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The Industrial Revolution
Driving Question: How did the Industrial Revolution begin and spread to new regions of the world?
The Industrial Revolution marked a profound change in world history. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, Britain’s abundant natural resources, political stability, and colonial advantages enabled them to take advantage of industrialization. While it may have originated in Britain, it didn’t take long before it spread across Europe. Rapid industrialization not only led to technological advances, but massive changes in economic and social structures around the world.
- Evaluate how the Industrial Revolution changed human communities and societies during this era.
- Describe how innovations made possible by the Industrial Revolution changed the movement of goods and people.
- Conduct image analysis to evaluate how quickly change accelerated once the Industrial Revolution began.
- Use close-reading skills to assess the origins and spread of industrialization.
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- Where do fossil fuels come from?
- How did the existence of fossil fuels like coal make industrialization possible in Britain in 1750, but not in other parts of the world, like China?
- What were some of the global forces that influenced the development of industrialization in Britain?
- Examine the chart “Percentage of Urban Population growth, 1600 to 2000 CE.” Based on data in the chart and information in the article, why do you think urbanization has been on the rise since 1600, and why have some areas of the world become more urbanized than others?
- What are some of the positive and negative consequences of the Industrial Revolution?
Evaluate
- How did the Industrial Revolution transform human communities in different ways throughout the world?
- The Industrial Revolution transformed production and distribution all around the world. Look around the room you’re in. What elements of the room are made possible through the burning of fossil fuels?
Origins of the Industrial Revolution
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Before you watch the video, it’s a good idea to open and skim the video transcript. And always read the questions below so you know what to look and listen for as you watch!
While you watch
- How did coal and other environmental factors help Britain industrialize first?
- How did coal mining change over the course of the Industrial Revolution?
- How did England’s pre-industrial wool industry help it industrialize?
- How did Britain’s financial system help launch new industrial ventures?
- How might high wages in Britain have contributed to industrialization there?
- What global factors may have fed Britain’s industrialization?
After you watch
- This video provides a look at some of the possible causes of Britain’s early industrialization. Which factor do you think was the most important? Why?
- Using evidence from this video, provide one impact of industrialization on networks, communities, and production and distribution in Britain.
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- What geographic factors helped Britain industrialize?
- What geographic factors held back early industrialization in China and Japan?
- What social factors stimulated Britain to industrialize?
- How might the institution of slavery have helped make industrialization possible?
- Other than plantations, what global advantages did Britain have?
Evaluate
- If you had to choose one scale (local or global) as the best explanation for Britain’s early industrialization, which would you choose? Which frame supports your choice the best: communities, networks, or production and distribution? Which frame challenges your choice?
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- How did the Industrial Revolution change family structures in Britain?
- What role did women and children play in the industrial economy? Did they benefit from factory labor?
- What kinds of benefits or opportunities did the Industrial Revolution create for people in Britain?
- How did the Industrial Revolution affect the daily lives and labor of people outside of Europe such as enslaved Africans or colonial subjects?
- Historian Thomas Finger argued that “wheat—as much as coal—powered England’s factories.” What does he mean by this? How did wheat power England’s factories, and how did the demand for wheat transform wheat-producing societies around the world?
Evaluate
- The changes ushered in by the Industrial Revolution had a ripple effect around the world. Using the evidence surrounding either sugar, wheat, or copper provided in the article, have students trace and explain one of these ripples.
- Imagine you are a new wage-laborer that recently moved from a rural farm community to an industrial city. Using information from the article, explain how your life has changed. What new hardships or opportunities might you face?
Time to play the urbanization game. Use the template to help you draw aspects of an industrial town.
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- 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?
Evaluate
- This article introduces several key inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Each of these changed life on this planet. Which innovation had the most important impacts for our networks? What about communities and production and distribution?
Making Clean Water
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Before you watch the video, it’s a good idea to open and skim the video transcript. And always read the questions below so you know what to look and listen for as you watch!
While you watch
- 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
- What might be some long-term consequences of improved sanitation?
Railroads & the Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #214
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Before you watch the video, it’s a good idea to open and skim the video transcript. And always read the questions below so you know what to look and listen for as you watch!
While you watch
- How did railroads lead people to experience the Industrial Revolution? How was this different across different classes?
- How did railroads change the physical environment? How did they change how people experienced time and space?
- In what ways was travel by horse seen as superior to railroad travel, by some people?
- What are some ways in which railroad travel impacted human interaction?
- How did people’s attitudes toward railroads change over time?
- In what ways is the Internet similar to the railroad?
After you watch
- John Green argues that railroads were a technological revolution that changed everything from production to distribution to communities to networks. Could something similar be said about other elements of the Industrial Revolution, like factories or industrial cities? Make an argument for one of these, or another element.