Using The American Labor Studies Center Website
To Incorporate Labor Studies into the Classroom

This guide is intended to help teachers understand how the American Labor Studies Center's website can be used to enhance instruction by the addition of lessons that focus on workers and their struggle to create a more just society.

While the information at this site is of obvious benefit to Social Studies teachers, many other teachers will see how the web links and other resources are helpful in developing their own lessons. Art and Music teachers will find a large collection of songs and graphics that document the historic battles fought by the working class. Math teachers will locate real life examples to teach about wages, inflation, statistical tends, etc. Career and Technical Education teachers will link to lessons that show the changing nature of work and the legal rights of workers. English teachers will find resources on books, quotes, films, biographies, vocabulary, theme papers and debate topics. In general, teachers in all subject areas and at every grade level, including elementary teachers, should be able to enrich their classroom offerings by using the website's information on the life and history of work and working families.

* I. Researching Labor History a. Using labor history bibliographies i. A list of resources with brief descriptions about each can be found by clicking the Bibliography link. Some of these websites are source lists of works dealing with labor studies. The types of sources range from primary sources to books to news articles. Other websites help you to search more effectively and to find sources about topics such as industrial relations and labor history. These links, and others, are available on the Bibliography page: 1. Labor History Research Guide 2. Reference Sources in U.S. Labor Studies 3. Labor History Bibliography 4. Labor Hall of Fame Book List 5. Labor in the 1930s 6. Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education's 40 Books About Labor ii. Links to websites containing lists of labor studies related films, documentaries, and television programs are available by clicking the Filmography link. b. Links directly to sources and other information i. Timelines- several very organized and clear timelines of important events in labor history are available by clicking the Timeline link. ii. Biographies- information about many important labor leaders and reformers is available by clicking the Biographies link. iii. Photographs- artwork and photographs depicting labor struggles and working-class life in past centuries are available by clicking the Photos link. iv. Labor Songs- tunes relating to factories, child labor, unions, and other labor related subjects are available on the Labor Songs page. Lyrics to many other labor songs are also available. v. Child Labor- to find information on both child labor and child labor reform efforts, click on the Child Labor link. The link to Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is available on the Links page. The International Labor Organization has an online classroom site. vi. Glossary of Labor Terms- to view definitions of common labor terms, click the Glossary link. vii. Labor Quotes- quotes about the labor movement made by businessmen, presidents, labor leaders and others are available by clicking Labor Quotes. viii. Policy Issues- various public policy issues surrounding the labor movement are presented in the Policy Issues section. These issues can be the topics for class discussions and assignments. ix. Other Labor Links- links to other labor-related websites are available by clicking the Links button. There are links to such websites as labor organization websites, information databases, and political action group websites. Some great resources available on the Labor Links page include: 1. A Short History of American Labor 2. AFL-CIO American Labor Culture and History 3. Economic Policy Institute 4. International Labour Organization 5. AFSCME Women's Labor History 6. Labor Arts II. Lesson Plans and Courses a. Finding prepared lesson plans i. Links to prepared lessons plans are available by clicking the Lessons link. These lessons were created by teachers, various universities, and other organizations such as the Library of Congress. Some lessons cover specific events, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, while others deal with broader topics. You can find another great Daily Lesson Plan from the New York Times website. b. Finding curricula i. Links to various curricula are available by clicking the Courses link. More prepared courses are available under Links. They include: 1. Collective Bargaining Education Project 2. A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers c. Preparing lesson plans 1. CFT Resource Guide for Teachers- Includes links to sites that offer lesson preparation assistance, such as Resource Guides for Teachers, and other labor education materials. 2. Another great aid is Professor Revitte's Michigan and United States Labor History Resource. FAQ * 1) What is the mission of the website? The American Labor Studies Center strives to "provide students with an opportunity to explore the many facets of a very complex and important part of out nation's history and contemporary life." More detailed information is available on the About Us page. * 2) Why should I teach labor history in my class? The article by James Green provides a very compelling argument for the necessity of teaching labor history. It highlights the importance of not only remembering past struggles and the reform that has resulted, but also teaching the incredible potential of asserting organized, collective power both in and out of the workplace. * 3) Where can I find information about the most current labor issues? You can find information about the most current, up-to-date labor issues here, on the Catherwood Library website from Cornell University. * 4) How can I connect labor history topics to my current curriculum? You can in a number of ways. In social studies courses such as U.S. History, you can enrich topics you already have in your curriculum by including more labor history. For example, when talking about black history month or the civil rights struggle, you can include information from resources such as the Civil Rights and Labor Rights page. The Civil Rights Movement and Labor Movement are related and have influenced one another; it is important to learn about both to fully understand one. * 5) How can I show my students the importance of learning about labor history? Resources such as Your Rights on the Job will help your students to understand the importance of learning about the Labor Movement. This guide shows students what the Labor Movement has achieved, especially through the collective bargaining process and legislative reform efforts. The article by James Green highlights the importance of the Labor Movement and many other reasons for studying labor history. This brief tutorial on the use of the American Labor Studies Center's website was developed by Peter Laird, a student at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, while interning for the NYS AFL-CIO.