The Agricultural Revolution
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the significance of the Agricultural Revolution.
Key learning points
- Agriculture in England before 1700 was not very productive.
- Farmers and landowners developed more profitable farming techniques during the 18th century.
- The use of fertiliser and field drainage meant farmers could grow more crops.
- The Agricultural Revolution increased food production, encouraged migration and increased profits.
Keywords
Agriculture - the work and methods of growing crops and looking after animals that are then used for food
Fallow - if farmland is left fallow, it is not planted with any crops
Arable - land which is suitable and used for growing crops
Enclosure - the practice of turning land owned by a group of people into fenced off land owned by a single person
Fertiliser - a substance that you put on land in order to make plants grow well
Common misconception
Students assume the Agricultural Revolution was predominantly facilitated by changes in technology.
Farming tech in common use didn't change much. Improvements in agriculture occurred mainly because of the use of new farming methods.
Teacher tip
In Learning Cycle 3, present a population line graph for England which covers (minimum) 1300-1900. Ask students how the population trend c.1650-1800 compares to beforehand? Ask pupils to explain how this trend can be explained by the Agricultural Revolution.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The year 1700 is part of the century.
Q2.What type of work is agriculture often associated with?
Q3.What type of work is industry often associated with?
Q4.Which group made up the majority of England's population in the 17th century?
Q5.Write the missing word. A short period which involves major changes is often referred to as a...
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Write the missing word. When farmland is not used to plant crops it can be described as...
Q2.Match each method of agricultural improvement with its correct description.
landlords fenced off fields and farmed on a larger scale
areas like the Fens had some of the water pumped out
the plants grown on each field were changed each year
manure was used to add more nutrients to the soil
Q3.Write the missing word. Crop rotation also helped farmers to produce more manure to use as on their fields.
Q4.Which revolution do many historians argue was only possible because of the Agricultural Revolution?
Q5.Which methods of agricultural improvement were most likely to encourage people to move away from the areas they had lived in previously?
Q6.Why was the population able to increase so much after the Agricultural Revolution?
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: The Agricultural Revolution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: The Agricultural Revolution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the The Industrial Revolution: did industrialisation revolutionise people's lives? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.