Work Safe Work Smart: A Curriculum Targeted to Adolescent Health and Safety in the Workplace
When
the number of hours worked is taken into consideration, teen workers
are injured at a higher rate than adult workers. For those
less than 18 years of age, work-related fatal injuries are highest
in agriculture, retail trade, and construction. The Work Safe
Work Smart curriculum was developed by public health professionals
in collaboration with Minnesota teachers to explore occupational
health and safety issues with high school students in an effort
to reduce injury rates of young workers. In Work Safe Work Smart,
students use their personal experience of work-related injury to
identify workplace hazards, brainstorm ways to protect workers from
hazards, and discuss barriers to making safe choices at work. Students
also learn the laws governing work for those under the age of 18.
The ultimate goal of this curriculum is to reduce work-related injury
and illness by intervening with adolescents to develop a safe and
healthy approach to their current and future work activities.
Work Safe Work Smart curriculum goals are to:
- Raise student awareness of agricultural and non-agricultural workplace hazards that cause injuries
or illness
- Equip students with prevention strategies that will protect
them from injuries or illness in a variety of workplace settings
- Raise student awareness of employer/ee rights in the workplace
- Raise student awareness of the laws and resources available
to help maintain those rights
- Encourage students to be active participants in creating safe and healthy work environments.
Work Safe Work Smart Development and Evaluation
The Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was developed and pilot tested in high schools in three Minnesota counties during 1997-2000. During 2000 - 2004, the Work Safe Work Smart curriculum was evaluated in a large-scale randomized intervention study. Over 4,000 students from 38 Minnesota high schools in 31 counties participated in a study to evaluate the impact of the curriculum on student knowledge, attitudes, and intentions regarding workplace health and safety. The results of this evaluation are summarized at Childhood Agricultural Safety and Health (CASH) Evaluation of a School-based curriculum: "Work Safe Work Smart".
Work Safe Work Smart Availability
The Work Safe Work Smart curriculum (2012 edition) can be downloaded from this page and printed without charge or permission for educational use. While we have exhausted our supply of printed copies, we still have a large supply of posters (22" x 30"). Copies are available from the Minnesota Department of Health by emailing requests to health.workerhealth@state.mn.us.
Work Safe Work Smart Curriculum Downloads (New 2012 Edition)
Complete Curriculum
Individual Lesson Plans and Curriculum Components
- Background (PDF: 36 KB/3 pages)
- Cover (PDF: 31 KB/1 page)
- Introduction (PDF: 97 KB/17 pages)
- Lesson 1: An Introduction to Worker Safety (PDF: 202 KB/17 pages)
- Lesson 2: Recognizing Workplace Hazards (PDF: 203 KB/17 pages)
- Lesson 3: Preventing Workplace Injuries and Illnesses (PDF: 178 KB/21 pages)
- Lesson 4: Applying Prevention Strategies in the Workplace - Part I (PDF: 227 KB/27 pages)
- Lesson 5: Applying Prevention Strategies in the Workplace - Part II (PDF: 113 KB/8 pages)
- Lesson 6: The Importance of Worker Safety Laws (PDF: 934 KB/20 pages)
- Lesson 7: Worker Safety Laws and You (PDF: 180 KB/36 pages)
- Lesson 8: Addressing Unsafe Workplace Conditions (PDF: 110 KB/15 pages)
- Lesson 9: Putting Work Safety into Practice (PDF: 107 KB/8 pages)
- Glossary and Resources (PDF: 52 KB/6 pages)
Download Statistics: Number of downloads from this page through December 2011: 87,768
