Students learn how the first phase of the American Industrial Revolution transformed the United States by driving urban growth, changing daily life, and creating new social and economic conditions in rapidly expanding cities.
Students learn how the first phase of the American Industrial Revolution transformed the United States by driving urban growth, changing daily life, and creating new social and economic conditions in rapidly expanding cities.
Students examine an image of Broadway in New York City in 1836 and read introductory text about how surroundings and types of work shaped people’s lives during the Industrial Revolution. They brainstorm differences between city and rural life—focusing on housing, work, and daily routines—and contribute words or phrases to a shared class table comparing rural and city life in terms of where and how people live and work. Students then read a brief overview of the experience and the lesson objectives.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the experience by explaining that students will explore how industrialization transformed American cities and the lives of people who lived and worked in them. Review key vocabulary (famine, tenement house, urbanization) and the lesson objectives. After students complete the table, facilitate a discussion to highlight major contrasts between rural and city life, prompting students to notice patterns in work, housing, and routines. Ask how these differences show that people’s lives depend on where they live, and pose the question of how life in cities might have begun to change during the first phase of the American Industrial Revolution to set up the learning for later scenes.
Students read Urbanization in Early 19th-Century America to investigate how industrialization and economic change led to rapid urban growth and the development of new cities. They answer several multiple-choice questions about why people moved from farms to cities, why cities such as Pittsburgh and Chicago grew quickly, and what effects resulted from rapid urban growth. Students then use a drawing tool to create a visual representation of how industrialization led to the growth of cities, including factories, workers, transportation, and expanding urban areas, and show cause-and-effect relationships with arrows, labels, and captions.
Teacher MovesFrame the scene by explaining that industrialization and urbanization were closely linked and that cities grew alongside expanding industries. After students answer the questions, lead a discussion connecting economic causes and effects of urbanization, prompting students to identify how factory jobs and wage-paying work pulled people into cities and why transportation routes and new industries helped certain cities grow faster. After the drawing activity, facilitate a share-out in which students explain the cause-and-effect relationships in their visuals, highlighting patterns such as factories → jobs → migration → city expansion and the role of transportation in supporting urban growth. Emphasize how industry, transportation, and population growth worked together to make the United States more urban.
Students examine an image of Boston in 1850 and read How Did Urbanization Change Life in American Cities? to understand how industrialization altered daily life and work. As they read, they identify the main idea of each paragraph and then complete two drag-and-drop matching activities in which they match main idea statements to the correct paragraphs. Next, students reflect on how industrialization and urban growth affected people in both cities and the countryside and respond to a discussion wall prompt explaining how these changes created both new opportunities and new conflicts among different groups, using examples from the texts in the experience.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the scene by explaining that students will focus on how industrialization and urban growth transformed American life, creating both opportunities and inequalities. After the matching activities, guide a discussion to help students see how the paragraphs connect, asking what patterns they notice in how life was changing and how urbanization created new opportunities and conflicts. Once students post on the discussion wall, facilitate a whole-class conversation that returns to cause and effect: ask what specific changes (such as new industries, jobs, or inventions) created opportunities, and what effects these changes had on different groups. Help students recognize that the same growth that brought jobs and progress also led to overcrowding, competition, and social conflict, and emphasize that industrialization affected communities in different ways.
Students read How the Irish Potato Famine Shaped American Urbanization and watch The Irish Famine Immigration | New York: A Documentary Film to explore how Irish immigration during the mid-1800s influenced economic, social, and cultural life in growing American cities, especially New York. They complete a concept map showing how Irish immigration affected urban America, adding examples related to labor, housing, cultural traditions, and demographic change, and explaining relationships with connecting words or short phrases. Students then respond to a discussion wall prompt explaining how the arrival of Irish immigrants during the Potato Famine changed life and work in some American cities.
Teacher MovesExplain that this optional extension scene allows students to apply their understanding of industrialization and urbanization to the case of Irish immigration. After students complete the concept map, lead a discussion about the connections between Irish immigration and city growth, prompting students to identify economic effects (such as expanded labor forces and construction), housing changes (like crowded tenement neighborhoods), and cultural impacts (new parishes, markets, and traditions). When reviewing the discussion wall, help students see how Irish immigration both supported urban growth and created new social and cultural patterns, and extend the conversation by asking what these changes reveal about how immigration can transform both the economy and culture of a nation.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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