Origins of Industrialization
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
You’ll find all the usual supports in this guide, but you’ll also find some critical instructions for the Urbanization Game. This is a fun, full-class game, but it takes some preparation.
Blog: The Industrial Revolution: Unlocking the Modern World
This blog post offers some ideas that will help you make the Industrial Revolution more relevant to your students today.
Driving Question: How did the Industrial Revolution begin?
The Industrial Revolution started in Britain. The discovery that coal could be burned to power steam engines was nothing short of revolutionary. These new machines powered a transformation of human life on this planet that rapidly changed how we live, work, and connect to each other.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate how the Industrial Revolution changed human communities and societies during this era.
- Explain why industrialization started first in Britain.
- Analyze images to assess how industrialization impacted human communities.
Did you know: The world’s first traffic light was installed in London in 1868. It included gas lamps and was operated manually by a police officer. It was removed after it exploded and killed the operator. So, remind your students that the next time they’re stuck at a red light, they should be thankful that at least they don’t explode anymore.
Use a painting from 200 years before the Industrial Revolution as you imagine life in a preindustrial world.
Note: The Urbanization Game is intended to be a teacher-led, collaborative activity. If you’re pressed for time, students can easily complete this activity on their own or with a partner.
Be sure to refer to the Lesson Guide. There, you’ll find links to download the Game Narratives and a Game Template. You’ll also need large sheets of paper and black markers for this activity.
The Urbanization Game is an OER Project teacher favorite. One teacher discusses a recent OER Urban Game redesign, while others discuss the urban game genre more generally in these community posts.
If you’ve ever spent time in a city, you know that they’re bursting with, well, everything! Loads of buildings, people, cultures—all in one place. This game will help you explore how cities have changed our landscape—both physically and culturally.
This is a good place to push past the oversimple “Britain had coal” explanation for industrialization. You may want to keep a running list of factors (coal, wages, labor pool, wool, finance, empire, geography, for example) so students see industrialization as a convergence of conditions. Truly the right place at the right time.
Coal helped propel England to the forefront of industrialization. It also propelled the steam engine. These resources will help you understand how and where the Industrial Revolution started.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
During the long nineteenth century, Britain had several advantages that allowed it to industrialize first. What were they? Nick Dennis travels to England to mine for answers.
Make sure students are using metacognitive strategies: Before they start reading, remind students to monitor their thinking as they go. They should stop at the end of a sentence (or paragraph) and ask themselves such questions as:
- What did I just read?
- Do I understand what I just read?
- How does what I read relate to the overall topic?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Let’s test that theory in this lesson as you analyze pre- and postindustrialization images.
Images of the Industrial Revolution
Historians make a lot of claims about the Industrial Revolution. It’s time for you to practice making your own claims as you consider why industrialization started in Britain before it spread around the world.
In 1793, the British had nothing that China wanted. China remained at the heart of global systems of production and distribution. Yet, Britain’s growing industrialization and imperial ambitions soon shifted the balance.
-
Guiding Questions
Technological innovation drove industrialization. Let’s take a look at the people behind the technology that changed—and continues to change—our world.
-
Guiding Questions
-
Guiding Questions
