Alone and Exploited

1. Set Focus
Pose these essential questions to guide discussion: What conditions lead to an increase in child labor? What can be done to reduce child labor?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• incessant (p. 7)
• hazardous (p. 7)
• violation (p. 7)
• exploitation (p. 7)
• sponsors (p. 8)
• fatigue (p. 8)

3. Engage
Ask students to share what they know about child labor laws. To prompt discussion, if needed, ask: If you are 15 years old, what are the maximum number of hours you can work on school days? When are teens allowed to do hazardous jobs?

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Alone and Exploited, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What is the author’s main purpose in the first three paragraphs of the article? (Author’s purpose, text structure) (The author’s main purpose is to give an example of the type of job child migrant workers are illegally hired to do and the hardships and dangers they face doing those jobs. The author does this with an anecdote about Carolina, a 15-year-old who works in a factory doing a dangerous job with machinery that could injure her fingers. In addition, she is exhausted and often feels sick because of the long hours she works. This opening help set up a central idea of the article—that children across America have been illegally hired to do dangerous work.)

• In the first section, the author says that the illegal use of migrant child labor “has exploded since 2021.” What does the author mean? Why has it exploded? (Word meaning, cause & effect)(The author means that the problem has gotten worse and more companies have illegally hired children to do jobs that they are too young for or that are too dangerous. The problem has gotten worse because the systems meant to protect children have broken down. In addition, the children feel compelled to work to help their families because the pandemic made economic desperation worse in their home countries.)

• Based on the article, what are some jobs child laborers are illegally hired to do? What are some hardships and dangers they face as a result? (Central idea, key details)(The article gives examples of underage workers installing roofs; sawing planks; washing sheets in hotels; baking bread and deboning chickens sold at national chains; and making clothing, auto parts, and other items at factories. Many work long hours. They are often tired. They miss school, and some drop out. They can also be seriously injured on the job.)

• Based on the article, why has it been difficult to stop the illegal hiring of migrant children for dangerous work? (Make inferences, cite text evidence)(Companies are benefitting from child labor, so they have an incentive to ignore the problem. The maximum fine hasn’t been raised even though federal investigators have long complained that it is not high enough to deter child labor. Migrant children often use false identification and find jobs through staffing agencies that do not verify their Social Security numbers. As a result, it might be difficult to identify which companies are using child labor illegally.) 

• What is being done to help end the illegal hiring of children? Do you think these actions will be effective? What else, if anything, do you think should be done? Why?  (Problem & solution, make evaluations)(The White House recently announced new initiatives to investigate child labor violations and improve the support that migrant children receive. As part of the new effort, the Department of Labor plans to target not just the factories and other suppliers that illegally employ children but also the larger companies that have child labor in their supply chains. Officials plan to target areas that are more likely to have child labor. They also plan to ask Congress to increase penalties. Students’ ideas will vary but should be supported by text evidence.) 

• What does the sidebar “Child Labor Law” list? What does this add to the article? (Integrate multiple sources)(The sidebar lists the ages under which it is illegal for children to do certain jobs. This information helps readers understand why the instances of child labor mentioned in the article are examples of illegal hiring practices. For example, knowing that kids under 18 can’t be hired to do hazardous work helps readers know why hiring 12-year-olds to install a roof is illegal.)

6. Writing Prompt
Read the article “Off to Work, Not to School” in the December 14, 2020, issue. Based on that article and this one, how does child labor contribute to the poverty cycle? Explain in a brief essay.

7. Video
Watch the video about child labor around the world. What does it add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Should the $15,000 maximum fine for child labor violations be raised?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension.