The Effects of the Industrial Revolution & Communism

Our latest interactive lesson for World History covers the lasting effects of the Industrial Revolution. I've always had an easy time teaching how it starts and the major inventions, but the effects of the revolution are what probably most important for students to learn because they changed so much about the world.

This lesson available for download features a visually striking powerpoint that covers the major effects of the Industrial Revolution. Rather than simply copying the notes, students must analyze whether each effect was positive or negative and list it in the correct category:

While some such as "improved education" are simple, others like "population increase" lead to excellent class discussions as students weigh the pros and cons. Each slide features a captivating visual representation of the category that will surely benefit your visual learners:

The second half of the powerpoint compares capitalism & communism as a response to the effects. Similarly, students place characteristics such as "redistribution of wealth" under the matching philosophy.

The lesson includes a graphic organizer on which students complete the notes as well as a culminating worksheet. The worksheet is based off of the notes and can be completes without any textbook. Both Word and PDF files of the worksheets are included for your convenience along with the powerpoint from here.

Hope you can find this lesson useful in your class!