Impacts of the Industrial Revolution
Teacher Resources
Driving Question: What technologies helped launch the Industrial Revolution and how did they change life for people?
Explore the impacts of rapid industrialization on technological innovation and economic and social structures across the world. Innovations such as the railroad or the development of fossil fuels brought this revolution to more people, improving lives but also presenting challenges to a growing world.
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate how the Industrial Revolution changed human communities and societies during this era.
- Understand how innovations made possible by the Industrial Revolution changed the movement of goods and people.
- Use the historical thinking practice of contextualization to evaluate the Industrial Revolution.
Vocab Terms:
- coal
- factory
- infrastructure
- innovation
- locomotive
- profit
- steam engine
Opener: Impacts of the Industrial Revolution
Looking for more on how to make the most of lesson beginnings and endings? The Openers and Closers Guide offers tips for using these quick activities effectively.
Check out these before and after images to draw conclusions about the impacts of the Industrial Revolution on Manchester, England.
Transformation of Manchester
Contextualizing History
This is your students’ introduction to the historical thinking skill of contextualization. The Contextualization One-Pager provides helpful background to support your teaching.
Without context, it’s easy to misinterpret what you see, read, and hear. See how contextualization is key to understanding data, and then learn how to use the Contextualization Tool.
What Caused the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution helped shape the modern world. Explore this blog post for a fresh take on it—and on other key moments of human-environment interaction.
Innovation played a key role in industrialization. Explore the technologies that made industrialization possible in the article and video, and then apply your understanding in the activity by examining the historical context that gave rise to industrialization.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- How did widespread railways help bring the Industrial Revolution to more people?
- How did railroads shape our ideas of space and time?
- What were some arguments that people in the long nineteenth century used against railroads?
- What effect did industrialization have on our worldview about progress?
- How is the Internet is like the railroad?
After you watch
Respond to these questions: Do you agree that railroads changed the way that humans think about time and space? Why or why not?
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why was the Watt engine such an important innovation?
- What was one unexpected (and negative) impact of the cotton gin?
- How did Louis Pasteur change how we think about and treat diseases?
- Why is Thomas Edison an important inventor?
After you read
Respond to these questions: Which of the innovations discussed in the article do you think was most impactful? Why?
Before and After Images
The OER Project Differentiation Guide provides practical tips for adapting activities like this to meet the needs of your classroom.
How quickly did industrialization change things? These before and after images will give you a sense of the speed of transformation.
Images of the Industrial Revolution
Closer: Impacts of the Industrial Revolution
You’ve learned about a lot of technologies in this lesson that transformed the world. Practice your claim making skills as you argue for the one you think was the most important.
Life in the Industrial Revolution
Exciting new inventions—including the ability to filter water—improved lives during the Industrial Revolution. But for those providing coal, which was the source of power for many of these innovations, the work was difficult and dangerous.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What were some of the issues with drinking water in Britain?
- What system did Thomas Hawksley pioneer?
- Why was the steam engine an essential part of making clean water?
- How did the changes in the production and distribution of drinking water impact the population of Nottingham?
After you watch
Respond to this question: What might be some long-term consequences of improved sanitation?
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What was a coal mining job like for children?
- What was a coal mining job like for women?
- What were some of the safety concerns for coal miners during the Industrial Revolution?
After you watch
Respond to these questions: Do you think opinions of coal mining during the Industrial Revolution were similar to those in the profession today? Why or why not?