Workers' rights

• Research and discuss women's roles in Australian history. Ask students to utilise the following websites to locate stories and pictures of women of the era:

1. National Library of Australia, 'Picture Australia: Picture Trails: Society', http://www.pictureaustralia.org/trails/society.html
2. ABC, 'Australian Suffragettes', http://www.abc.net.au/ola/citizen/women/women-home-vote.htm

• Students can create an imaginary 'historyface' profile (based on something similar to a Facebook page) for a female suffragette from the 1800s. Information can include a profile picture, status update, education, family background, likes and dislikes and groups she may be linked with. Student Activity Sheet H12.6 contains a 'historyface' template that can be used for this activity. Make sure that students answer the questions:

1. Who is she?
2. What groups and causes does she stand for?
3. What is her status?

Student Activity Sheet H12.6: Suffragette profile

• Ask students to identify the focus of this clip. Have them identify what they think the main issues are. Create a class chart listing the identified issues and the evidence from the clip that describes them.

• Have students pretend to be Rowley and write a diary entry summarising his day as seen in this clip. What was the main thing that happened to him and how do you think he feels about what he found out? Why is this day so important to him? Encourage students to empathise with Rowley and explain his feelings.

Student Activity Sheet E12.9: Rowley's diary

• As a class, discuss the health problems for workers at the brickworks. What is happening to them? How do we know this is happening? Have students view the clip again and look for specific information. Some examples include the man coughing in the opening shot and Rowley's conversation with his mother.
• Ask students to find out:

1. What did Rowley's father do for a living?
2. What happened to Rowley's father as a result of this work?
3. What eventually happened to him and what impact did it have on his life?
4. What does this mean for his family?

• Have students reflect on what measures could be taken to fix the situation for Rowley's dad. Students could take part in a debate where they present arguments for and against the case for workers' entitlements. Issues for debate could include sick leave, holiday leave and workers' compensation for work-related illnesses (such as respiratory illness due to the brick dust from the brickworks). Ask students to research more contemporary examples where workers' rights have been ignored.
• Ask students to design a poster depicting the danger of working in a mine. Discuss the characteristics of a good poster. As a modelled class activity, analyse examples of different posters, identifying the generic structure and key features of an effective poster. How are the slogan, subheading, images and body text used to communicate their intended message?

Student Activity Sheet E12.10: Rights and wrongs

• Ask students to view the clip and list all the information provided about the issues of workers' health and unsafe working practice at the 1898 brickworks. The information is given in a variety of ways, so they need to listen and watch carefully. Ask them to list each issue they find and discuss them as a class.
• Introduce students to the TLF digital resource L336 'Letters to the Editor, 2009: community disagrees'. This could be used as an example and support with writing their own letter to the editor.

• Have students choose a character from the clip and write a letter to the newspaper as that person, using the formal written English of 1898. They should argue for the brickworks to introduce sick leave and safety measures to ensure that their workers remain healthy. Prior to students writing their own letter, create a class example as a modelled text. Focus attention on the format of the letter: salutation and introduction, body of text, conclusion and sign-off.

Student Activity Sheet E12.11: Rights and conditions of workers