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The Working Class

Teacher Resources

Driving Question: How did workers respond to the conditions of industrial life?

In this lesson, you’ll explore what life was like for the growing working class, how people responded to harsh conditions, and how new ideas like socialism emerged to challenge industrial capitalism.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Use evidence to understand the impact of new economic theories and the modern system of social classes.
  2. Use the historical thinking practice of causation to analyze why members of the working class demanded reform.
  3. Use a graphic biography to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives from this period.
STEP 1

Opener: The Working Class

Start by examining how social and economic hierarchies shifted over time. These images will help you think about how industrialization changed who held power, and how workers responded to their place in society.

Opener

Opener

Pyramids of Society External link

This activity is the tale of two pyramids of power: medieval society vs. industrial society. It’s your job to compare who is where in the hierarchies and compare the differences between the two.
STEP 2

The Working Class

These materials show how industrialization changed both factory work and social class structure, helping us understand the growing divide between groups.

Activity

Activity

Assembly-Line Simulation External link

Feel the pace of a nineteenth-century assembly line and see why it was a game-changer for business owners.
Article

Article

Responses to Industrialization External link

The Industrial Revolution sparked changes in how people lived and worked. In response, activists and labor unions pushed for reforms.
STEP 3

Challenging Industrial Capitalism

These materials show how the working class rose up to challenge the problems created by capitalism, and how thinkers like Marx imagined a different future.

Capitalism and Socialism: Crash Course World History #33 External link

In this video, John Green describes how capitalism and socialism came into being and the principles that are important to each system.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
Article

Article

Rise of the Proletariat External link

As capitalism grew, so did the number of people with few choices and fewer rights. This article dives into how those workers pushed back against the system.
Writing Tools

Writing Tools

Why Did Industrial Workers March on the Russian Imperial Palace? External link

Expand on what you learned in the article “Rise of the Proletariat”—head to Quill.org to read and write about the ways that factory workers in St. Petersburg, Russia, fought for better working conditions, and the resistance they faced from Russian leaders.
STEP 4

Closer: The Working Class

To wrap up this lesson, you'll take a closer look at one worker’s experience during industrialization. Ottilie Baader’s story gives a personal view of how factory life inspired new demands for rights, dignity, and reform.

Closer

Closer

Ask Ottilie External link

Ottilie Baader, the daughter of a factory worker, used her education and experiences to become a leader in the fight for labor reform. Step into Ottilie’s shoes and use her story to answer key questions about how industrialization changed people’s lives—and what it meant to be part of the working class.
Graphic Biographies

Graphic Biographies

Ottilie Baader External link

Ottilie Baader became a leader of the German labor reform movement, but she also lived a life of work, not unlike many industrial workers of her time.
Extension Materials
Checkmark Alert Banner
Consider the impacts of industrialization through the resources below—either through developing a written argument or a simulation that puts you inside nineteenth-century economic systems.
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Writing: Industrialization Impacts

In this writing activity, you’ll use evidence from sources to support an argument that responds to the question: How did industrialization impact society during the long nineteenth century?

Assessment

Assessment

Pre-Writing: Industrialization in the Long Nineteenth Century External link

Get ready for writing by crafting a claim and gathering supporting evidence.
Assessment

Assessment

DBQ Sources: Industrialization in the Long Nineteenth Century External link

Analyze these sources and gather evidence to support your argument
Assessment

Assessment

Writing: Industrialization in the Long Nineteenth Century External link

Time to write! Demonstrate your understanding of this unit’s content by creating a written argument in response to a prompt.
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Playing the Systems

Explore capitalism and socialism through a fast-paced classroom game. As you play through different rounds, you’ll see how resources get distributed and reflect on how those systems connect to the social and political movements of the industrial era.

Activity

Activity

Economic Systems Simulation External link

In this game-based activity, you’ll see how capitalism and socialism approach opportunity and reward—and what it feels like to be on different sides of the system.