Labor Day 2024 Teaching Resources
Get ready to teach about Labor Day 2024 in your elementary classroom with teacher-created Labor Day printables, activities for kids, and more teacher-created resources to honor this September holiday.
Want to explore the history of Labor Day and make this a meaningful one in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including the date of Labor Day in 2024, history of the holiday and some activity ideas for your classroom!
What Is Labor Day? A Kid-Friendly Explanation
If school is in session in your neck of the woods, your students may think of Labor Day as just another day off from school. So how do you explain what it's really all about?
Try this kid-friendly explainer!
Labor Day is a special holiday that we celebrate in the United States each September. This holiday is a time for honoring the contributions that workers have made to our great nation throughout history.
It is a time for families to come together and celebrate the hard work that has built our country.
When Is Labor Day 2024?
This federal holiday is traditionally celebrated on the first Monday in September every year in the United States. That means Labor Day will be marked on Monday, September 2, 2024.
What Is the History of Labor Day?
They may not learn about the history of labor unions until they hit their high school social studies classes, but even elementary students could use a history lesson about Labor Day!
You can use morning meeting time to talk about why we celebrate this day with a quick look back.
Here's a simple bit of information to share:
The history of Labor Day dates back to the late 1800s, when workers across the country were fighting for better working conditions, fair wages, and a shorter workweek. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making Labor Day a national holiday.
Labor Day Activities for Kids
Because it's a federal holiday, most schools are closed on Labor Day — and some may not even have opened for the school year! But there's still plenty to teach students about this holiday for workers, all the community helpers who put in time to work in our communities, and the many jobs that keep our communities running.
Here are some Labor Day activities for kids in the classroom that might tie into your lesson plans!
Career Day
What better way to teach about community and labor than by inviting community members into the classroom to introduce themselves and talk about their careers?
Your students can learn about what it takes to become a doctor, lawyer, sanitation worker and more — including the importance of all you are doing right in your own classrooms to prepare them for their dream careers!
Create Jobs Posters
Teaching third or fourth grade? Have your students make their own posters that highlight different types of jobs and careers, including the skills and qualities required for each job.
Not only will this give you a chance to assess your students' ability to organize information and be as clear and concise as possible, it also gives students a chance to think about their own interests and even their own skills — and how they might translate into a job.
Write Thank You Letters to Community Helpers
Bring a social and emotional learning component into your Labor Day activities this school year by having students write letters to some of the people who serve your community. Kids build empathy by thinking about the needs and contributions of workers in their community!
This is a great way to help students understand the importance of service and its role in creating a strong and vibrant society.
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Where to Buy Goods and Services Worksheet
Identify places and people in the community that provide goods and services with a cut and paste sorting worksheet.
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United States Patriotic Symbols - Holiday Worksheets
Build and write sentences about patriotic holidays in the United States with a group of six holiday sentence-building worksheets.
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Goods and Services Worksheet
Determine examples of goods and services with an economics worksheet.
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Who Works in Our Community? - Community Helper Worksheet
A worksheet to use when learning about community helpers.
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Labor Day Poster Project
Demonstrate learning about the Labor Day holiday with a fun poster project.
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All About Community Workers - Community Helper Slide Deck
View and discuss the various community helpers with a slideshow about community helpers for kindergarten and preschool.
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Community Helpers - Pictures/Posters
A set of 38 half-size community helpers picture posters showing different community helpers and where they work.
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Labor Day Mini Book
Learn about Labor Day with a primary-level printable book.
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Community Helpers: Firefighter – Comprehension Worksheet
Kick off Fire Prevention Week this October with a decodable firefighter reading passage and comprehension worksheet.
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Labor Day Vocabulary Cards and Writing Center
Learn about Labor Day and write sentences using academic vocabulary with a Labor Day word wall and printable writing templates.
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Labor Day ABC Sort
Support your students in reviewing the vocabulary and concepts surrounding the Labor Day holiday with this fun ABC Order Worksheet.
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Community Helpers Interactive Clip Cards
Learn about community helpers and the jobs they do with a set of interactive clip cards.
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Community Helpers Bingo
Practice identifying community workers with a few rounds of Community Helper Bingo!
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Community Helpers Google Interactive
Identify community helpers and the tools they use in different locations around the community with a Google Interactive Activity.
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Printable Community Helpers Booklet
Use this mini-book to review or introduce community workers to your primary grade students.
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School, Home, and Community Jobs Worksheet
Introduce preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students to jobs performed at school, home, and in the community with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Giant Coloring Sheet – Community Map
A large, printable coloring sheet featuring a map of a community for your whole class to use in a variety of ways.
- Labor Day 2024 Worksheets
- Labor Day 2024 Games
- Labor Day 2024 Interactive Activities
- Labor Day 2024 Templates
- Labor Day 2024 Writing Templates
- Labor Day 2024 Word Walls
- Labor Day 2024 Coloring Pages
- Labor Day 2024 Bingo
- Labor Day 2024 Sorting Activities
- Labor Day 2024 Mini Book
- Labor Day 2024 Instructional Slide Decks
- Labor Day 2024 for Pre-K
- Labor Day 2024 for Kindergarten
- Labor Day 2024 for 1st Grade
- Labor Day 2024 for 2nd Grade
- Labor Day 2024 for 3rd Grade
- Labor Day 2024 for 4th Grade
- Labor Day 2024 for 5th Grade
- Labor Day 2024 for 6th Grade