Title of lesson: Industrialization
Your Name: Alexis Emerson
Length of lesson: 55 minutes
Grade: 11th Grade
Overview: This lesson will assess the student’s previous knowledge of ‘industrialization’ and introduce
new attributes to the term. Students will be asked what they already know about the term and what
time is history do they think it applies to. After their responses, students will be asked to define
industrialization from the information they have gathered from the photos and examples provided.
They will continue to be asked to determine what qualifies as industrialization after given specific
characteristics of the term.
Objective(s):
Students will be able to:
 Define ‘industrialization’ using their previous knowledge.
 Continue to amend their definition after gathering information from photographs and
examples.
 Apply their knowledge of the term to several scenarios and times in history.
 Provide an example of industrialization in the form of a historical context or a new
example.
Standards (AZ content standards and AZ Career & College Readiness)
 S1C7PO1: Analyze how the following aspects of industrialization transformed the American
economy beginning in the late 19th century.
 9-10.RH.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.
Materials/Evidence/Sources:
 Class set of Introductory Examples, including photographs (30 copies)
 Class set of definition of “industrialization” and further challenging examples (30 copies)
Concept:
 Definition: The process in which a society or country transforms itself from a primarily
agricultural society into one based on manufacturing of goods and service. Individual manual
labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production… characteristics of industrialization
include the use of technological innovation to solve problems as opposed to superstition or
dependency upon conditions outside human control such as the weather, as well as more
efficient division of labor and economic growth.
o Definition source(s): investopedia.com
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrialization.asp

Critical Attributes:
o Transformation from primarily agriculture into mechanized production
o Manual labor replaced by machines
o Mass production
o Technological advances
o More efficient
o Associated with economic growth
Instructional Sequence:
1. Begin the class by reviewing what the students have learned thus far about the Gilded Age. Ask them
what they think led to such a great change in America’s economy and society. (3 min.)
2. Introduce, if not stated by a student, the concept of industrialization in regards to the Gilded Age by
asking them what the term means (to assess previous knowledge) (5 min.)
3. Have the students define the meaning of industrialization (10 min.)
a. Get the students in groups of 2-3 at their desks.
b. Pass out class set of Introductory Examples.
c. Instruct the students that they should be finding similarities between the photographs and
examples given.
d. Have students write down their initial definition of the word on a separate piece of paper.
4. Come back together as a class and ask what groups came up with and have them give a reason as to
how they came up with that definition. (referencing the examples) (8 min.)
a. Guide the students, if they haven’t come to the conclusion, of some of the critical attributes
of industrialization (provided on the second handout).
b. Write down some of the points they made on the board for them to reference later.
5. Have students compare their definitions to the one provided by the instructor. (10 min.)
a. Pass out second set of examples, which include the definition that has already been
developed and the critical attributes created by the instructor.
b. Have the students view the definition and characteristics as well as the few non-examples
provided.
c. Challenge them further by having them identify which of the remaining statements are an
example of industrialization and which are not on their paper.
d. Have them pass in their group’s paper with their definitions and their answers to the further
examples (whether or not they were examples of industrialization).
6. Ask the students if their definitions were close to the one provided. Ask them if they know of any
examples of industrialization that they’ve heard about in the world in current news or a historical
example. (4 min.)
7. Discuss with the students how industrialization applied to the Gilded Age and explain how the term
will be constantly brought up during the unit when referring to the American economy and society
during the Gilded Age. (10 min.)
Assessment:
In order to reaffirm the information presented in the class period, I plan on having an informal
assessment of the term “industrialization” in the form of an exit slip. I will ask the students to write
down on an individual paper (not their group work paper) an additional example of industrialization
that they will create themselves. Students can write their example on a small sheet of scrap paper and
must include their names. Exit slips will be collected from all students before the class period
concludes.
Industrialization
Introductory Examples
Machinery
Technology
The number of textile mills skyrocketed in
developing cities with the invention of
innovative technology, which increased the
production of goods.
The introduction of the cotton gin expedited the process of
separating the cotton fibers from the seeds, which was once
a monotonous task for slaves and farmhands.
Railroads
Assembly Lines
Train complications were common during the
era due to the newness of the machine and the
lack of resources in some areas where railroads
were installed.
Female workers begin their first day at the new
factory producing hundreds of spools of thread
in just a day.
Non-Examples:
Farming
Hunting and riding horses
Critical characteristics:
+transformation from primarily agriculture into mechanized production
+manual labor replaced by machines
+mass production
+technological advances
+more efficient
+associated with economic growth
Industrialization: The process in which a society or country transforms itself from a primarily
agricultural society into one based on manufacturing of goods and service. Individual manual
labor is often replaced by mechanized mass production… characteristics of industrialization
include the use of technological innovation to solve problems as opposed to superstition or
dependency upon conditions outside human control such as the weather, as well as more efficient
division of labor and economic growth.
*taken from investopedia.com
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrialization.asp
More examples and non-examples:
1. Henry Ford introduced innovation to the American economy through the assembly line, a machine
that enabled the production of an item in mass numbers.
2. A family sits at home churning their own butter after a long day working in the fields.
3. The influx of foreigners in the factories and the drastic need for production, led to poor working
conditions and abysmal pay for the employees.
4. Westward expansion via the railroad made it possible for cowboys and ranchers to move their ranches
and farms out west, away from the south.
KEY:
1. Henry Ford introduced innovation to the American economy through the assembly line, a
machine that enabled the production of an item in mass numbers. EXAMPLE
2. A family sits at home churning their own butter after a long day working in the fields. NONEXAMPLE
3. The influx of foreigners in the factories and the drastic need for production, led to poor
working conditions and abysmal pay for the employees. EXAMPLE
4. Westward expansion via the railroad made it possible for cowboys and ranchers to move their
ranches and farms out west, away from the south. NON-EXAMPLE