The Industrial Revolution and urban migration
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe changes in Britain's population and assess the quality of living and working conditions in new industrial cities.
Key learning points
- The population of Britain more than doubled between 1750 and 1841.
- Many people moved from the countryside to industrial towns like Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
- Many people in industrial towns lived in poor conditions.
- Working conditions in factories were dangerous and unpleasant.
- Cotton mills commonly employed chiildren as workers.
Keywords
Urban - an urban area is a town or city
Rural - a rural area is in the countryside
Migrated - people who have migrated have moved from one area to another
Unsanitary - if conditions are unsanitary they are dirty and likely to damage people’s health
Exploitative - if something is exploitative it involves treating others unfairly, in a way that helps make money for you but could harm others
Common misconception
The Industrial Revolution led to a decline in living conditions across all parts of Britain.
The decline in living conditions during the Industrial Revolution was generally confined to industrial towns and their poorest areas.
Teacher tip
Ask students at the end of the lesson why so many people continued to migrate to industrial towns and cities despite the poor conditions there. This will help consider factors such as relative opportunity between rural and urban areas.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each key word with its correct definition.
Q2.Write the missing word. Mills were usually located next to rivers so that they could exploit power.
Q3.What was the impact of the Bridgewater Canal on coal prices in Manchester?
Q4.How long did most cotton mills operate their cotton spinning machines for?
Q5.Which situation is likely to lead to largest spread of disease?
Q6.How did the use of the water frame and steam engines in cotton manufacturing affect the wages of cotton workers?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Write the missing word. During the Industrial Revolution, cities grew as many people moved from areas.
Q2.How much did Glasgow's population grow by between 1750 and 1841?
Q3.Which type of worker was cheapest for mill owners to employ?
Q4.Starting with the lowest, sort the following areas according to their death rates in the 1830s.
Q5.Why did J C Symons describe the houses in the Wynds of Glasgow as 'lairs'?
Q6.Which judgement about the laws concerning child labour passed in 1825 and 1833 is most accurate?
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: The Industrial Revolution and urban migration, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: The Industrial Revolution and urban migration, 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.