Labor Day PowerPoint Lesson, Game and Printables: Tools for the Job

Labor Day is an important September American holiday that's often overlooked in our school curriculum. This no prep lesson activity will help students in kindergarten (K), first (1), and second (2) grades understand that Labor Day means more than the end of summer and a day off from school. This lesson would make a great kick-off activity for a careers unit too!

The PowerPoint "Tools for the Job" presents content information that explains why Labor Day is celebrated in kid-friendly terms. Included are ten interactive Guess the Tool Game slides with a picture hidden behind squares that disappear when clicked. Students randomly click on the squares to reveal part of the hidden picture then guess the tool. After each hidden tool, there is a page explaining who would use the tool on the job. Tools and jobs included are as follows: Stethoscope – doctor, Scissors – hair stylist, Hand saw – carpenter, Keyboard – website designer, Leaf blower – landscaper, Fire extinguisher – fire fighter, Books – teacher, Knife – chef, Wrench – auto mechanic, Hand cuffs – police officer.

In addition to the PowerPoint lesson and game, your purchase includes printable student response worksheets and a lesson plan. You have a choice of two worksheets to follow-up lesson content: one worksheet allows for more drawing and less writing while another provides more space for writing and less drawing to allow choice for the one most appropriate for your age level or to enable differentiation of instruction in your classroom. An optional Tool Show and Tell homework activity is included to strengthen the home-school learning connection and extend learning. The detailed lesson plan explains all activities.

See the sample images for more details. The preview download shows everything included with your purchase.

Here are the specific items included with this lesson:
• Labor Day PowerPoint Lesson and Game: Tools for the Job with 32 pages
• Printable Tool Drawing Worksheet (PDF)
• Printable Tool Writing Worksheet (PDF)
• Printable Tool Show and Tell Homework (PDF)
• Printable Tool Show and Tell Homework (Word – can be edited if desired)
• Detailed Lesson Plan with suggested activities

Lesson Goals:
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
• Explain why Labor Day is celebrated
• Identify tools that are used to do a job
• Choose a tool and associate a related job

All of the materials are included in a compressed file. When you download it, you will find the PowerPoint, PDF files with the lessons plans and worksheets, and a Word file inside. Click on extract all files and the files will open normally in PowerPoint, PDF, and Word.


If you have a Smart Board, you may be interested in the Smart Notebook version of this resource. It includes all of the materials described but is in Notebook instead of PowerPoint. Labor Day Smart Board Lesson, Game, and Printables: Tools for the Job.

IMPORTANT!: The trigger animations used in the game portion of this PowerPoint will not work if you are using a Mac. If you have a Mac with your Smart Board, please buy the Notebook version of this lesson instead.

Thank you for your interest! I greatly value your feedback, so please let me know your thoughts after your purchase.

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