Industrial Revolution Lesson: Industrial vs. Traditional Economy

The benefits and drawbacks of industrialization are highlighted in this lesson. Students are asked to weigh the relative strengths of industrialization (higher wages, cheaper goods, higher standard of living, etc.) against the drawbacks (urbanization, child labor, uneven social classes, etc.). They are then asked to compare those benefits/drawbacks to the alternative, a traditional, agrarian society. The lesson provides an excellent opportunity to discuss levels of poverty and whether industrialization created more or less poverty overall.

This lesson is perfectly differentiated to include a thought-based introduction, independent study, group work, creativity and artistic effort, while concluding with a presentation.

The assignment meets Common Core literacy requirements (primary source analysis) and can be used independently as a skill building activity or as part of our larger Political and Industrial Revolutions unit which is available for purchase.


Industrial Revolution Lesson: Industrial vs. Traditional Economy by Everything You Need is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.