Industrial Revolution Lesson Plan

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Every aspect of life changed during the Industrial Revolution, from food to work to housing to what people did in their free time. Innovative inventions spurred many of these changes. This lesson plan will challenge students to decide which invention changed the world the most.

Industrial Revolution Lesson Plan

Lesson Objective: Think critically about different Industrial Revolution inventions and support an opinion about which invention is most influential.

Materials: Industrial Revolution video, Debate Worksheet, computer access for research, student notebook or document to take notes.

1. Play the free Flocabulary video, “The Industrial Dream.” Before you begin, tell students that the song describes the changes that the Industrial Revolution brought to industrializing nations. Ask them to write down as many inventions and changes as they notice while watching.

2. When the video is over, have students share the inventions that they heard and write them all up on the board. You may also want to describe changes in the song where inventions weren’t specifically mentioned, like the rise of factories. You may want to discuss new inventions in factories, like looms or assembly line production. Next, click on the lyrics below the video to learn more about the inventions.

3. Break students into small groups and hand out the debate worksheets. Have them fill in the “General Topic,” which is, “Which Industrial Revolution invention changed the world the most?” Ask each group to consider the various effects of each invention, and decide which invention was most influential. (ALTERNATIVE: Assign a different invention to each group and ask them to come up with arguments to support their invention’s influence.)

4. Before or after students make their choice (depending upon how you want to structure the lesson), give students time to research their invention. Have them list arguments on the debate worksheet for why their invention most changed the world. Make sure they use facts from the song or research to support their views.

5. Give each group time to present their arguments. Students should take notes on other arguments. Afterwards, give groups time to write down explanations as to why their invention was more influential than another groups. Students can discuss these rebuttals as a class if there is time.

6. When everyone has presented and had time to rebut, ask the class to vote on the most influential Industrial Revolution invention. Remind students that they shouldn’t just vote for their invention, but to really think about the most convincing arguments.

7. Extension: Ask students to write about or discuss the invention from the last 10 years has changed the world the most.

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