Unit 9: Industrial Revolution in America
The Industrial Revolution in America is one unit I simply love to teach! It is such an exciting time in our history.
The Civil War is over and thankfully, the nation remains intact! Recovery is difficult and slow, but a whole new age of possibilities and progress finally emerges. By the late 1890's, the population of the United States is at an all time high and excitement is in the air. More and more people move to the cities and technological advancements explode on the scene. People such as Thomas Edison invent the light bulb and develop electricity while others such as Henry Bessemer develop a way to produce steel more efficiently.
Business giants like Andrew Carnegie create a steel empire, enlarging cities with the construction of buildings and bridges. Factories spring up in record numbers creating jobs and expanding industry like never before. Finally, the growth of railroads connect the east coast with the west providing new markets for east coast businesses and opening the doors to westward expansion.
It is an exciting time in American History with so much happening and changing so quickly!
An excellent book to supplement this unit is How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis. Go to our
Teach with Literature
page to download a complete lesson packet for the book. Jacob Riis was a reformer who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the urban poor. Riis was born in Denmark and 1870, at the age of 21, boarded a ship for New York City. In New York City, he personally experienced the horrible conditions in which many new Americans had to live under.
Riis wrote his book while working as a reporter for the The New York Evening Sun and covering New York's Lower East Side, a tenement slum overflowing with immigrant families.
Important key terms related to the unit: Industrial Revolution in America.
This handout gives students a general idea of what constitutes good comprehensive sentences.
A complete set of Fill-in-the-Notes for your students. Simply print the slides (six per page) and give each student a copy so they can take notes with while you teach and present the Industrial Revolution.
This PowerPoint presentation of 32 slides covers topics such as changes in daily life at the turn of the century, Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry, the growth of railroads, work environment & conditions in factories, and the rise of labor unions.
As students watch a biography on Thomas Edison, instruct them to write down facts they learn about the famous inventor.
A study guide to help students prepare for the exam.
Every test on OwlTeacher.com has been created by me and tested in my classrooms time after time. They include a good mix of term matching, multiple choice, and information recall with short answer questions and essay questions.
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