Industrialization
In the mid-eighteenth century, humankind began to rapidly expand its technical knowledge, harnessing elemental powers of steam, combustion, and electricity in a process called industrialization. What were its impacts on leading states like Britain and Japan? And how does industrialization relate to today’s climate crisis?
Explore the lesson plans
Featured Materials
Ottilie Baader (Graphic Biography)
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.
The Life of Nailers
Urbanization Game
This activity will introduce students to the concept of urbanization, both as a shift in demographics and as a shift in the physical environment resulting from the rise of industrialization.
Responses to Industrialization
Industrialization and the rise of the proletariat created a lot of social problems. But it also helped launch a lot of attempts to solve those problems.
Iwasaki Yatarō (Graphic Biography)
A petty samurai by birth, Iwasaki Yatarō seized the opportunities of industrialization to create the Mitsubishi corporation and to help industrialize the city of Nagasaki.
Images of the Industrial Revolution
Explore pre- and post-industrialization images to identify changes and continuities over time.
Making Clean Water
Changing Gender Roles
Empire, nationalism, and industrialization both defined the roles of men and women and created spaces where these new definitions were contested around the world.
Victorian washing machines
Economic Systems Simulation
Gain insight into two economic systems that will play a big role in this unit. More importantly, get some treats while you’re at it!
Class Structure
Social class was not new to this time period. However, industrialization led to a new social class structure that created extreme divisions between the rich and the poor.
Contextualization – How Was Industrialization Possible?
Students will use their contextualization skills to consider the factors that made industrialization possible.
Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32
In what might be called the most revolutionary of modern revolutions, the Industrial Revolution changed the lives of more people more dramatically than any of the modern political revolutions.
Making Claims – Capitalism and Socialism
By now, you should be experts at making claims, but how will you do when you’re asked to make claims about economic systems? Let’s find out!
Claim Testing – Evidence
Is all evidence the same? Are some types of evidence better than others? This activity will help students evaluate and learn how to use this claim tester.