See also my related world literature courses and DBQ writing.  

The Industrial Revolution was a foundational change in world history.  It profoundly affected all aspects of life for people impacted by the changes.  This 4 week course will explore the beginnings and effects of this major change on world history.  We will explore life during the Industrial Revolution, and how this shift created new lifestyles, new family relationships, and a new way of daily life for people.  Our focus will primarily be on Western Europe and the US, as we trace the development and impacts of the Industrial Revolution.  

In my history courses, I teach students to analyze and use primary documents to actually do their own, inquiry-based history.  My classes are highly interactive and discussion based.  This class will use both visual and written primary documents, as well as a novel from the time period, to explore how real people actually experienced the Industrial Revolution at the time.  

Week 1-beginnings of the Industrial Revolution--where, why, and how?
Week 2-daily life during the Industrial Revolution
Week 3-Impact of the Industrial Revolution
Week 4-Discussion of Dickens and his novel Hard Times to explore how the Industrial Revolution was immortalized in the fiction of the time.