Module 21: Immigrants and Urban Life

​Bell Ringer

By Teresa Smith

​(5 minutes)
Directions: You will read and respond to the prompt: If you received a “text message” from your friend explaining to you how their life has changed since they have started being a factory worker, how would you respond to your friend “text message”? You are required to write 3 or more sentences to respond to your friend “text message."

Open Ended

read and respond to the prompt: If you received a “text message” from your friend explaining to you how their life has changed since they have started being a factory worker, how would you respond to your friend “text message”?

​Standard:8.6-Interpret the causes, effects, and challenges of the Industrial


Revolution. Objective 8.6.5-Assess how geography influenced the location of factories.

​I Can Statement: “I can explain how geography influenced where factories were built.”

​ Module 21: Immigrants and Urban Life

​Lesson Hook: Industrialization Match-Up Workforce

​Directions: You will compete in an industrialization (word wall) match-up workforce game. Boys vs girls, you will choose one of your peers to represent your team. Each team will have an amount of time to drag and drop the words to match up to the correct workforce pictures. The team that has the most correct words to match the workforce pictures will win the game.

​Key Vocabulary




Geography – physical features of an area.

Water power – energy produced by moving water.

Raw materials – natural resources used to make products.

Transportation routes – paths used to move goods and people.

Urbanization – growth of cities (as people move in)

​Geography and the Rise of Factories During the Industrial Revolution

During the Industrial Revolution, geography, physical features of an area played a critical role in determining where factories were built. In the early 1800s, factory owners carefully selected locations based on access to natural resources, transportation routes, and available labor. These geographic factors helped businesses operate efficiently and increase production. One of the most important geographic influences on factory locations was water power, energy produced by moving water. Before electricity became widely available, factories relied on rivers and streams to power machinery. Fast-moving rivers provided the energy needed to turn waterwheels, which ran textile machines and other equipment. As a result, many early factories were built near rivers, especially in regions such as New England, where rivers were plentiful.

Multiple Choice

What is geography?

• physical features of the sky

• physical features of land

• physical features of geographic factors

• physical features of an area

Multiple Choice

Why were many early factories built near rivers?

• rivers provided drinking water for workers

• rivers allowed factories to avoid paying taxes

• rivers provided water power to run machinery

• rivers made factories easier to defend

Multiple Choice

What was water power used for during the early Industrial Revolution?

• lightning factories

• turning waterwheels to run machines

• heating homes

• transporting workers

​Key geographic factors was access to raw materials, natural resources used to make products. Factories needed large amounts of resources like coal, iron, and cotton. Coal was essential for powering steam engines, while iron was used to make tools, machines, and railroad tracks. Areas close to coal mines or iron deposits, such as parts of Pennsylvania, became major industrial centers because transportation costs were lower and materials were readily available.

​Transportation routes, paths used to move goods and people also influenced factory locations. Factories were often built near canals, rivers, and railroads to move raw materials to factories and ship finished goods to markets. Cities located along major waterways or railroad lines grew quickly because they allowed goods to be transported faster and more cheaply. This helped factories expand and reach customers across the country.

​ Geographic Factors

Match

Match the geographic factor to its description

• Used to power steam engines

• Used to make machines and tools

• Transported goods to markets

• Natural resources used to make products

coal

iron

railroads

raw materials

• coal

• iron

• railroads

• raw materials

​Finally, factories needed workers, so many were built near growing towns and cities. As people moved from rural areas to urban centers in search of jobs, factory owners benefited from a steady labor supply. This led to rapid urbanization growth of cities, with cities growing around factory sites. Geography, combined with economic opportunity, shaped where people lived and worked during the Industrial Revolution.
Overall, geography strongly influenced the location of factories by providing power, materials, transportation, and labor. These geographic advantages allowed factories to thrive and helped transform the United States into an industrial nation.

​ Factories & Urbanization

Multiple Choice

What does urbanization means?

• people moving from cities to farms

• growth of factories only

• growth of cities as people move in

• the decline of rural areas

Open Ended

use 1-2 complete sentences to answer the exit ticket

Exit Ticket: What is the main idea of today's lesson