Students’ age range: 08-10

Topic: British Industrial Revolution

 

Description: Introductory Activity:

Simple Sailboat Craft Activity:
Six students will be selected randomly and divided into teams of 1, 2 and 3. Each team will be given craft materials and instructions to make a sailboat in 4 mins. The first team to complete the task will be rewarded. Before the activity, the remaining students will be asked to make predictions on what team will make the sail boat quickly.

This activity will initiate a discussion on the means of manufacturing goods in factories.
What are the conditions one would need to establish a factory?
What is the impact of having one person do one job repeatedly?

Students will be instructed that they will be examining the birth of the Industrial Revolution (manufacturing) in Britain.

Development:

Step 1: Students will watch the video “Flocabulary: The Industrial Revolution.” Video will provide an overview of the industrial revolution, introducing students to the main concepts. They will answer the following questions.
• Provide a definition for the industrial revolution.
• Name TWO ideologies of the industrial revolution. State TWO ways in which these ideologies differ. (You can use additional resources to help you respond to this question.)
Step 2: Students will be divided into 7 groups of 4 or 5. Each group will be assigned the task of analyzing one source that features one of the causes and present it to the class using the guided questions. The groups will receive 15mins to organize their presentation.

Group 1: Source A: A graph showing population growth of European cities in the period 1470-1750
Group 2: Source B: A map of the British Empire in 1763 highlighting the colonies of the British Empire
Source C: The British colonial policies in the 16thand 17th centuries.
Group 3: Source D: A map showing the coalfields in England in 1800
Group 4: Source E: A dialogue between two persons who are introducing their universities
Group 5: Source F: Excerpt from The Industrial Revolution by Thomas S. Ashton (Oxford University Press, revised edition, 1962)
Group 6: Source G: An excerpt from Landmarks in English Industrial History, a book written by George Warner in 1899 (London: Blackie and Son, 1924).
Group 7: Source H: Excerpt from The Industrial and Commercial Revolutions in Great Britain During the Nineteenth Century by L.C.A. Knowles (E.P. Dutton & Co., 1921)
During each presentation students will complete a chart, highlighting the conditions that existed in Britain to have facilitated the Industrial Revolution.
Step 3: The teacher’s chart will be projected and use to review the conditions that led to the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.