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Summary and Objective
With the use of primary documents, students will understand that their lives now are quite different from the lives of many children living in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Students will focus on a different time period in America, specifically New England when young children, working long hours for little pay, in unsafe mills was prevalent.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
Students will view the "John Russell Cutlery Grinding Room Employees" primary document. This can be viewed in the computer lab during designated class time or viewed as a teacher printout.
Step 2.
The teacher will ask the students what they recognize about the picture-its employees, their clothing, age. Students will brainstorm their ideas aloud. The teacher will see if the students can guess the time period of the photo and explain to the class what type of product was made at this factory (pocket knives, cutlery).
Step 3.
The teacher will let the students know of a reform bill passed in many states making the minimum age of factory and millworkers to be 12. Also tell the students, unfortunately many families needed the money and provided "fake" birth certificates so their children could still work and provide some small money for the family. Students will look at "The census of Massachusetts-1875," located on page 875. This shows students that over 50% of children were employed as laborers, many working in manufacturing or textile mills.
Step 4.
Students will work cooperatively in heterogeneous groups of 4 to view the census data. Students will make a list of the top 5 industries children worked in during this late 1800's. As a class, the results documented will be discussed.
Step 5.
Lastly, as a second lesson or extension, students will look at the primary document titled "Nine and Ten Year Olds-They earn 40c in a ten-hour day, but they cannot read." Have the students list on the paper flip chart, adjectives describing how the child laborers look or may feel.
Step 6.
The teacher will give each student one of the three primary document pictures. Each student will put a small black and white photo of him/herself and attach it over the face of a child in the primary document photo. We will use these for a class bulletin board titled "If I worked in the mill in the 19th century." After viewing the newly made photo, students will write a paragraph about how they would feel as a young millworker, working long, hot hours in a mill to help their families survive.
Step 7.
Extra photos of child laborers can be viewed at the website link listed below by acclaimed photographer Lewis Hine.
Step 8.
A correlating, whole class activity would be a class read aloud of the book, Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop. This read aloud discusses child labor in the mills and brings a connection to Child Labor Photographer, Lewis Hine.
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