Homecoming 2014: Great Scots
Andrew Carnegie > Social Studies > Third/Fourth level
Key theme: Andrew Carnegie
Introduction
Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Fife in 1835. He spent the first twelve years of his
life listening to men read aloud and discuss books which had been borrowed from the library
that his father had helped to create. However, the Carnegies emigrated to America after his
father became unemployed. Andrew was 12.
The Carnegies settled in Pittsburgh and Andrew began work at only twelve years old. Andrew
worked in a textile mill earning $1.20 per week. He impressed his supervisor with his office
skills and was promoted to work as a clerk. By 1849 he was working as a messenger boy in a
telegraph office. After a short while he was promoted to a telegraph operator. By 1853
Andrew was working for Pennsylvania Railway. He invested time learning all about the
Railway industry and made many improvements.
Libraries were important to Andrew. In 1853 he wrote a letter to defend the right of all working
boys to use the library.
In 1855 Andrew’s father died leaving Andrew as the breadwinner in the family aged 20.
This learner journey focuses on immigrants and emigrants, enterprise and philanthropy.
Copyright reference:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrew_Carnegie,_thre
e-quarter_length_portrait,_seated,_facing_slightly_left,_1913.jpg
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Homecoming 2014: Great Scots
Andrew Carnegie > Social Studies > Third/Fourth level
Experiences and outcomes
People, Past Events and Societies
I can use my knowledge of a historical period to interpret the evidence and present an
informed view.
SOC 3-01a
I can make links between my current and previous studies, and show my understanding
of how people and events have contributed to the development of the Scottish nation.
SOC 3-02a
I can discuss the motives of those involved in a significant turning point in the past and
assess the consequences it had then and since.
SOC 3-06a
People in Society, Economy and Business
I can explain why a group I have identified might experience inequality and can suggest
ways in which this inequality might be addressed.
SOC 3-16a
Through discussion, I have identified aspects of a social issue to investigate and by
gathering information I can assess its impact and the attitudes of the people affected.
SOC 4-16b
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Interdisciplinary learning opportunities
There are a number of interdisciplinary opportunities
presented throughout these learning ideas. The main focus is
Social Studies – People, Past Events and Societies and People
in Society, Economy and Business.
Strong links can be made from the above curricular areas into
Global Citizenship and also the ethos of the school and
classroom, where pupils learn to value and respect others.
Important links exist with RME through extensive debate and
discussion regarding moral issues, and considering the beliefs
and values which led Andrew Carnegie to live the life he did.
There are clear links with Literacy and Numeracy when
presenting, researching, writing and collecting data.
Links can also be made with Technological Developments in
Society and Business Contexts for Developing Technological
Skills and Knowledge through the Enterprise journey in this
section.
Links exist with Health and wellbeing in terms of poverty and
disease.
There is scope for learning outside the classroom and including
Expressive Arts.
Andrew Carnegie was a famous entrepreneur and therefore
learners could consider other famous Scottish entrepreneurs,
contemporary or historical, and their impact on society.
Homecoming 2014: Great Scots
Andrew Carnegie > Social Studies > Third/Fourth level
Learning experience A: Immigration and Emigration
Introduction
The Carnegie family emigrated to America
in the nineteenth century. Scottish
emigrants found it easier to get work than
other emigrants because many of them
were well trained skilled workers. Scottish
emigrants played an important role in the
development and running of the countries
where they settled. This learning
experience will look at reasons why
people have to leave their homes and
focus on migrants and refugees.
Possible learning opportunities /tasks
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Stimulus
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Photographs or video / news clips of
natural disasters, civil war, poor living
conditions, crop failure or poor educational
and health facilities could be used to
promote discussion as to reasons for
people emigrating or fleeing their country.
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www.educationscotland.gov.uk/studyingscotland
Class discussion concerning the reason
why a family like the Carnegies would have
emigrated from nineteenth century
Scotland with a particular focus on social
issues of the time. This could lead on to
further discussion of reasons for leaving a
modern day country.
Create a table of push and pull factors.
Set a homework task for pupils to find out
where their surname comes from. There
may be a variety of roots / nationalities in
the class that could be further explored /
investigated.
Set a group / pair computer research task
for pupils to investigate the meaning of
migrants, asylum seekers, refugee and
internally displaced persons.
Create a newspaper article based on a real
news story where asylum seekers have
arrived in a country and how people have
reacted to their arrival or where people
have been forced into becoming a refugee
and how the world have reacted e.g. Yazidi
refugees in Iraq, refugees in Syria.
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Reflecting on learning
Learners could consider the role of the media in creating
both positive or negative images of Migrants, and whether
newspaper articles are always reliable pieces of evidence.
They could also consider the positive impact that migrants
have on society and economy.
Taking it further
A guest speaker could be invited to talk about their
experiences as a Migrant.
Debate the issue of whether there should be an amnesty
on all existing asylum seekers in Britain.
Learners could conduct their own research project and
investigate a particular genocide or natural disaster that
created refugees and asylum seekers.
Useful resources
British Red Cross – Positive Images Resource
http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Teachingresources/Teaching-packages/Positive-Images
Panorama - Immigration: Time For An Amnesty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-SR4I5wNDA
Homecoming 2014: Great Scots
Andrew Carnegie > Social Studies > Third/Fourth level
Learning experience B: Industry and Enterprise
Introduction
In 1856 Andrew prevented an employee strike.
An informant told Andrew of a planned strike
and Andrew passed these names to his boss
who sacked the strikers. This was not
Andrew’s finest moment and made him
extremely unpopular with co-workers. In 1859
Andrew was promoted to supervisor and
began to earn good money. In 1859 he
invested in oil and made a huge profit in just
one year.
In 1864 Andrew was conscripted into the
American army to fight in the Civil War.
Andrew paid a replacement to serve in his
place. Although this was not unusual for the
time, it does raise questions about Andrew’s
morality.
Andrew retired from the railways in 1865 and
set up his own telegraph company with some
of his colleagues from the railways. By the
1870s he had begun creating the Carnegie
Steel Company. For the next twenty years
Andrew became increasingly successful and in
1890 he had made millions of dollars. He often
bought his competitors out of business and
made large profits doing it.
Stimulus
Possible learning opportunities /tasks
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Class discussion about Andrew Carnegie
and the morality and impact surrounding
his decision to inform his bosses about a
planned strike.
Develop arguments for going on strike and
dramatise a workers’ strike.
Create a ‘Rags to Riches’ biography of
Andrew Carnegie up to 1890.
In a group, produce an episode of the
‘Apprentice’ where Andrew Carnegie aka
Alan Sugar asks his apprentices to invent
and design a piece of technology to sell to
a manufacturing company or where Alan
Sugar’s interview panel interview Andrew
Carnegie in the penultimate episode of the
‘Apprentice’.
Useful resources
BBC Class Clips – Andrew Carnegie
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/andrewcarnegie/4377.html
YouTube – The Apprentice
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=apprentice
Andrew Carnegie Biography
http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie-9238756#!
Spartacus Educational – Andrew Carnegie
Pictures or video clips of Andrew Carnegie and
http://spartacus-educational.com/USAcarnegie.htm
famous and wealthy entrepreneurs e.g. Sir
Alan Sugar or Peter Jones to stimulate class
BBC – The Inventors of the Steam Engine
discussion of: Who these people are? What do
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/21034983
they have in common? Why are they so rich?
Morality
of getting rich. ‘Good’ and ‘less good’
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ways of getting rich.
Reflecting on learning
Learners could consider: What are the implications of
striking? What impact can it can have on society?
Taking it further
Links could be made with a local business so that
pupils are given the opportunity to visit the business
and talk to staff to develop an understanding of the
structure of a business and how it is marketed. They
could then model and create their own business and
marketing where they sell a product to the community
through a fundraising event.
Homecoming 2014: Great Scots
Andrew Carnegie > Social Studies > Third/Fourth level
Learning experience C: Philanthropy
Introduction
Possible learning opportunities /tasks
In 1881 Andrew and his mother returned to
Dunfermline for a visit. Andrew donated a
library to the town. This was named after him
(Dunfermline Carnegie Library).
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In 1901 he sold his Steel Company for
$250,000. He retired and devoted the
remainder of his life to philanthropy. Even
before he sold his Steel Company he had
begun to consider what to do with his fortune.
He said that, ‘a rich man who dies with all his
wealth intact dies disgraced.’
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He was particularly interested in public libraries
probably because he had been given access to
libraries while growing up. He believed that
libraries gave people the opportunity to better
themselves. When Andrew died in 1919 at age
eighty four, he had given nearly a quarter of his
life to causes that he had believed in. His gifts
to different charities totalled nearly ninety per
cent of his fortune. He regarded education as
the best means to improve people’s lives and
libraries provided one of his main tools to help
to build a brighter future.
Stimulus
Discuss Carnegie’s quote; ‘a rich man who dies
with all his wealth intact dies disgraced.’
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Learners could write an obituary for Andrew
Carnegie or create an app trailer for a biographical
film about Andrew Carnegie’s life.
Learners could research and investigate Andrew
Carnegie’s legacy.
Learners could visit their school or local library as a
class and participate in a guided tour so that they
have a good understanding of a library’s role in
society and what facilities are available. They could
then reflect on the differences that a library could
make to an individual and their life.
In groups, learners could choose a case study about
a local issue, e.g. people using food banks,
homeless people etc. Using the information that they
gather, they could create a storyboard about their
issue that is then assessed by their peers according
to how much each group learnt.
Learners could choose a charity to research and
create a charity board to be presented in a
‘conference’ style.
Useful resources
The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum
http://www.carnegiebirthplace.com/
Charity websites
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/
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Reflecting on learning
Learners should consider: Is the distribution of wealth
fair? If you were rich, would you donate a proportion
of your wealth to charity? Is it our responsibility to help
others?
Taking it further
Learners could visit the Carnegie Birthplace Museum
to find out more about Andrew Carnegie’s legacy and
consolidate learning.
Learners could make up a shoe box for the ‘shoe box
appeal’.
Learners could organise a school ‘Crisis Response’
where different ‘centres’ and charities are set up in a
large space for pupils to work round. For example,
problem solving, medical centre, decision making
challenge regarding donations and aid.