Women and the Industrial Revolution
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the role of women in society.
Key learning points
- Changes to the way people worked during the Industrial Revolution created new opportunities and challenges for women.
- In the 19th century, married women were expected to stay home to raise children and look after their husbands.
- Legislation was passed during the 19th century that limited working opportunities for women.
- By the end of the 19th century, there was a divide between work considered suitable for men and for women.
- The growth of professions like nursing and teaching created new opportunities for some women.
Keywords
Industrial Revolution - the Industrial Revolution was a period of great change during which improvements in technology changed how people lived and worked
Middle class - in this context, the term middle class is used to describe people who earn a living from professional jobs that require an education
Working class - in this context, the term working class is used to describe people who earn a living from carrying out manual labour e.g. in factories
Legislation - a law or set of laws passed by Parliament is known as legislation
Common misconception
The majority of women worked in factories throughout this period.
The work women did and whether they worked at all was largely determined by class. From the mid-19th century, legislation placed restrictions on the type and amount of work women were able to do and the number of women working in factories decreased.
Teacher tip
Ask pupils to compare and contrast the role of women in the period 1750-1900 and the early modern period and to discuss the amount of change and continuity. Pupils could be asked to stand on an opinion line ('Significant change' to 'No change') and justify their positions.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word describes a society that is controlled by men?
Q2.Which monarchs showed that women could wield power in the early modern period?
Q3.Which of the following were women not allowed to do in the early modern period?
Q4.Which word refers to a powerful and wealthy group in society who own land and have titles?
Q5.Which of the following jobs did women who lived in the countryside do?
Q6.When women married, whose authority were they now expected to live under?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words to their correct definitions.
people who earn a living from professional jobs that require education
people who earn a living from carrying out manual labour
people who own land, have titles and may be wealthy enough not to work
Q2. was passed during the 19th century that limited working opportunities for women.
Q3.The describes a period of great change during which improvements in technology changed how people lived and worked.
Q4.Why could women be paid far less than men even if they did the same jobs during the 19th century?
Q5.Who campaigned to limit women’s work in factories and mines in the 19th century?
Q6.The growth of which professions created new opportunities for some women?
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Women and the Industrial Revolution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Women and the Industrial 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 Thematic study: how has the role of women in British society changed? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.