Lesson Plan

British Industrial Revolution

Name: Sarah Weber Date: April 5, 2004 Age/Grade Level: Grade 12

Subject: English # of Students: 26 # of IEP Students: 0

Major Content: English Unit Title: Industrialism in the Victorian Age

Goals and Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify multiple causes of the British Industrial Revolution, list multiple aspects of the common workers’ living conditions, list the benefits of the British Industrial Revolution, and communicate through class debate on the positive and negative aspects of the British Industrial Revolution. The essential questions the students will address through debate are: 1) Was the Industrial Revolution good or bad for Britain? 2) Did the Industrial Revolution cause people to live a higher standard of life? 3) What are the negative aspects about working in a factory today? Did they exist in Victorian era Britain?

Connections

This lesson targets the following Kentucky Learning Goals and Academic Expectations for Students:

1.4 – Students make sense of listening to the class debate and teacher led class discussion.

1.12 – Students speak using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate information to their classmates during the debate.

2.15 – Students can analyze the evolving democratic government of Britain and relate that to how the British government was failing to protect the rights of workers.

3.4 – Students demonstrate the ability to be resourceful and creative by developing innovative arguments to support their debate thesis.

4.1 – Students effectively use interpersonal skills while participating in a class debate.

4.2 – Students use productive team membership skills when developing a debate thesis with a group of classmates.

5.1 – Students use critical thinking skills such as analyzing and evaluating the economic benefits of the revolution versus the treatment of the workers.

5.2 – Students use creative thinking skills during class debate to invent constructive ideas as to the betterment of workers in society.

Context

In this lesson, students will be able to identify the causes of the British Industrial Revolution, list multiple aspects of the common worker’s living conditions, list the benefits of the British Industrial Revolution, and list some negative aspects of the British Industrial Revolution. By accomplishing all of the above, students will be able to have a clear understanding of the Victorian Era British writers; knowing why they wrote in certain styles and what inspired them to write. Many Victorian writers wrote in defense of social injustices, and by understanding the plight of the worker, and British economy in the Victorian period, students will have an excellent example of a great social debate of the time.

Resources

1. Computer with Internet Access 2. Text Books

3. Writing Utensils 4. Paper

Procedures

1. Prior to the beginning of class, students will have read Engel’s “The Conditions of the Working Class” from pages 222-231 of their textbook. Students will also have visited the curriculum web page for their class, which is posted on the internet. Students will have clicked on the links for Monday and Tuesday on the curriculum page, and read the material at the linked sites.

2. At the beginning of class, students will take notes on given facts about the British Industrial Revolution.

3. The teacher will then lead a class discussion on Engel’s “The Conditions of the Working Class” in relevance to ethical treatment of workers.

4. The students will then take notes on given facts about the economic benefits of the Industrial Revolution.

5. The teacher will then lead a class discussion on the subject of weighing the benefits of economic benefits versus the happiness of the people. The questions will be asked of the students: Does economic benefits equal happiness for the people? What aspects of the Industrial Revolution could have been changed in order to make the workers happier and make a profit for Britain? Is the working class underprivileged in present America, and if so, what laws could be enacted to relieve the workers’ condition?

6. Students will then be assigned a number of one or two. The one’s and two’s will then be assigned a side of debate, focused on the British Industrial Revolution. The one’s will be expected to debate the British Industrial Revolution was positive, and the two’s will debate the Industrial Revolution was negative. The teacher will call on students with raised hands to answer during the debate, in order to assure that everyone receives a chance to give a debate response.

Student Assessment

At the end of the period, each student will be given an A, B, C, or D depending on the quality of their argument in the class debate, and the knowledge they have of the British Industrial Revolution. The assessment chart and standards for receiving each letter grade can be found at my home web-site when students click on the word Assessment. The assessment chart was created at Rubistar.