The Industrial Revolution
Vincent Boucher
Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary Unit Length: Two weeks
Unit Overview:
This unit will give students a broad overview of the Industrial Revolution’s causes and effects. Students will observe the problems individuals, groups and sub-groups confronted, and the societal shifts that took place. The students will understand the relationship between the technological advances of the day and: the positive and negative implications on the work force, the economic and societal shifts resulting from these advances, the political and military implications and the resulting environmental impacts that still haunt us today.
The unit is comprised of five lessons, each lasting two days. Each lesson begins with a topical, interactive multimedia discussion. The students then move on to a “hands on” topical activity.
Throughout the unit the students will be involved in manufacturing small carts for use in a school for young students with special needs. I will have arranged the laboratory into an assembly line capable of supporting all of the stages of production for these carts.
Unit Essential Questions:
How did major technological advances fostered the industrialization of society during the early and mid eighteen hundreds?
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution cause societal shifts in agrarian communities and how did these shifts affect the urban and rural environments?
To what extent did the environment (physical working conditions and the employer-employee relationship) created inside factories to foster productivity, marginalize workers individuality, freedoms and civil rights?
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution affect children in terms of their health, freedoms and civil rights?
How did improvements in educational systems brought on by the Industrial Revolution cause further exploitation of workers?
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution cause improvements and innovations to transportation systems?
To what extent has the Industrial Revolution impacted ecological systems?
Unit Objectives:
The student will be able to describe and or explain the technological advances that brought in the Industrial Revolution.
The student will be able to understand how an empowered group (factory owners) can exploit a marginalized population (workers).
The student will be able to differentiate between how education can marginalize or empower a group.
The student will be able to recognize the impacts the Industrial Revolution had on transportation systems and the effects of these improvements.
The student will be able to employ different scientific methods to assess the ecological impact of industry.
Connecticut Standards:
- The Nature & Evolution of Technology
· Students will understand the nature of technology, how it has evolved and its influence on its own evolution.
- The Impacts of Technology
· Students will understand the impact that technology has on the personal, social, cultural, economic, political and environmental aspects of their lives.
- The Creation & Use of Technology
· Students will know the origins, properties and processing techniques associated with the materials of technology as demonstrated by effective application of the methods producing usable products and by their effective(ly) use(ing) of those products.
Assessments:
The project the “class chose” (It’s the liberal progressive in me!) is to form a factory for the mass production of a “widget”. The widget this particular class chose is a child sized 3-wheeled cart that can be peddled around by the end user and has room to transport goods from one place to another. At the end of the production run the finished carts will be donated to a local school to be used in a classroom for students with special needs.
Formal written assessments will be the graphic organizers and papers the students are assigned throughout the unit. Each student will be required to write a “rich and full” description of their involvement in an industrial process, including how they had seen themselves as workers (cogs in the wheel). I will be looking for depth of their inquiry as they explore the material. Informal assessments will be students’ descriptions of the project as a whole and their involvement in the project. Informal assessments will be held by myself in the form of interviews with or observations of the students as they work in their groups.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1
From Farm to city
Name: Vincent Boucher Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary
Length (minutes): 90
Unit Essential Question(s):
How did major technological advances foster the industrialization of society
during the early and mid eighteen hundreds?
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution cause societal shifts in agrarian communities and how did these shifts affect the urban and rural environments?
Lesson Essential Question(s):
How did the Industrial Revolution cause economic and emotional stress to farms and farm families?
How did the industrial Revolution cause societal tensions in urban populations?
To what extent did the industrial revolution affect the slumming of urban populations?
Objectives:
The student will be able to describe and or explain the technological advances that brought in the Industrial Revolution.
The student will understand the societal shifts caused by the Industrial Revolution.
The student will be able to describe the social tensions caused by the Industrial Revolution.
Teaching Context:
Transformative Context
Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD 1: The Nature & Evolution of Technology
- Identify and describe the historical innovations in the evolution of systems and their impact on our society, economy and environment.
CONTENT STANDARD 2: The Impacts of Technology
- Analyze technologies based on their positive and negative impacts.
- Describe the evolution of technology and its influence on the economy, culture, society and environment.
Learning Experience:
How were farm families affected by the Industrial Revolution?
How were cities affected by the Industrial Revolution?
Day 1:
The students will watch a documentary film about the history of Detroit.
After the film they will be given a graphic organizer to fill in as we discuss the film.
The students will explore the growth of urban areas by researching the demographic data of a city they choose. They will have to complete a small paper regarding their findings. They will be asked to look carefully at the social tensions created by population shifts.
After, the students will go into the laboratory. In the laboratory the students will be assigned a place at the assembly line. Today we are going to paint the wheels.
Day 2:
The students will be given a copy of an “Engines of our Ingenuity” transcript (Episode #26) about the technology of farming. This is about the marvels of the horse.
After, the students will go into the laboratory. In the laboratory the students will be assigned a place at the assembly line. Today they will paint the frames.
Assessment(s):
I will formally assess the graphic organizer from the film, the transcript and the writing assignment. I will informally assess students for behavior and participation in classroom discussions and in the lab.
Lesson 2
The Worker
Name: Vincent Boucher Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary
Length (minutes): 90
Unit Essential Question(s):
To what extent did the environment (physical working conditions and the
employer-employee relationship) created inside factories to foster productivity
while marginalizing workers individuality, freedoms and civil rights?
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution affect children in terms of their health, freedoms and civil rights?
Lesson Essential Question(s):
How did the working environment (conditions and relationships) of factories affect the home/family life of the workers?
How did the Industrial Revolution affect the lives of children?
In what ways did the Industrial Revolution further marginalize, exploit and segregate persons of color or indigenous people?
Objectives:
The student will be able to understand how an empowered group (factory owners) can exploit or marginalize a population (workers).
Teaching Context:
Transformative Context
Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD 2: The Impacts of Technology
· Describe the evolution of technology and its influence on the economy, culture, society and environment.
· Demonstrate an understanding of local, state and national regulatory agencies in home and workplace safety.
· Demonstrate ethical behaviors associated with technology
Learning Experience:
What evidence of worker exploitation did you see?
How were the workers exploited in this case?
Day 1:
The students will watch excerpts from “Modern Times”. It’s the story of a factory worker (Charlie Chaplin) working on an assembly line.
They will be given a graphic organizer for the discussion.
After the discussion the students will fabricate and finish the “cargo beds” for the carts in the lab.
Day 2:
They will watch excerpts from a Discovery Channel documentary on the history of factories in the United States
They will be given a graphic organizer for the discussion.
After the discussion the students will go into the lab. Today they start to assemble the finished carts. This process will take several days.
Assessment(s):
I will formally assess the graphic organizer from the film and the writing assignment. I will informally assess students for behavior and participation in classroom discussions and in the lab.
Lesson 3
Industrial Education
Name: Vincent Boucher Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary
Length (minutes): 90
Unit Essential Question(s):
How did the Industrial Revolution cause shifts in educational systems and
educational philosophies?
How did improvements in educational systems brought on by the Industrial Revolution cause further exploitation of workers?
Lesson Essential Question(s):
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution improve the educational system in the United States?
How did improvements to the educational system cause workers to be exploited?
To what extent do these improvements in educational systems affect schooling today?
Objectives:
The student will be able to differentiate between how education can marginalize or empower a group.
The student will be able to understand the ways in which the industrial Revolution affects life today.
Teaching Context:
Transformative
Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD 1: The Nature & Evolution of Technology
· Given the nature of technology, explain the need to be a lifelong learner.
CONTENT STANDARD 2: The Impacts of Technology
- Demonstrate ethical behaviors associated with technology.
Learning Experience:
Day 1:
The students will watch a power point slide on the history of education. It will emphasize the roll education has played in the advancement of people in society as well as how it has been used to perpetuate the oppression of minority groups (black and Latino and women).
The lab work today will be to continue assembling the carts.
Day 2:
The students will receive a transcript of “The Engines of Our Ingenuity” (Episode # 1107) about the history of Engineering Education.
In the lab they will continue the assembly process.
Assessment(s):
I will formally assess the graphic organizer from the film and the writing assignment. I will informally assess students for behavior and participation in classroom discussions and in the lab.
Lesson 4
Transportation
Name: Vincent Boucher Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary
Length (minutes): 90
Unit Essential Question(s):
To what extent did the Industrial Revolution cause improvements and innovations
to transportation systems?
To what extent did the society respond to (use of) improvements in transportation systems and what were the ecological and societal costs?
Lesson Essential Question(s):
To what extent did improvements and innovations to transportation systems affect society?
How have improvements to transportation systems affected the ecological balance of rural lands?
Objectives:
The student will be able to recognize the impacts the Industrial Revolution had on transportation systems.
The student will be able to recognize how improvements in transportation systems have worked to oppress minority groups in society.
Teaching Context:
Transformative
Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD 1: The Nature & Evolution of Technology
- Critically analyze a given technology against a perceived need or want.
- Identify and describe the historical innovations in the evolution of systems and their impact on our society, economy and environment.
CONTENT STANDARD 2: The Impacts of Technology
- Analyze technologies based on their positive and negative impacts.
- Describe the evolution of technology and its influence on the economy, culture, society and environment.
- Describe and evaluate how society’s expectations drive technological development.
Learning Experience:
Day 1:
The students will start off with transcript reading and a listen to John Lienhard from his program “The Engines of Our Ingenuity.” This is a whimsical look at transportation fifty years in the future. That is fifty years in the future from 1950 and through the lens of a “Popular Science” magazine.
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1522.htm
Next, they will go into the laboratory and back to the assembly line. Today’s task will be to finish the assembly of the carts.
Day 2:
Next, the students will watch excerpts from a National Geographic documentary about the history of transportation. They will have a graphic organizer to help them through the content.
Next, they will go into the lab, do quality control checks and prepare the carts for delivery.
Assessment(s):
I will formally assess the graphic organizer from the “Engines” piece, and the film. I’ll pay particular attention to how well they grasp the idea that a group of people could be oppressed by transportation. I will informally assess students for behavior and participation in classroom discussions and in the lab.
Lesson 5
The Skull and Crossed Bones
Name: Vincent Boucher Subject: Technology Education Grade: Secondary
Length (minutes): 90
Unit Essential Question(s):
To what extent has the Industrial Revolution impacted of the environment?
How can society engage the ecological damage the Industrial Revolution has left on our environment?
Lesson Essential Question(s):
To what extent has the ecological damage caused by the Industrial Revolution affected the human condition?
How can society effectively reverse the ecological damage the Industrial Revolution has left on our environment?
Objectives:
The student will be able to employ different scientific methods to assess the ecological impact of industry.
The student will be able to recognize the environmental impacts of industrialization.
Teaching Context:
Transformative
Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD 1: The Nature & Evolution of Technology
- Identify and describe the historical innovations in the evolution of systems and their impact on our society, economy and environment.
CONTENT STANDARD 2: The Impacts of Technology
Analyze technologies based on their positive and negative impacts.Identify and explain proper hazardous waste disposal techniques.
Describe the evolution of technology and its influence on the economy, culture, society and environment.
· Demonstrate an understanding of local, state and national regulatory agencies in home and workplace safety.
Demonstrate responsibility and accountability in technological decision-making.
Demonstrate ethical behaviors associated with technology.
Learning Experience:
Day 1:
The class will start with another transcript reading and listening with the appropriate organizer. This time John Lienhard talks about surviving ourselves.
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2215.htm
After the classroom session, the students will go on a field trip to deliver the finished carts to the class of students with special needs. They are told to watch and note the students’ reactions to these new carts. They’re assignment is to write a small paper, one page describing their reactions, positive or negative, in terms of how they used by the students. They need to incorporate into this paper a “rich and full” description of their involvement in an industrial process.
Day 2:
The class will then watch a series of You Tube videos regarding pollution, industrial waste and methods of sequestering or cleaning industrial wastes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LZPNIcoU2c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m-mf5PrQU
The students will finish clean up in the lab. Then it will be time for a little celebration for a job well done.
Assessment(s):
I will formally assess the graphic organizers from the “Engines” piece, and the “You Tube” videos I am interested in the students sharing ideas of where a local clean up might need to be organized. I will informally assess the students for their behavior and participation in the classroom discussions and in the laboratory.
