Safety in the Workplace

Standards Covered:

• • Standard 3a: Universal Foundation Skills: Students will demonstrate mastery of the foundation skills and competencies essential for success in the workplace.

Objectives:

• • Students will understand what rights they have to work in a safe environment.

  • Students will analyze and criticize government policies in place to protect employees.

Materials:

• • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) injury statistics

  • OSHA laws

  • Computer with projector and internet

  • ABC News Video: Occupational Hazards

Procedure:

• Hook: write the number of deaths in the workplace last year on the board. (available at the US Department of Labor website)

• Have students make attempts as to what the number on the board might mean in relation to the workplace (provide answer after a few guesses), demonstrating the large problem that exists for job safety within our nation. (2 minutes)

• Hand each student a small piece of paper with information of an actual person who was killed or injured in the workplace from the US Department of Labor website, including information such as the location, company name, date, and description. Allow time for each student to read their scenario. (4 minutes)

• Allow a few students to read their scenarios out loud, asking the class to identify the specific cause of injury, and what could have been prevented it (6 minutes)

• Have students get into small groups, and brainstorm solutions to the questions: “Who should the department of labor protect?, What should they protect specifically?, and How can they provide adequate protection for employees?” Distributing the attached worksheet for students to work on these questions helps keep them focused and organized. (7 minutes)

• Introduce the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (through their website) outlining the actual rights that the government provides. Have students compare and contrast the solutions to their brainstorming versus what the OSHA actually protects. Provide the prompt: “Are there any rights you want protected that aren’t protected by the OSHA?” (10 minutes)

• Bring the class back as an entirety to discuss the results from each group, discuss what to do if they feel unsafe in the workplace. (5 minutes)

• Show the ABC News Occupational Hazards Video (8 minutes)

• Closing: Assign Safety assignment brainstorming, asking students to think of five possible dangerous scenarios in their own school or workplace. (3 minutes)

Evaluation:

• • I will be assessing students on their participation in the discussion, and will ask them to hand in their brainstorming worksheet completed of who and what the government should protect in the workplace. This document will help me understand whether the students understood the purpose of the lesson and were able to come up with possible dangerous scenarios.