Scott Jason Benson

A Curriculum Unit for the 4^th Grade

Inequalities in the Workforce

“Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?”

Table of Contents

Overview and Rational

Teacher Background Information

Unit Planning Chart

Organization and Subject Matter Overview

Goals and Objectives

Learning Activities Bank

Assessments

Appendices

Overview and Rationale

While going to school to become a teacher, I have had the opportunity to work in various work environments. For the first five years of my collegiate career, I was a factory worker who struggled to stay awake during an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. graveyard shift. I learned quickly that I was just another pair of hands that had to be careful of pinch points and moving machinery. Headaches and irritability were my constant companions during my Pepperidge Farm experience but I quickly learned to ignore them. Unfortunately I began to ignore my wife and school as well as I became more and more sleep deprived. I guess you could say that sleep became an obsession with me. However, the pay was good and the insurance was even better, so I stayed. Thankfully I didn’t have to stay longer than five years. My wife soon got a teaching job and I was able to get a part-time job.

My part-time job led me to a strange and exciting environment as I became a sweeper/custodian for a local elementary school. It wasn’t a bad job because my boss allowed me to work whatever hours were most convenient for me. I could come in at 3 p.m. or 2 a.m. as long as I got it cleaned before the next day. The bad thing was that I had to clean feces finger painting off of the bathroom stalls and I only earned $6.00 an hour. Do I feel that 6 dollars an hour was an appropriate wage? To be honest, no I don’t. Unfortunately, when money is in short supply, you do whatever you can to provide for your family.

The instances from my life that I have shared above aren’t unique to my life. Millions of workers throughout the United States and the world are working in jobs that pay little or no money and are required to work long hours without any rest. This is a very important social justice that effects the lives of everyone. I, however, feel fortunate to have had both of these working experiences because it brought a new understanding about the workforce to my eyes. Whether it was the laughter that followed when I explained that I was a part time custodian or the memory lapses that fill my mind from the lack of sleep during my five years at Pepperidge Farm, these experiences have helped cultivate a deep conviction in my heart that students throughout our nation need to be taught about our workforce and the painful injustices that often occur therein. As teachers, I feel that we can help change these workforce conditions by teaching our students that they have rights in the workforce, and that they should have the privilege of enjoying these rights.

This unit is designed for use in the 4^th grade. My unit theme is “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?” Even though the Constitution of the United States says that all men/women are created equal, we have learned through history that this is not always the case. Instances of racial, cultural, and gender stereotyping have often scarred our nations workforce. The National Council for the Social Studies states that learners need to “recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice (NCSS 6h). I feel that by helping learners examine our nations workforce and some of the typical stereotypes that are contained therein, it will allow them to become familiar with the concepts of fairness and equity and will give them opportunities to apply them in their own lives.

The Utah State Core Curriculum for the 4^th grade emphasizes the importance of analyzing the role of the worker in a business (Utah 6040-0303). This includes differentiating the roles of workers in a business, identifying the needs of workers, and identifying the workers contributions to business success (Utah 6040-0303). Students will be able to see the relevance of this theme in their own lives because all of their parents will be coming from different perspectives in the workforce. Some of the students’ parents may be doctors who make $250,000 a year while other parents may be immigrant workers who only make $5,000 a year. Learners need to realize that every job is an important part of a business. Every job. Whether you are a custodian or business chairperson, everyone is a contributing member of the business and should be paid accordingly. This relates to social studies in all aspects because the overall goal of social studies is to help learners become aware that they are and should be contributing members of a society and that they are important to that society.

Teacher Background Information

As mentioned in the overview and rational, this unit will focus on the theme “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?”. In order to answer this question, the unit is divided into 4 1-week lessons that will help students to understand equity and fairness in the workforce and will allow them to see the important contributions that everyone makes to a business.

During week 1 the theme of our unit, “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?”, will be introduced. We will also discuss stereotyping in the workforce and how this pertains to the students’ future careers. Week 2 will begin with a field trip to the Pepperidge Farm factory where students will experience first hand some of the different working environments that exist in the workforce. Group interviews with actual factory employees set the stage for the rest of the week as the student’s discuss the roles of workers in business. The focus of week 3 will be child labor and will expose the children to the reality that child labor still exists today. Some people might believe that children shouldn’t be exposed to such harsh reality, but I feel that it is important that everybody, even children, should be aware of the plights and struggles of those who surround them. To conclude the unit, week 4 will be spent discussing the effect that education has on a person’s career. This final week will help children realize the importance of education in their future lives and hopefully allow them to see the relationship that exists between a person’s education and the money that they might make.

In order to carry out an effective unit, it is imperative that the teacher knows and understands the concepts that he/she is going to teach. Listed below are a variety of sources that will be invaluable in teaching this unit.

Resources

http://www.dol.gov/ -The US department of Labor website. A very informational website that has contributed information to every lesson in the unit. It is an important source of statistics, charts, and factual information for the entire United States with regard to wages, equal opportunity employment, and how education really does effect employment.

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/library/ -The official online library for the US department of Labor. Contains pictures, videos, and articles on almost every subject in the workforce. You are able to search through the library according to author or subject.

http://dced.utah.gov/Factbook/labor_.pdf – This link leads to an article that contains lots of information on the labor market in Utah. From the companies that employ the most people in Utah to expected growth in the Utah workforce, this article can be an important source for statistical information. The article also contains graphs that will allow students and teachers to compare the average hourly wages that a worker makes here Utah to other western states.

www.labor.state.ut.us The official website for the Labor Commission of Utah. Contains information on Utah child labor laws, equal opportunity employment, and wages according to county based on race, ethnicity or gender. A very helpful sight.

http://clea.sit.edu/learningresources.html –The Child Labor Education and Action Project website. This website contains a wealth of information and resources on child labor. This site includes lesson plans, other websites, and contact information.

http://www.digitalrag.com/iqbal/ This is a website posted by students at Broadmeadow Middle School in order to help other students learn about child labor. The website is dedicated to a young man from Pakistan, Iqbal, who was sold into labor at the age of 4 for $12. After he escaped, he began to speak out against child labor and was eventually murdered in 1995 for his courageous voice. I feel that this is a great site for students because it tells them about a young man, close to their age, who gave his life fighting for other children. Very powerful.

www.nccte.org/publications/ncrve/mds-09xx/mds-934.asp?dirid=146&dspid=2 This web address leads to an article called Diversity in the Workforce, Series Report #1. I was almost overwhelmed by all of the information contained in the article. It discusses why there is stereotyping in the workforce, what we can do about it, and gives numerous resources for further research on the topic. This is one of the most important sources of information for this unit and should be read in advance. In case that the link above doesn’t work, you can e-mail either the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education (NDCCTE) or the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) for information on the article.

Unit Planning Chart

Teacher: Scott Jason Benson Grades: 4^th Unit of Study: Does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage? Time Frame: 4 weeks		Unit Issue Does everyone have right to earn a fair wage?			Teacher Resources National Geographic, September, 2003 http://www.dol.gov/ http://www.dol.gov/oasam/library/ http://dced.utah.gov/Factbook/labor_.pdf www.labor.state.ut.us http://clea.sit.edu/learningresources.html www.nccte.org/publications/ncrve/mds-09xx/mds-934.asp?dirid=146&dspid=2			Read Alouds Kids at Work by Russell Freedmen
Student Reading/Literature http://www.digitalrag.com/iqbal/		Oral Language · Poems readings about the plight of child labor. · Group presentations				Written Language · Letters to companies voicing concerns of unfair wages. · Unit Journals
Unit Outcomes and Goals The learners will be able to · Identify examples rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force · Recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)
Integrated Learning
Social Studies · Stereotyping in the Workforce · Field Trip to Pepperide Farm · Child Labor · Education vs. Wage	Art · Draw pictures of various people in different careers. · Put together collages of different kinds of jobs in the workforce.						Music · Write letters to various musicians asking about how education effected their careers · Research inquiries into stereotyping in music industry. Are there any African American country singers?
Science · Oral reports on leading female/minority scientists and their contributions to science.			Math · Compare the wages of men and women in certain jobs. ·						P.E./Health · Interview local female athletes who have wrestled or played football.
Technology · Use specific websites to find information on ideas presented in unit.				Accommodations for Learners · Students will be allowed to make audio/video tapes instead of writing papers. · Students can draw/illustrate careers. · Students will be given shorter assignments/longer time to complete.
Assessment · Have students place what they feel is their best work for the unit in personal portfolios. · 5-minute personal interviews with each student to discuss his or her feelings on the unit goals. · Unit Assessment-Students will fill out justification worksheet regarding job placement and wage.
Culminating Activity/Unit Projects · Students will keep journals for the entire unit. · Reflection papers

Organization and Subject Matter Overview

The information presented in this unit will be topically organized in order to give students adequate knowledge and experiences in order to better understand the question “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?” The National Council for Social Studies has set clear standards and expectations of what knowledge they hope all children in elementary school can gain through social studies. I have based this unit on two NCSS performance expectations. These expectations are:

· Identify examples rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force

· Recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)

This unit is divided in 4 1-week lessons. During week one, the theme of our unit, “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?”, will be introduced. We will also discuss stereotyping in the workforce and how this pertains to the students’ future careers. Week two will begin with a field trip to the Pepperidge Farm factory where students will experience first hand some of the different working environments that exist in the workforce. Group interviews with actual factory employees set the stage for the rest of the week as the student’s discuss the roles of workers in business. The focus of week three will be child labor and will expose the children to the reality that child labor still exists today. Some people might believe that children shouldn’t be exposed to such harsh reality, but I feel that it is important that everybody, even children, should be aware of the plights and struggles of those who surround them. To conclude the unit, week four will be spent discussing the effect that education has on a persons’ career. This final week will help children realize the importance of education in their future lives and hopefully allow them to see the relationship that exists between a persons’ education and the money that they might make.

Not only will this unit address some NCSS expectations, it will support the following Utah Core Objectives:

By the end of the unit, students will be able to analyze the role of the worker in a business. This includes being able to differentiate roles of workers in business, identify the needs of workers, and identify the worker's contribution to business success. (Utah 6040-0303).

To effectively carry out this unit, the normal social studies block of time will be lengthened. A 2 hour social studies period will be necessary to incorporate the integrated curriculum listed below. The classroom needs to be set-up in order to facilitate student communication and discussion. The students’ desks are arranged into groups of six near the center of the room, with the teacher’s desk being near the back. Students will need a reading and writing center that will give them the privacy to do personal reflection or allow them to do group research. Computers will be used to facilitate research into inquiry subjects and the bulletin board will be used to place the posters. See classroom layout below.

Computer

Classroom Layout

Computer

Teacher’s Desk

Student’s Desks Bulletin Board

Unit Goals (NCSS Standards) The learners will be able to · Identify examples rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force · Recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)
Topic	Week 1 Introduction to Unit Theme Stereotyping in the workforce	Week 2 Pepperidge Farm Field Trip Roles of workers in business	Week 3 Cheap Labor	Week 4 Education and its Effect in the Workforce Conclusion
Utah Core Objective	3.3 Analyze the role of the worker in a business and identify the needs of workers.	3.3 Analyze the role of the worker in a business, differentiate roles of workers in business, identify the needs of workers, and identify the worker's contribution to business success	3.3 Analyze the role of the worker in a business and identify the needs of workers.	3.3 Analyze the role of the worker in a business, differentiate roles of workers in business, identify the needs of workers, and identify the worker's contribution to business success
Monday	KWL about the workforce. What is it and why do students need to know about it?	Pepperidge Farm field trip	Introduction to cheap labor through child labor lesson plan.	Group presentations on inquiry into sweatshops.
Tuesday	Introduce the subject of stereotyping and what effects it has on student's lives.	Review fieldtrip and group presentations on interviews.	Reflection papers on child labor. Group sharing of papers.	Defining education vs. wages.
Wednesday	Group discussions on how stereotyping effects the community.	Debate the roles and contributions of workers at Pepperidge Farm. Why are there line workers and why are there plant managers?	Class discussion on immigrant labor.	Group debates on importance of education in the workforce.
Thursday	Guest Speaker-Any person who does not fit the stereotype, such as a male elementary school teacher.	Students brainstorm ideas about the roles of workers in our community. Farmers, teachers, doctors, ect. What role do they play?	Students will form inquiry groups on sweatshops.	Unit Closure- Students will begin to write reflection paper on unit.
Friday	Students will create a group poster illustrating the information that they have learned during the week.	Writer's workshop. Students will choose one profession and write about the needs, contribution, and role that they will play in our community.	Students research into inquiry.	Reflection papers due. Unit Assessment-Students will fill out justification worksheet regarding job placement and wage.

Learning Activities Bank

Title of Lesson: Stereotyping/Gender Issues in the Workforce

Teacher(s): Scott Jason Benson

Date:

Time Allotted: 50 minutes

Grade Level(s): 4th

Number of Learners: 30

Unit Theme: “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?

Goal: The learners will be able to identify examples of the rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force and recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)

Objectives: Given the materials below, the learners will examine typical stereotypes/gender-biased occupations by comparing drawings that they will make. They will make a list on the board of jobs where they have seen stereotyping/gender-biased issues and have a group discussion on how stereotyping in the workforce can effect them, in order to analyze the role of the stereotyped workers in a business. (Utah 6040-0303)

Materials Needed:

· 30 pieces of drawing paper

· 30 pencils or markers

· 1 dry erase marker to write on board

· Each table should have 5 pieces of paper and 5 markers to begin the lesson.

Motivation: To motivate the learners, ask each table to draw one of the following people: a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, a homemaker, a police officer, and a farmer. Give each table 5 minutes to draw their pictures before moving on to procedure 1. (5 minutes)

Procedures:

1. While the learners are drawing, write nurse, doctor, teacher, homemaker, police officer, and farmer on the board so that each name is the heading of a column.

2. Ask each table to come up in front of the class to demonstrate their pictures for the class. For each occupation, ask the class the following questions:

How many men do you see?

How many women do you see?

How many minorities do you see?

3. Write the number of men, women, and minorities under the corresponding column. Follow this same procedure until all occupations are discussed. Ask the students what they think of the numbers under each column and if the numbers say something about each occupation. (10 minutes)

4. Have a class discussion on stereotypical male, female, and minority jobs. What are considered appropriate jobs for men? What jobs are typical for females? How about minorities? Make a list on the board of these jobs.

5. Direct the learners to turn their papers over and to write down a career that they might want to do when they get older. Have them discuss if there is any stereotyping that comes with the job.(10 minutes)

Accommodations: Learners can act out or describe their chosen profession.

Closure: A few learners can volunteer to share their career and discuss what possible stereotyping comes with the job. (5 minutes)

Assessment/Evaluation: Learners may write about why they think stereotyping is wrong.

Extension: Learners who finish early may draw a picture of their chosen profession.

Teacher Reflection:

Title of Lesson: Child Labor

Teacher(s): Scott Jason Benson

Date:

Time Allotted: 50 minutes

Grade Level(s): 4th

Number of Learners: 30

Unit Theme: “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?

Goal: The learners will be able to identify examples of the rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force and recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)

Objectives: Given the materials listed below, the learners will be able to read about child labor history in the United States, view pictures of current day child labor throughout the world, and discuss the impact of child labor in a child’s life in order to identify the needs of workers. (Utah 6040-0303)

Materials Needed:

· Kids At Work, Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Freedman

· National Geographic Magazine September 2003

· 30 plastic round pencil sharpeners

· 500 unsharpened pencils from school supply or from other teachers

· $5.00 in pennies/fake pennies

· 5 garbage cans

Motivation: Explain to class that the school has asked the class to help them sharpen pencils. Give each child a pencil sharpener and a stack of pencils. Tell the class that they are going to sharpen the pencils all day long and that each group needs to sharpen the pencils over the group garbage can. Have the students stand in a circle around the garbage can to sharpen the pencils. For every ten pencils that each student sharpens, the student will get 1 penny. (10 minutes)

Procedures:

1. Discuss with the class about how they felt sharpening the pencils. Would they want to sharpen pencils 10 hours a day, 7 days a week? Did they think that 1 penny was a fair wage for sharpening 10 pencils? How much money would a fair wage be? What do you think about only 1 garbage can for every 5 students? Was it fair or comfortable?(5 minutes)

2. Read a few select pages from the book Kids At Work, Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor to the learners. Explain to the students that many children worked during the early twentieth century in the United States. Explain the wages that the children earned and about the working conditions that they worked in. (10 minutes)

3. Ask the learners if they think child labor still exists today? Show them pictures from the National Geographic on pages 2-3 and 12-13. Have each table discuss some reasons why they think that child labor still exist today and make a list of reasons why they think child labor is wrong. (10 minutes)

4. Each table will share the list with the rest of the class.(5 minutes)

Accommodations: If learners are unable to sharpen the pencils, they can gather the pencils when they are sharpened or pass more pencils out when the learners need more pencils. Students should sharpen their pencils into a garbage can to prevent a mess in the classroom.

Closure: Each student will write an essay or paper on why they feel lucky to be going to school instead of working. (10 minutes)

Assessment/Evaluation: Given a lined piece of paper, students will be able to list and describe some of the jobs and working conditions of child laborers in the early twentieth century and of today. Students may also pick one job that they feel is especially horrible for a child to do and write an essay on why they feel children shouldn’t do that job.

Extension: If students get done early, they can get onto the website http://www.digitalrag.com/iqbal/ which is a website posted by Broadmeadows Middle School in effort to inform other students about child labor. Place the book, Kids at Work, on the reading center table and allow students to read through and look at the pictures.

Teacher Reflection:

Title of Lesson: Pepperidge Farm Field Trip

Teacher(s): Scott Jason Benson

Date:

Time Allotted: 3 hours

Grade Level(s): 4th

Number of Learners: 30

Unit Theme: “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?”

Goal: The learners will be able to identify examples of the rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force and recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)

Objectives: By going on the field trip, students will be able to take a tour of the Pepperidge Farm plant and learn about factory work. They will also interview factory workers and their bosses in order to differentiate the roles of workers in a business. (Utah 6040-3030)

Materials Needed:

Permission Slips

30 copies of Interview Worksheet

Pencils/Pens

5 Pepperidge Farm employees whom all have different jobs. For example, you could interview a Pepperidge Farm production worker, a Pepperidge Farm lead, a Pepperidge Farm supervisor, a Pepperidge Farm sanitation worker, and the Pepperidge Farm plant manager

Motivation: Bring in a bag of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and show it to the class. What are these? How many of you have ever eaten Goldfish crackers? How did they get into the bag? How are they made? Today we are going to go on a field trip and find out how they are made. (5 minutes)

Procedures:

1. Assign each table of students in your classroom a number between 1 and 5. These numbers will be used to determine whom the children are going to interview at Pepperidge Farm. Assign each student a safety buddy who they will watch out for and be accountable for during the field trip. This safety buddy should be someone from his or her group and they should sit by this student on the bus. Load the bus. (10 minutes)

2. Leave for Pepperidge Farm. (30 minutes)

3. Upon arriving learners will line up in two lines, according to safety buddies, and be lead into a Pepperidge farm conference room where they will meet a human resources representative. Depending on the representative, the students will either take a tour of the plant or will divide into groups to do group interviews.

4. Each group will need 6 copies of the interview worksheet and a pencil/pen to write with. In each group, each learner will ask one question from the interview worksheet to the person being interviewed. The learners will write down the answers on the worksheet. (20 minutes)

5. After the interviews, the students will take a tour of the plant. (40 minutes)

6. At the end of the tour, students will be free to ask any questions that they have concerning the factory. (10 minutes)

7. Students will load onto the bus, making sure safety buddies are sitting together, and leave for school. On the way home, go around the bus and collect the interview worksheets from each student. (40 minutes)

Accommodations: If needed, a wheelchair accessible bus will be available. For the students who do not have permission slips, alternative classrooms and accommodations must be made with another teacher.

Closure: On the bus ride home, ask the students what they learned from the field trip. Explain to the learners that tomorrow you are going to have them get back into their groups and talk about what they learned on the field trip and in the interviews. They will then, as a group, present the information to the class in order to compare the roles of the workers.

Assessment/Evaluation: Write down some things that you find interesting on the plant tour. These things may be what you noticed about the plant or what the tour guide says. On the bus ride back to the school, you may want to play a game of 20 questions about the plant.

Extension: Students can write a draw a map of the plant. Students can write thank you letters to Pepperidge Farm.

Teacher Reflection:

Group #________

Group Members:

Interview Worksheet

1. What is your name and what is your job here at Pepperidge Farm?

2. How long have you worked at Pepperidge Farm and do you like your job? Why or Why not?

3. Did you go to college? What did you graduate in?

4. Why did you come to Pepperidge Farm? Why do you stay here?

5. How much money do you make at Pepperidge Farm?

6. What responsibilities are part of your job?

Title of Lesson: Field Trip Discussion and Presentation

Teacher(s): Scott Jason Benson

Date:

Time Allotted: 60 minutes

Grade Level(s): 4th

Number of Learners: 30

Unit Theme: “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?

Goal: The learners will be able to identify examples rights and responsibilities of citizens (NCSS 10b) in the work force and recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice. (NCSS 6h)

Objectives: Given the interview worksheets from yesterday, the learners will be able to reflect on and discuss their experiences during the field trip to Pepperidge Farm and through group presentations and class discussion be able differentiate the roles of workers in a business. (Utah 6040-0303)

Materials Needed:

· Completed interview worksheets from field trip

· 5 sheets of lined paper

· Pens/Pencils

Motivation: What do you remember about our field trip yesterday? Was the factory what you thought it would be? What was different than you thought? (5 minutes)

Procedures:

1. Divide the class back into its groups from the field trip and pass out the interview worksheets that correspond to each group. (3 minutes)

2. Give the learners enough time to go over the interview questions and answers. The learners will discuss the information that they learned. (5 minutes)

3. As the groups present their information, write the information on the board. Avoid using the person’s name and just focus on the job that they do. Paraphrase the information in order to make it easier to understand for the students. (15 minutes)

4. When all of the groups have presented their information, give the students some time to compare the information on the board. (3 minutes)

5. Ask the students the following questions?

Of the jobs listed on the board, what job would you like to do? Why?

What job wouldn’t you like to do?

What is the highest paying and lowest paying job?

What is the hardest and most dangerous job?

What job requires the most education?

Is there a job that doesn’t require any education?

What job is the most important? Why?

What job is the least important? Why? (10 minutes)

6. Depending on the answers to the questions above, discuss with the class the importance that every job plays in a business. Teach them about the different yet equally important roles every job plays. For example you could talk about the roles that a line worker and a plant manager plays. (10 minutes)

Accommodations:

Closure: As a group, each of the learners in the group will choose one reason of why they think that the person that they interviewed is important to the Pepperidge Farm business. The group will make a list and discuss as a group the different reasons of why each person is important to the business.

Assessment/Evaluation: As the learners are making their lists, the teacher may go around to each group and ask questions concerning the group’s list. Students should be able to justify their answers.

Extension: Students can choose a job and come up with some roles and responsibilities of that job.

Teacher Reflection:

Assessment

In order to assess the students properly, the goals of the unit need to be considered. The first goal of this unit is that at the end of the unit students will be able to identify examples of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in the work force. The second goal is that at the end of the unit, students will be able to recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice.

To properly assess whether or not a teacher fulfills these goals, students will have to be assessed on their factual and informational knowledge regarding the units theme, “Why does everyone have the right to earn a fair wage?” There are many forms of assessment, but for me personally in this unit, I am not looking for right or wrong answers when I assess my students. I am looking for progress in a student’s understanding of this unit and a student’s ability to apply what they have learned to their own lives. I plan to do this through the forms of assessment discussed below.

To begin each week or new subject, I think it is important to find out just how much my class knows about the subject that I am going to teach them. I feel that open-ended questions and problems are great ways of assessing student’s prior knowledge. For example you might start out with a closed ended questions such as “What is stereotyping?” and from there move on to an open-ended question like “How does stereotyping effect us as a class?”

Personal interviews with the students are a great way to assess a student’s current understanding and don’t have to take more than 5 minutes. These personal interviews should be done during the social studies block in order to keep the information fresh in the child’s mind and can be done during group work. Group interviews can be used as well because your students will feel more comfortable speaking as a group. This allows a teacher to see how the students interact as a group.

Another way of assessing a student’s understanding would be to have that student make a videotape or an audio tape about a certain subject. For example, a student can make an audio tape explaining how they feel about child labor. In the tape, they can explain why they feel the way they do about child labor and why they feel child labor is wrong. This is also a great alternative assessment for those who have other disabilities.

For ELL (English Language Learners) a simple way of assessing would be to observe them during group work. Do they contribute to the conversation? Do they have a voice in the group? If they aren’t, a great way to involve them is to give them in advance open-ended questions that you would like them to ask the group. You could write the question down on a piece of paper and the student could even read it word for word to the group. This allows the ELL or any student to feel like they are part of the group and will promote further participation. You then could come back later and see if the student is contributing more. This would then just be a step for further assessments.

I think that an effective overall assessment for this unit would be to have the students keep a journal for the unit. Journals can be an effective way of assessing students progress because they allow teachers to see inside of a student thoughts through their own words. Journals should be assessed according to each student’s level of learning and not be compared to others in the class. In order to be effective, children need to know and understand that their journals are private and won’t be shared with others in the class.

Portfolios and self-assessments are two other great ways of assessing this unit. Children put all of their work from this unit into their portfolio. At the end of the unit, they look back at their work, what they have drawn, written, or done, and do their own self- assessment on their work. To do a self-assessment, the students can ask themselves the following questions:

“Do I think differently now then when we first started the unit?”

“In what ways?”

“Has my work improved?”

“In what ways?”

“How has this unit effected my life?”

“Am I a better person because of this unit?”

“In what ways?”

These questions will cause the students to really think about the answers because the answers aren’t just yes/no questions. They are pretty personal questions that will reflect on the student’s attitude as well as their knowledge. Students can write down their answers on a piece of paper and turn in their completed portfolio. While you review the answers to these questions, you will gain a deeper insight into how the students feel they have progressed through the unit and how it has affected them.

Appendices

Websites

http://www.dol.gov/

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/library/

http://dced.utah.gov/Factbook/labor_.pdf

www.labor.state.ut.us

http://clea.sit.edu/learningresources.html

http://www.digitalrag.com/iqbal/

www.nccte.org/publications/ncrve/mds-09xx/mds-934.asp?dirid=146&dspid=2

Books

Freedman, R. (1994). Kids at Work, Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor. Scholastic Inc. New York.