Lyddie

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Labor Activist or Loyal Employee?”

This activity engages students in an analysis of the developing work-related concerns inside Concord Corporation and the surrounding textile mills in Lowell over the course of Lyddie, asking them to evaluate the pros and cons of either becoming active in the labor movement or steering clear of activist peers and cautioning fellow workers to adhere to the rules and regulations of their employer.

Your teacher will guide you in dividing into two groups. Your group will assume the stance you are provided—either for or against the wisdom of joining a labor movement in Lyddie’s situation—and discuss elements from the text that support that position. Then you will construct an argument to support your point of view. What would you say to those you are trying to convince to adopt your stance? What examples from factory life would you rely on, and how would you interpret them in persuading your audience?

Some points to consider:

• Consider aspects like danger, health concerns, demanding work schedules, amount of pay, and whether someone has family members reliant upon them. What dynamics influence your argument, and which might influence those who hold an opposing view?
• Prepare for any counterarguments the opposing side might make. How would you convince them otherwise?

Teaching Suggestion: You might ask students which position they already hold before dividing up your class; your students might naturally align down the halfway mark, in which case you could place them in groups based on the opinions they already hold. Alternatively, you could ask their opinions and then intentionally assign them the opposite position to challenge them to think differently about the issue. If there is a disproportionate number of students adopting one position over another, students can be randomly selected. If you have a large class, you could also divide students into smaller groups to facilitate discussion.

Differentiation Suggestion: For younger students, students who struggle with written or verbal communication, or classroom dynamics which are otherwise unsuited to independent group work, this activity could be converted to a collaborative class discussion through which the teacher can prompt students to brainstorm together to create two separate lists for each perspective, that of the labor activist or loyal employee. This approach can be further simplified to two separate lists of “benefits/opportunities” versus “risks/dangers” of working in a mill like that at Concord Corporation.