Life in Britain

Overview

Unit Title: Britain’s Industrial Revolution
Lesson Number: 3 of 5
Lesson Title: Life in Industrial Britain
Subject: History
Year Group: Year 5
Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 32 students
Curriculum Reference: History – Key Stage 2 (UK National Curriculum)

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Curriculum Links

This lesson supports the following objectives from the National Curriculum for History at Key Stage 2:

• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, and frame historically valid questions.
• Know and understand significant aspects of British history, including the impact of the Industrial Revolution on people's lives.
• Construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used to make historical claims.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:

1. Describe key social changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.
2. Identify differences in the experiences of children, factory workers, and the wealthy elite during Industrial Britain.
3. Analyse simple primary source materials and extract information about life in Industrial Britain.
4. Reflect critically on historical experiences and compare them to modern-day life.

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Vocabulary

• Urbanisation
• Factory System
• Child Labour
• Working Class
• Boarding Houses
• Industrialisation
• Social Class

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Resources Required

• Printed primary source packs (images, diary excerpts, factory reports, etc.)
• Teacher-made scenario role cards
• Sentence starter fans
• Access to large sheet paper and coloured pens
• Timeline string across the classroom
• Mini chalkboards/whiteboards and markers
• Copy of a factory whistle sound (audio file or imitation by teacher)
• Classroom objects labelled as “factory machines” for dramatized activities

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Lesson Structure (60 Minutes)

1. Starter (10 mins) – Time Travel Hook: A Day in 1834

Objective: Build curiosity and set historical context using immersive first-person experience.

• Play a short factory whistle sound followed by a dramatic reading from a first-person account of waking up in a smoggy industrial town as a child worker.
• As the reading finishes, the teacher removes a 'hat' or 'goggles' and welcomes students to "1834".
• Ask: "What clues did you hear about life back then?"
• Pupils write one word each on whiteboards and hold them up (e.g., “dirty”, “tired”, “crowded”).

Differentiation: Sentence starter fans for students needing language support (e.g., “I think life was…”).

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2. Main Activity 1 (20 mins) – Primary Source Detectives

Objective: Analyse real-life experiences of different social groups during the Industrial Revolution.

Group Activity (in 8 groups of 4):

Each group receives a "Source Pack" containing:

• A factory timetable
• A child’s diary entry
• Sketches of workers in cotton mills
• An excerpt from a parliamentary report on working conditions
• A letter from a wealthy factory owner

Tasks:

• Sort sources into perspectives (e.g., child/factory owner)
• For each item, write 2 facts and 1 feeling (on post-its)
• Create a 'Shoebox Snapshot'—draw or write inside a shoebox what an average day looked like for the person represented

Teacher circulates using targeted questioning:

• Why do you think factories employed children?
• What can we tell about living conditions from this?

Stretch: Challenge groups to compare the sources. “Do you think everyone thought factory life was bad? Why or why not?”

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3. Main Activity 2 (15 mins) – Role Play: A Town Debate

Objective: Empathise with historical figures and express viewpoints based on evidence.

• Convert classroom into a staged town square (rows = different social classes).
• Assign each group a role card: child labourer, working-class mother, factory owner, parliamentarian, etc.
• Prompt: “Should children be allowed to work in factories?”

Each group prepares a 30-second speech using sentence scaffolds:

• “As a ______, I believe…”
• “My life is difficult because…”

Teacher moderates and encourages debate between roles. Pupils speak in-character.

SEN Support: Provide scripted roles or word bank; assign speaking partners for peer support.

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4. Plenary (10 mins) – Then vs Now Wall

Objective: Reflect on learning and connect history to students' own lives.

• On one side of the board, label “Then”, and on the other, “Now”.
• Give each student one sticky note.
• Write one difference between life for children in Industrial Britain and life today.
• Teacher reads a selection aloud and encourages clapping for thoughtful responses.

Wrap-up with a recap:

• “What surprised you the most today?”
• “What questions do you have about life back then?”

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Assessment for Learning (AfL)

• Ongoing teacher observation during group activities and debate.
• Exit sticky notes offer evidence of understanding and ability to compare past and present.
• Contributions during role-play assessed against historical understanding and empathy.

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Extension Opportunities

• Diary Writing Homework: Write a letter home as a child working in a textile mill.
• Research Challenge: Find out what laws eventually changed child labour in Britain.

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Support and Differentiation

• SEN: Visuals and sentence scaffolds, structured paired roles in discussions.
• EAL: Picture-supported vocabulary sheet, peer-supported reading of source texts.
• More Able: Deeper comparison between sources, use of hierarchy and economic reasoning in debate contributions.

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Teacher Reflection Prompt

After delivering the lesson, consider:

• Did students demonstrate empathy for historical figures?
• Which activity elicited the most analytical thinking?
• What misconceptions about the Industrial Revolution emerged?
• How did students respond to primary sources?

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Next Lesson Preview

Lesson 4 of 5 – Machines and Inventions
Students will examine major inventions of the Industrial Revolution, exploring how they transformed industries, transportation, and communication in Britain. Pupils will participate in designing museum-style exhibit panels for each technology.

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Let’s transport Year 5 beyond textbooks and into the smoky towns, booming factories, and lives forever changed by Britain’s Industrial Revolution.