Follow-up to the Worker Safety Education Webinar

Hi Erica --

I hope others chime in too. Meanwhile, I can add a few things that we did in my class when I taught this lesson. And by the way, it turned into more of a "unit" than a lesson. It just went on and on. I look back and chuckle at how the thing I thought of as a "warm-up" ended up taking a few days!

1. The opening article, "I Got Sick from My Job," was a great way get conversation going. Everyone had stories in the class about ways that they got hurt or sick from their job. Also many had family members who had gotten hurt or sick on the job. This was a rich discussion with everyone participating -- quite passionately -- and it generated tons of vocabulary that you can record while people are talking and then add to Quizlet or develop a vocabulary practice for.

2. After all this discussion, you could get students to generate questions about their particular situations at work or about the wider context. How can I be safer on the job? What can I say to my supervisor? Whose responsibility is it to keep me safe? How can I convince my husband/son/mother to take x or y precautions at work? What can I say? What can I do? (You don't have to answer these questions. Put these questions in a "parking lot" -- visible to the class. Over the course of the lesson, return to the questions to see if they are getting answered. 

3. Use the discussion to develop some writing prompts. Or have students keep a journal about what they are learning. Ask students to interview each other about their workplace safety issues. Now they're getting to know each other, building community, using the vocabulary generated so far, taking notes on responses, and perhaps practicing speaking by reporting back to the class on the results of the interveiw.

4. Look up state laws related to workplace safety. The workers in my class all work at a hotel and so all were concerned about the safety of the cleansers they use. We discovered a Mass. bill that was making its way through the legislature that would permit only green cleansers at schools and day cares. I brought in the text of the law -- another hard document!! We went through it similarly to how we went through the MSDS sheets -- noticing the structure of the document, trying to zero in on the parts that mattered the most, etc. Then everyone wrote to their state rep. or senator expressing how they felt about the bill. Many got letters back. It was incredibly rich because students had to look up their legislator, and in the process learned a bunch of other stuff about voting, etc.

5. The presentation part of the lesson was another rich source of learning. I used google slideshow. Many students have children who have gmail addresses through their schools and are using google docs to get homework assignments, etc. They were so happy to have a chance to know more about it and have hands-on experience with it. Now they know what their children are talking about and what the schools are doing when homework and other info. comes home via google docs. Warning: it can be tricky to use google slideshow! Powerpoint is another fine option. 

Hope this is helpful! 

NOTE: The short video I point people to in the lesson plan seems to have DISAPPEARED. So sorry about that. I am looking around for something comparable but not finding anything right now. 

Hi Erica:

Great question, Erica.  Emily, you mentioned this data in the presentation.  Could you go over it again?  And, anyone who has been following on the data regarding contextualized learning and progress in basic skills, please chime in.

Cynthia Z

Hi Erica,

We utilize the following books in our Bridge Program to teach reading:

McGraw Hill Workforce Career Companion - Manufacturing

 We also utilize safety handbooks, materials from employer partners, and internally developed worksheets (with CNC and Welding vocabulary).

When we are teaching incumbent workers, we work with their employer to develop materials specific to their workplace and the participating employees' positions. This may include developing activities utilizing their internal documents, handbooks, and job orders.