Thursday, June 9, 2016

The Industrial Revolution


The Industrial Industrial Revolution involved a drastic change in manufacturing: from hand methods  to machine methods.

This change, which began in England about 1750 and later spread to other countries, is called a “revolution” because it brought vast changes in the way people work and live. It created an industrialized society—one in which large-scale mechanized manufacturing replaced farming as the main source of jobs. Instead of growing their own food and making at home the products they use, a great many people in an industrialized society work for wages and buy their food and other necessities. They live in towns and cities rather than in the country.

New inventions in farming, cloth-making (textiles industry) and transportation  (the steam engine) made the greatest impact.

The Industrial Revolution brought severe consequences to society. Factory owners, needing cheap, unskilled labor, profited greatly by using children and women to run the machines. By the age of 6, many children were already working 14 hours a day in factories! These kids had no free time to do anything else and earned low wages. Some got sick and died because of the toxic fumes, while others were severely injured and sometimes killed working at the dangerous machines in factories. Obviously, the Industrial Revolution had both good and bad sides.
(Read more at librarythinkquest.)


Other useful and interesting sites:

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Monday, May 16, 2016

England in the 17th Century




Stuart monarchs ruled England  for most of the 17th Century, with the exception of Oliver Cromwell, who ruled as Lord Protector, and his son "Tumbledown Dick", after The English Civil War.

Complete a chart on the rulers of the 17th Century.
Include
  • James I
  • Charles I
  • Oliver Cromwell (and briefly, his son Richard)
  • Charles II
  • James II 
  • William and Mary of Orange (from the Netherlands) 
Note each ruler's dates of rule, personality, beliefs (religious and political), positive accomplishments and negative accomplishments.

Rank each ruler 1-6 (best to worst).

Use the websites below for more information:
    English Rulers of the 17th Century
    Everyday Life in England in the 17th Century

    The English Civil War


    What would we think nowadays of a ruler who thought he was given the right to rule from God?


    That's what the King of England, Charles I, thought...but the people, even in the 1600's, disagreed.
    And they let him know -- in no uncertain terms.

     17th Century English Rulers
    History for kids: brief history of the English Civil War
    Primary Source: The Magna Carta 

    BBC: Overview: Civil War and Revolution

    Watch:

    Monday, May 2, 2016

    Evaluating Websites

    What makes a website useful?
    How can you tell if a website is believable?
    Assignment:

    1. Choose 10 websites to evaluate from the following list. Be sure to select from each of the categories.
    2. Write the name of each site on the evaluation checklist provided in class.
    3. Investigate each of your chosen 10 websites and answer the checklist questions with a yes or no (and provide the domain name eg. .com, .net.org, etc. for the last question).
    4. Choose the "best bad website" and provide 3 reasons why it is so good at being deceptive. Write the site name and your reasons for choosing it on the back of the checklist.