Industrial Revolution Lesson Plans
Activities to Teach Ideologies and the Assembly Line to Students
Nov 16, 2009
The Industrial Revolution unit in Social Studies has complex concepts that are important for students to understand. With active projects and activities, students can better understand these concepts and the era. Below are three activities to help teach this unit.
Teaching Ideologies – Mock Trial Project
Several ideologies are present during this era and are important to know. Communism, Socialism, and Capitalism are just some that students need to understand. A great way to get everyone engaged in learning about these ideologies is to have students participate in a Mock Election.
To do a mock election, groups of students (usually 4-5, depending on class size) will be given one of the several ideologies present during the Industrial Revolution (i.e. Communism, Socialism, Liberalism, Romanticism, Capitalism, Utilitarianism, etc.). In their groups, students are to research their specific ideology using their text books, information packages, notes already provided by the teacher, and any information they can find through the use of the library and internet.
At this point, the group will need to summarize the information, answering such questions as:
- Who are the important people in this ideology (creators/key thinkers)?
- What beliefs does it hold?
- Is this ideology the best choice to govern 19th century Britain?
This summary should be taken in and marked and can also be given to students as notes to be used to study from.
With this information they must also create a speech trying to convince the class that their ideology would be the best choice to govern 19th century Britain. A member of their group (or several members) will be asked to present this speech, as though they were living at this time and campaigning to be elected for office. They must create a fitting slogan for their election campaign and teachers can also encourage students to be creative and design election posters and pins.
All students will be engaged during the election speeches because they will be asked to vote for the ideological party that persuaded them and fits with what they think would be best for society at that time. This is also beneficial because this gives the teacher the opportunity to review the voting/election process. Once the voting is complete, the teacher will tally the votes, announce the winner and have a class discussion about the speeches and the ideas presented.
Teaching About the Assembly Line and Factory Life – Paper Plane Activity
During the Industrial Revolution there was a transition from a cottage style system to a factory system with the popularization of the assembly line. To teach this concept students can complete this paper plane activity.
To start, the teacher will tell the students that they will be "manufacturing" paper planes. However, they will be doing this in two separate ways and as such they will be divided into two groups. The first group will work as a factory assembly line. There will be a boss and the rest of the students will have a position in an assembly line where they will produce paper planes. The second group will be working as a cottage industry to create paper airplanes.
After this explanation, the teacher needs to to split the class into two even groups and give each group paper (make sure to use used/to be recycled paper to save the trees!). The factory group must assign a boss and the boss will be given a paper planes instruction sheet with the steps need to be taken to make the planes. The boss will then line his/her peers up and assign each step to a student. For example, one student will make the first fold and then pass it on to the next student to make another. The boss is encouraged to monitor his/her "employees" to make sure that the paper planes are all similar, as mass produced products are and he/she is allowed to fire and pressure students to work harder and faster.
In the cottage group, students will create paper planes using the same instructions, but will do so independently and are encouraged to individualize each plane (i.e. students can colour and modify the planes).
Both groups will make planes for 10-15 minutes. After, the students will be asked to stop and present the planes to the teacher. The teacher will count how many each group has made and showcase the planes made by each group. The factory group should have made significantly more than the cottage group, but the cottage group will have more creative and a more high quality product. With these conclusions, the teacher can go on to teach students what it was like to work in a factory and relate it back to the activity that the students participated in.
Something to watch out for: While making paper planes, students might be tempted to fly them. To curb this temptation the teacher can tell them they have the opportunity to fly them at the end of class. During the last few minutes of class, the teacher can take them outside to fly the planes and then they can recycle them or put them away. Otherwise, students can make a different product, such as origami, as long as there are several simple steps that can be done in an assembly line fashion.
Teaching the Industrial Revolution – Movies
There are several school-appropriate movies that can be used in the classroom to teach students about the Industrial Revolution and they are a great way to teach many of the concepts in regards to the Industrial Revolution.
Engaging Students With Active Lessons
Actively engaging students in their learning is key to helping them learn and remember what is taught in the classroom. By providing students with thought provoking and active lessons, students will have a better understanding of the Industrial Revolution and the concepts embedded in the unit.
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