WebQuest created by Nancy Lewis, June 2000
Introduction
Around 1750 in England began the Industrial Revolution which would profoundly alter the way of life in the West during the next 150 years. Some of the changes brought significant improvements but there was also great suffering as people’s lives were radically altered. Some of the developments had effects which could not easily been foreseen. We will discuss some of the significant breakthroughs of the period and try to come to a consensus about which were the most important.
Task
It is the year 1910 and you are a member of a professional society and are tremendously proud of the progress that has been made in your area over the past one hundred and fifty years. You hope to represent your group to enter a contest sponsored by the London Times to win 1000 pounds sterling. What you must do is persuade a board of scientists, sociologists and historians that the invention or breakthrough you have chosen was the single most important development of the Industrial Revolution. The rules state that this breakthrough did not have to have impacted the population as a whole but must have changed the lives of significant numbers of people. You must explain how your invention works and tell how it changed people’s lives. Your inventor may be of any nationality.
You will be divided into groups representing the following:
Process
Working as a group you will present your inventors and their inventions to the class. As a class, we will try to determine what we believe we mean by important or significant. Then the class will vote on the invention that they feel was the most significant in each group. The association will then enter that one invention in the Times of London contest.
Your research:
Begin by reading an overview of the Industrial Revolution along with some information on your area in an encyclopedia or in various library books or online. If you have not selected a particular person and product by this time then be sure to look at the “Important historical inventions and inventors” site which has a list of inventions and inventors. However, this list isn’t complete because it doesn’t include people, like Louis Pasteur, who are not associated with a particular product.
Then use the search engines and sites provided in the overview category to learn more about the specific person and the development that you want to present. There are also some sites listed under each category but they are not sufficient for everyone. (If you find a wonderful site you think your teacher doesn’t know about please share that so this document can be improved.) You must be sure that each member of your group has a different breakthrough. You should try to make your group’s presentation representative of the most important developments in that category.
Resources
Safe Search Engines:
http://www.bobsedulinks.com/search.htm
Overview
Important historical inventions and inventors a huge list
A brief history of the Industrial Revolution
Overview-about.com
Yahoo! Arts>Humanities
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Inventor of the week archives
About.com industrial revolution overview
Internet Sourcebook-Industrial Revolution Primary Documents
Ask Jeeves
British scientists and engineers
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Industrial Revolution
NM's Creative Impulse.. Industry many links for every topic
Agriculture –food production and distribution
Agriculture and Food-Agriculture
Communication
Optical Telegraph
Construction
Household Technology, safety
a brief history of the sewing machine
Medical and health advances
Microscopes
Paris sewers through history
Mining and heavy industry
mining history with original documents
Photography
Photography: History and Development
Power production, engines
James Watt
Steam Engine Library includes links to source materials
Scientific instruments and devices
microscopes
Textiles, dyes
The textile industry
Power loom
The Cotton Gin
Weaving
Transportation, city planning
Steam Locomotive
Railways in the 19th Century
Weapons
The First Submarine
|
beginning |
developing |
expert |
Individual |
Little more was done than to copy and paste from Web pages. Not too much seemed to get into the brain. |
Clear learning on the topic has taken place. There's an ability to discuss the topic using examples or evidence. |
New information has been firmly connected to previous related knowledge. An easy use of evidence shows a sound understanding. |
Group |
The group's task work seems more a mixing than a blending. Ideas are thrown together, not necessarily thought through. |
The group task work is based on clear understanding of key issues. Some weak spots may still exist. |
This group's task work is soundly reasoned and supported. All key issues are addressed and appropriate recommendations (decisions, solutions, designs, judgments, etc.) are made. |
Final |
The final work seems rushed or incomplete. Careless errors may confuse the audience. |
Care has been taken to create a finished product. Few errors exist and these wouldn't be confusing. |
Care and creativity make this an interesting and polished final work. The quality of the ideas is reflected in the product. |
The rubric was |
Conclusion
After your group presentations and class discussions we should have reached a conclusion about which developments of the Industrial Revolution had the most profound effect on people’s lives. Then we will be able to enter that contest! Too bad it’s not 1910.
