secondaryschoolteachingunitontheindustrialrevolution.docVIP

Secondary School Teaching Unit on The Industrial Revolution in Britain Scott Malagold Randolph High School Randolph, NJ 2012 NEH Seminar for School TeachersHistorical Interpretations of the Industrial Revolution in Britain Introduction and Overview Unit Plan Unit Rationale Unit Plan Summary Alternate Unit Plans Relevancy Critical Creative Thinking Historical Connections Interdisciplinary Connections Made to Stick Introduction The Curse of Knowledge Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Unexpected Stories Other Ideas Chances, Choices, Causes Top-Down v. Bottom-Up History Past, Present, Future Tragedy, Comedy Melodrama Conclusion Appendices Industrial Revolution Unit Plan (including project rubric and description) Wal-Mart Writing Assignment/ Extension Activity Modern Connections to the Industrial Revolution (with hyperlinks) 10 Sentence Summary of the Industrial Revolution Labor Union Negotiation Game (Lesson Plan and Materials) Introduction and Overview: Teaching history is all about relevance. To put it bluntly it’s about trying to find legitimate and engaging answers to the eternal question, “Why do we have to learn this (blank)?” The Industrial Revolution is probably the easiest topic to make relevant to students. The modern connections are seemingly endless and include many issues of real interest to students including child labor, welfare and other forms of social security, global and national income inequality, and even the proper balance between freedom and equality. The Industrial Revolution is also one of the most studied topics in history (hence De Vries’ notion of a “thrice-squeezed orange”). Thus this unit can be used as an exemplar with which to highlight effective teaching methods, investigate alternative strategies for relevancy and engagement, test out various assessment methods, and provide a template for other topics. What follows below is an attempt to apply various pedagogical theories to the topic and see how well they a