? 
• How does labor, or work, impact your life? 

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read aloud the description on the Labor Day topic page.
• Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
• Pair students and have them each read one of the three Related Reading articles, then share what they learned with each other. 

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Labor Day Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about Labor Day while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie: Make a commercial/advertisement  from the perspective of a labor union organizer in the 1870s. Use evidence and examples to persuade others to join your cause. 
• Make-a-Map: Create a concept map that outlines the events that led to making Labor Day a federal holiday, and the effects of the new holiday. 
• Creative Coding: Code a game where players sort the causes and effects of the Pullman Strike. 

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of the Industrial Revolution with these topics: Industrial Revolution and Railroad History. 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas. 
• Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.