INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Inventions, Business, Urbanization, Child Labor, Unions

Looking for an easy-to-use social studies unit on The American Industrial Revolution for your fourth, fifth, or sixth grade class? Look no further! Our unit is designed to transport your students back in time to the era of new inventions, factories, and the rise of big cities!

Our interactive, hands-on activities—featuring learning centers, group projects, dynamic discussions, gallery walks, a review game, and more—are designed to give your students a comprehensive understanding of the Industrial Revolution through diverse and engaging learning experiences.

Our step-by-step teacher guide takes the guesswork out of planning, allowing you to deliver an interactive, fun, and rigorous learning experience for your students.

This comprehensive unit on the American Industrial Revolution has everything you need—from digital anchor slides to versatile printable or digital activities and a complete bulletin board set. Students won't just learn about the Industrial Revolution; they'll engage deeply as active participants through hands-on, student-centered experiences that bring history to life.

HOW IT WORKS:

Each lesson is divided into three easy-to-follow components, designed to make your teaching experience a breeze.

• In the Introduction, you'll start by reviewing prior knowledge and introducing new concepts and key vocabulary, using anchor slides for whole-group instruction before transitioning to small groups for hands-on practice.

• During the Lesson Activity, students will dive into the Industrial Revolution through interactive activities, often working in partners or small groups. They'll capture their learning in a dedicated student activity packet, keeping everything in one place.

• Wrap up with the Lesson Reflection, where students come back together to review, share, and discuss their discoveries. Through reflective journal questions in their activity packets, students can process and solidify their understanding of the lesson.

With this effortless structure, your students will be engaged, excited, and ready to learn about the Industrial Revolution like never before!

CONCEPTS COVERED IN EACH LESSON:

• LESSON 1: What was the Industrial Revolution?

• LESSON 2: Inventions that changed America (spinning Jenny, steam engine, steam locomotive, power loom, telegraph, mechanical reaper, cotton gin)

• LESSON 3: The rise of big business & entrepreneurship with a focus on key figures: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt

• LESSON 4: Factories, mines, child labor, and working conditions

• LESSON 5: The rise of big cities - (causes of urbanization, living conditions, and challenges of urban life)

• LESSON 6: Transportation & westward expansion with a focus on railroads, canals, and steamships and how they helped connect cities

• LESSON 7: Regional differences in the Industrial Revolution, exploring ways the North, South, and Midwest were impacted by the Industrial Revolution

• LESSON 8: The labor movement, the rise of unions, and the strike & riots led by these unions

• LESSON 9: The impact the Industrial Revolution had on the environment

• LESSON 10: Social class and consumer culture

• LESSON 11: Review Game

• LESSON 12: Assessment

* Please note: Some lessons may require more than one day, depending on the length of your social studies block

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

• Detailed Teacher Guide with everything you need for each lesson. You can download each teacher and student resources directly from the guide making prep a breeze! Find a unit overview and easy-to-follow detailed daily lesson plans that outline student objectives, materials needed, teacher preparation required, and the steps on how to conduct the lesson. for seamless instruction delivery.

• Student Activity Packet - 22 pages of meaningful student activities to go along with the daily lessons - all in one place! (printable OR digital)

• 85 Anchor Slides to go along with each lesson to guide you and keep you on pace for each lesson. Anchor slides include a variety of content from videos to ready-to-go graphic organizers, maps, photographs and more!

• A 50+ piece Bulletin Board Set to reinforce learned concepts

• Industrial Revolution picture cards for a small group activity to kick-off the unit (printable and digital)

• 7 Gallery Walk Posters for teaching about inventions that changed American including spinning Jenny, steam engine, steam locomotive, power loom, telegraph, mechanical reaper, cotton gin. With each poster students will gather information about the invention and the impact it had on the Industrial Revolution.

• 4 Digital Biography LINKtivities - an virtual exploration of 4 major entrepreneurs that played key roles in the rise of big business including:
  Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. For each explorer, students will learn about early life, key contributions and achievements, and explore memorable quotes spoken by each person.

• 6 Originally Written Articles & Reader's Theater Scripts to teach about different aspects of the Industrial Revolution (printable or digital)

• 7 Primary & Secondary Resources Learning Stations for teaching about the different aspects of urbanization including: living conditions, causes of urbanization, sanitation in the city, impact of immigration, skyscrapers, the role railroads played in connecting cities, and different perspectives of people living in the cities

• Fact Hunt Activity - Students collect facts about the labor movement, labor unions, and key strikes and riots during the 1800s while creating an infographic

• "Walk, Talk, Trade" - Unit Review Game

• Formal Unit Assessment (printable or digital)

WHAT OTHER TEACHERS ARE SAYING About Our Social Studies Units...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ashley C, 4th grade teacher says, BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE CREATOR!! This is actually the third year I have used this resource in my classroom. Not only is it engaging but the kids have fun. What I really want to say is thank you! This year with everything going online and so many students having to do it virtual it has been overwhelming. She has done EVERYTHING in Google!!! I didn't have to go and create slides and quizzes because she did it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cool to Be Kinder, teacher says, This product is AMAZING!!!! Absolutely phenomenal I wish I could give it A+. Everything you need for a great unit of Early Explorers. My kids loved everything from the PowerPoints to gold search to the stations. Rachael--If I could hug you, I would! THANK YOU! Keep doing what you're doing

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ MissMiniMills, 4th & 5th grade teacher says, This had EVERYTHING I needed to teach explorers. It was so helpful and detailed. I really loved the explorer Google Classroom activity and my students found it so engaging. Thank you so much for such a great and comprehensive product!

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