Year 8 have now looked at two entrepreneurs and even made their own ‘perfect’ entrepreneurs. We are now going to look at the lives of some of the children who worked in the mills during the Industrial Revolution. At the end of these lessons we are going to write a short essay about how bad life was for children in the mills. To help you improve your essays you should try and complete this enrichment homework:

Good historians research [find out information] independently. So a good way to get higher levels in History is to do your own research.
 

 

TASK: Research Robert Owen. He was a factory owner who treated children very differently. Make a bullet pointed list of the things that Robert Owen did to treat his workers better.

You can find out about Robert Owen in the school library. Ask the librarians if you are not sure where to start. There is also information on this website:
http://www.newlanark.org/kids/index2.html
And on this harder website:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRowen.htm

You could also watch this short video with actors playing Robert Owen’s workers. Although you might have to watch it twice to understand the accents!

Remember, you don’t need pages of information, just 5 or 6 bullet points about how Robert Owen treated his workers differently. If you would like to download a copy of these instructions then click here.