Industrial Revolution

This scene takes place in a recreation of an Industrial Revolution era factory, complete with a large steam train parked out in the yard. Students will be able to see the architecture of industrial England in the year 1800 and explore what life would have been like for the people that lived and worked there. The yard is complete with a canal and a water wheel that is being used to power some of the machinery inside the factory building. There are also several ‘Spinning Jenny’ machines as well as dates indicating when key technological advances took place. A child can be found working under one of the machines.

# Learning objectives

Understand the impact of the Industrial Revolution on working people in Britain. {.info}

Identify the technological changes that made the Industrial Revolution possible. {.info}

# All Change{.objective .objective1}

The first section of this scene focusses on the main reason that the Industrial Revolution began – people moving in from smaller villages to big cities in order to find work. Students should be able to consider what life would have been like for people as they swapped out their lives in the countryside for jobs in factories.

# Key Inventions: The Steam Engine {.objective .objective2}

Section two looks in more detail at the steam engine found outside the factory doors and why it was such an important invention. Students are give information on the invention of the steam train, including its creation by Thomas Newcomen in 1712 and its perfection by James Watt.

# Key Inventions: The Spinning Jenny{.objective .objective3}

This section looks briefly at the creation of the Spinning Jenny – from it’s creation by James Hargreaves to its implications for the textiles industry. The task for section three asks students to consider the impact of the Jenny and then look at the other machines it inspired.

# Child Workers{.objective .objective3}

The final section of this scene explains the differences in child Labour laws in the 18th century and how they eventually changed with the introduction of the Factory Act in 1833. The task for this section again puts students in the position of a child in the industrial revolution and asks them defined the child underneath the machine and think about how old he may be and what it may have felt like. Students are asked how the life of a child in the industrial revolution is different to their own.