Unit Plan
Learning from Labour
10
Essential Questions and Rationale
Integrated Subjects
How have the struggles of the labour movement shaped our
society today?
We are the face of our union!
As proud ETFO members, we have a meaningful story to share
with our students about the progress that we, the teacher labour
movement, have made over the last 150 years.
This series of lessons will provide students with a background on
the labour movement.
By looking at labour from various perspectives, students gain an
appreciation for how the struggles of diverse groups of working
people, both in the past and the present, shape our society.
They also have an opportunity to reflect on their family’s
experiences and how they themselves, in the future, can
demonstrate agency.
History
Language Arts
Drama
Conceptual Knowledge
What do you want the students to know?
Procedural Knowledge
What do you want the students to do?
Students will learn about ‘labour’ from various perspectives.
Depending on the lesson(s) selected, students will learn about
significant events of the labour movement which fit specifically
into the eras of the history curriculum; or examine labour events
and issues through the lens of human rights, child labour, urban
and rural labour, women, labour day, labour standards and
immigration and racialization.
Students will engage in inquiry, use disciplinary thinking, examine
primary and secondary source documents, collect oral history, use
and develop their reading, writing, listening, speaking and media
skills.
Curriculum/Overall Expectations
History
Use the historical inquiry process to investigate perspectives of
different groups on some significant events, developments and/or
issues that affected Canada and/or Canadians.
Describe various significant events, developments and people in
Canada between key dates indicated and explain their impact.
Analyze key similarities and differences between Canada in the
key dates indicated and in the present day, with reference to the
experiences of and major challenges facing different groups and/
or individuals and to some of the actions Canadians have taken to
improve their lives.
Language
Identify a range of purposes for speaking and explain how the
purpose and intended audience might influence the choice of
speaking strategies.
Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary,
graphic and informational texts, using a range of strategies to
construct meaning.
Generate, gather and organize ideas and information to write for
an intended purpose and audience.
Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and
audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques.