The Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution, which began in Britain in about 1760, saw a number of factors- population growth, increasing world trade, innovations in technology and new business practices- combine to cause an explosion in industry and massive changes in peoples lives. The Industrial Revolution was the start of the modern world of growing economies and mass consumption.
The activities that follow will help you to understand this topic and will make up part of the compulsory content of the course.
Your teacher will tell you when to complete each part. Have fun!
Your teacher will tell you when to complete each part. Have fun!
Part 1: An introduction to the industrial revolution
Watch the You Tube video below to complete the activities for this section.
In your books complete a mind-map that summarises what you have learned in this 'crash course' video. Make sure that you focus on:
- The causes of the Industrial Revolution
- The ways that the Industrial Revolution changed the world
Part 2: Timeline of the Industrial Revolution
Open the attachment below to answer the questions for this task.
timeline.jpg | |
File Size: | 783 kb |
File Type: | jpg |
Answer the following questions in your book:
1. When was the first practical steam engine developed?
2. Put each of the following events in their correct chronological order from the oldest to the most recent:
1. When was the first practical steam engine developed?
2. Put each of the following events in their correct chronological order from the oldest to the most recent:
- the first powered flight
- the opening of the world’s first railway line
- the invention of the first four-wheeled automobile
- the invention of the first steam locomotive
- Samuel Morse sends the first commercial message by telegraph.
Part 3: Key inventions and innovations- The Factory System
Read the information below and then answer question 1-3 in your books.
The most important ‘invention’ of the Industrial Revolution was not a single item of equipment or technology. Instead, it was a way of producing goods on a large scale using many workers and specialised machinery on one site. This method of production became known as the factory system. Before the introduction of the factory system, manufacturing often took place in small workshops or in local workers’ cottages (hence the term ‘cottage industries’). Local trades and crafts people such as blacksmiths, wheelwrights (wheel makers), cartwrights (cart makers), potters, millers and weavers used their skills, muscle power or water power to largely hand-make items. In contrast, the factory system brought together large numbers of workers in a single site or factory. Few of these workers were skilled because most of the manufacturing was done by machines. Instead, the many workers performed tasks that were repetitive and required little skill. The machines were at first powered by water with waterwheels, then by steam and next by electricity. The factory system itself was made possible by a combination of the technological innovations and knowledge that emerged during this period.
1. Explain the factory system in your own words.
2. What types of work did people do in a factory? What would this have been like?
3. What industries still use factories today? How has the factory system changed over time?
Extension:
The modern school system in Britain (and therefore Australia) traces its roots back to the factory system. The first infants’ school anywhere in the world was set up for the young children of workers in Robert Owen’s cotton mill in New Lanark, Scotland. Schools were meant to prepare people for work; therefore, it was only natural that they should have been designed around the same patterns as factories. For both work and school, there were set tasks to perform between particular times. A siren or bell indicated when it was time to work, when to take a break, and when to go home.
The most important ‘invention’ of the Industrial Revolution was not a single item of equipment or technology. Instead, it was a way of producing goods on a large scale using many workers and specialised machinery on one site. This method of production became known as the factory system. Before the introduction of the factory system, manufacturing often took place in small workshops or in local workers’ cottages (hence the term ‘cottage industries’). Local trades and crafts people such as blacksmiths, wheelwrights (wheel makers), cartwrights (cart makers), potters, millers and weavers used their skills, muscle power or water power to largely hand-make items. In contrast, the factory system brought together large numbers of workers in a single site or factory. Few of these workers were skilled because most of the manufacturing was done by machines. Instead, the many workers performed tasks that were repetitive and required little skill. The machines were at first powered by water with waterwheels, then by steam and next by electricity. The factory system itself was made possible by a combination of the technological innovations and knowledge that emerged during this period.
1. Explain the factory system in your own words.
2. What types of work did people do in a factory? What would this have been like?
3. What industries still use factories today? How has the factory system changed over time?
Extension:
The modern school system in Britain (and therefore Australia) traces its roots back to the factory system. The first infants’ school anywhere in the world was set up for the young children of workers in Robert Owen’s cotton mill in New Lanark, Scotland. Schools were meant to prepare people for work; therefore, it was only natural that they should have been designed around the same patterns as factories. For both work and school, there were set tasks to perform between particular times. A siren or bell indicated when it was time to work, when to take a break, and when to go home.
Part 4: Key inventions and innovations- Electricity
The discovery of electricity and the development of electrical generators was the work of many scientists and inventors from many nations:
- In 1791, Italian scientist Luigi Galvani discovered that he could make a dead frog’s legs twitch if he struck them with a spark, advancing the study of electricity.
- In 1800, his fellow experimenter Alessandro Volta recognised the potential of Galvani’s discovery and developed a cell or battery to store the energy (‘electricity’).
- In 1831, the English scientist Michael Faraday produced the first continuous flow of electric current. His work in electromagnetic induction was the basis for dynamos and other electric motors.
- In 1884, Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine, which allowed steam power to generate electricity. Electric power stations began operating in the 1880s.
- In the 1870s, power stations were built to provide electric lighting. Electric lights were first developed by Joseph Swan, an Englishman, and Thomas Edison, an American. Together they produced ‘Ediswan’ bulbs to light houses and streets.
In your books: Create an illustrated flow chart that outlines the major developments in the discovery and application of electricity.
Part 5: "Those were the days!"- an examination of child labor
At the start of the Industrial Revolution, children were seen as ideal employees. They were small enough to fit between the new machinery, they were cheap to employ (often about one-fifth or one-sixth of the adult wage), and their families were grateful for the extra income. There was no real concern about their education being affected as education was not compulsory and most working-class families could not afford to send their children to school anyway. Children started work as young as age four or five.
In textile factories such as cotton mills, children were given jobs as piecers (tying broken threads together) or scavengers (collecting loose cotton from underneath the heavy weaving machines that ran non-stop). They worked six days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day, with very few breaks. Lack of sleep meant they were more vulnerable to mistakes and injuries.
Watch the video below to complete the activity:
In textile factories such as cotton mills, children were given jobs as piecers (tying broken threads together) or scavengers (collecting loose cotton from underneath the heavy weaving machines that ran non-stop). They worked six days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day, with very few breaks. Lack of sleep meant they were more vulnerable to mistakes and injuries.
Watch the video below to complete the activity:
Using the information from the video and what you have done in class you are required to complete a diary entry empathy task. You need to imagine that you are a child working in a factory during the Industrial Revolution (we need to use our imagination because most factory workers would not have been able to read or write!). Write a diary entry that covers the following focus questions:
- What did you do on an average day?
- How are you treated in the factory?
- Do you enjoy your job? Explain why.
Part 6: Impact of the Industrial Revolution- research activity
Choose one of the topics below and explain how it was a result of the Industrial Revolution. This should be in YOUR OWN words and a minimum of 150 words.
Extension
This video is a great summary of the Industrial Revolution and will help consolidate your understanding of the topic and give you a better visual understanding in preparation for the exams!