Applying Common Core Reading Standards to Sources from The

Applying Common Core Reading Standards to Sources from the Industrial Revolution in Britain

Michael Horun Plainview Old Bethpage High School Plainview, NY

2012 NEH Seminar for School Teachers Historical Interpretations of the Industrial Revolution in Britain

In January 2011, a collaboration of educational policy-makers, administrators and educators adopted a commitment to align educational goals nationwide through a series of curriculum standards known as the Common Core. Common Core has clearly defined its expectations of the content and skills that are required of students in each grade level between prekindergarten and the commencement of secondary education. The goal of Common Core is to develop a clear and consistent framework to prepare children and young adults for college and future employment. The creators of Common Core have outlined benchmarks for student learning, regardless of their region, within the United States. These standards require a degree of rigor and an application of knowledge that is required of all students, nationwide.1 Common Core provides a framework for an interdisciplinary approach to teaching the humanities. Whereas the majority of standards are written to address English language arts and math performance, there are specific standards included for social studies and science courses. According to the Common Core overview, the standards adopted were informed by other “top performing countries” with which the United States hopes to achieve relatively successful academic performance in math, science and literacy. States education officials across the United States are currently in the process of shifting varying state educational standards and curriculums to comply with Common Core Standards. English language arts (ELA) and math standards are expected to align with the Common Core by the 2012/2013 school year. Social studies and science courses will follow thereafter.

1 http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards 2

2The ELA curriculum is expected to shift to a more interdisciplinary approach, which will resemble a humanities course. Passages read in these courses are expected to include a balance between informational and literary texts. The social studies standards require a special focus on use of primary and secondary sources. Assessments will measure students’ ability to marshal evidence from texts, and paired passages. Pivotal academic vocabulary and common terms will be extracted from texts. In New York State, Regents exams are will have to be aligned with the Common Core standards by the 2013/2014 school year. It is therefore essential that educators, administrators and leaders of teacher preparation programs begin to prepare students for these standardized exams. The National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar on Interpretations of the Industrial Revolution in Britain has provided an experience that has prepared me to build a Common Core unit on the Industrial Revolution. The NEH seminar included an examination of the historiography of the Industrial Revolution, numerous primary and secondary sources, and visual media. These sources provided the necessary requirements to meet the Common Core standards, and create an interdisciplinary approach to studying the Industrial Revolution, including its history and related literature. In New York State, the Industrial Revolution is part of the 10th grade Global History and Geography curriculum. The English language arts and social studies standards in the Common Core focus on the practice and development of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The purpose of this essay is to illustrate how the Common Core standards in ELA and social studies will be met using the materials provided and discussed in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar on Interpretations of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. The materials provided during the seminar can be applied to develop the skills that Common Core hopes to nurture in our students and to teach the content of the Industrial Revolution to 10th grade students in the Global History and Geography curriculum in New York State. Each skill will be examined and potential teaching strategies to meet the content and skill expectations will be explained. Common Core places an emphasis of developing reading skills, with the purpose of helping students read and interpret information independently. In both ELA and social studies students are required to interpret the explicit meaning of both literary and informational texts, cite evidence used by authors and draw conclusions based on what is read. Students can

2 http://engageny.org/resource/common-core-implementation-timeline/ 3 demonstrate their understanding of these texts by determining central themes and arguments and summarizing supporting details. Students should analyze series of events and how characters and individuals interact within the text.3 In social studies, the reading skills are similar, in that they require analysis of an author’s purpose and secondary sources. Kenneth Morgan, in the introduction to his text The Birth of the Industrial Revolution, 1750 – 1850, provides an excellent overview of the causes of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.4 This is a great starting point to introduce 10th grade students to the causes of the Industrial Revolution. Using this reading, students can extrapolate Morgan’s central argument: British society experienced extensive social change in the century after 1750 and can easily cite the examples of social change discussed by Morgan and list the evidence that he cites.5 Some of the causes that he suggests are macro- inventions, high wages and cheap energy supplies. One important skill in the social studies standards requires that students compare the points of view of two authors on a similar subject.6 Here, Eric Hobsbawm’s argument provides an opportunity to compare viewpoints of the causes of the industrial revolution, attempting to answer the overarching question - why did the industrial revolution begin in England? According to Hobsbawm, Britain’s pursuit of empire and free trade in the 18th century spurred it to become the leader of the industrial revolution.7 This is a different perspective from Morgan’s, and is a great way to introduce historiography to adolescents. One effective method of comparing arguments for students is to create a Venn diagram to identify similarities and differences in each argument. Using both texts, there are several terms that must be understood in context, such as industrialization, capitalism, and empire. As the unit progresses, other primary and secondary source materials will be used to show students the effects of the industrial revolution. After introducing the causes of the industrial revolution, it is important to examine evidence of the social effects in depth. In order to accomplish this, and fit the Common Core’s interdisciplinary model, we can draw from sources in literature, music and eyewitness accounts.

3 New York State Common Core Standards for Reading and Literacy, http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/ 4 Kenneth Morgan, The Birth of Industrial Britain: Social Change, 1750 – 1850, Pearson Education Limited, 2011, p. 3. 5 Morgan, The Birth of Industrial Britain, pp. 3 - 5. 6 New York State Common Core Standards for History/Social Studies, http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/commoncore_standards/pdfdocs/p12_common_core_learningstandard sela.pdf p.74. 7 Eric Hobsbawm, Industry and Empire: The Birth of the Industrial Revolution, New York: The New Press, 1999, xi-xii 4

Through Morgan’s introduction, we get an overall account of the causes of industrialization. The effects of industrialization will become evident through various mediums from the time period. Charles Dickens’ Hard Times tells the story of a several characters from various social backgrounds. Dickens’ descriptions of Coketown describe the environmental effects of industrialization. His illustrates the once-redbrick buildings of Coketown that have been blackened with soot spewing from factory production and the burning of coal.8 His use of language can be highlighted, asking the question, does his use of metaphor and simile give a positive or negative impression of industrialization. In Hard Times, Dickens refers to the “black canal” and the serpents of smoke” rising from the chimneys; however, he also refers to the factories being “illuminated like fairy palaces.”9 This suggests both a negative and wonderous interpretation of industrial architecture. He also describes the homes of the working class, such as the home of Stephen Blackpool, and a description of his physical condition. Another great example that can be used as a primary source comparison is Frederick Engels’ description of the conditions of the working class in the city of Manchester.10 Here, Engels writes about the poor living conditions of English factory workers and the negative effects of urbanization, like pollution, overcrowding and poor sanitation. In addition to illustrating the lives of the working class during the industrial revolution, students can see how literature reflects the reality of the period and ask questions about Dickens’ and Engels’ social beliefs: were they in favor of industrialization, what may have been their purpose in writing these works? Another important facet of the Common Core’s ELA standards ask students to evaluate, interpret and analyze various artistic mediums, and relate them to texts that have been examined previously. Poetry, music and art of the industrial revolution are perfect for this practice. William Blake’s poem Holy Thursday considers the morality of working class conditions in a nation that is “rich and fruitful.”11 It also introduces religious questions about the conditions that people lived in during the time period. Another Blake poem that emphasizes the question about religion’s role in improving the lives of working people is Milton. Here, Blake asks his - largely Christian – audience if Jesus saw the conditions of the working class children, how would he

8 Charles Dickens, Hard Times, New York: The Modern Library, pp. 26 - 27. 9 Dickens, Hard Times, 26 and 73. 10 Friederich Engels, “The Condition of the Working Class in England 1844,” in Graham Law, ed., Charles Dickens, Hard Times. Canada: Broadview Press, 1998, pp. 366 – 371. 11 William Blake, Songs of Experience (1794).William Blake’s Illuminated Books, ed. David Bindman, William Blake Trust; London: Tate Gallery, 1991. 5 feel? In Milton, Blake uses the phrase “dark satanic mills” to describe the work in the factory.12 Such language presents an image that can lead us to explore art during the period. Two paintings that illustrate different views of the Industrial revolution are Philip de Loutherbourg’s Coalbrookdale by Night, painted in 1801; and William Williams’ Morning View of Coalbrookdale, from 1777. Both paintings inspire discussion about artists’ impressions of industrialization, as well as an insight into how individuals felt about industrialization at different phases of the period. Loutherbourg’s view of Coalbrookdale shows the 18th century iron works in Shropshire, England - where Abraham Darby began using coke to smelt iron ore - at night. The ironworks is centrally featured, with vibrant yellow, orange and red flames pouring from the factory buildings. In the foreground workers are directing horse drawn carts away from the factory. In the background, the silhouettes of additional buildings can be seen through the flames. This image gives the impression of the “dark satanic mills” that Blake refers to. On the other hand, William Williams’ painting shows Coalbrookdale in daylight. This image depicts Coalbrookdale tucked gently inside of a bucolic mountain landscape. Light grey smoke rises from the smoke stacks. In the foreground, well-dressed men and women are speaking on a hill overlooking the ironworks. These images provide two views of the Coalbrookdale mill, one of a “dark satanic mill” and the other an idyllic industrial wonder. We can relate these images to the literature of the time period. Loutherbourg’s work provides a visual representation of what Dickens describes in Coketown, whereas Williams shows us the “fairy palace.” The dates of the paintings are important to consider; did people’s impressions of industrialization change between 1777 and 1804? Which social class would have shared Williams’ perspective, and which would share de Loutherbourg’s? Another important topic that is discussed in the 10th grade global history curriculum is child labor, which shifted from agriculture to the factory during the industrial revolution. Similarly, there are numerous sources to draw from in a variety of mediums for students to evaluate, analyze and interpret. Songs of the industrial revolution offer an insight into the social lives of the people affected by the changes that took place during the industrial revolution. An analysis of songs and poems gives us an impression of the conditions and reactions to child labor during the industrial revolution. The book, Working Songs: Industrial Ballads and Poems from Britain and Ireland, 1780s – 1980s, is a collection of songs that were written during the industrial revolution.

12 William Blake, Milton (1804), plate 2, lines 1 - 16. Blake’s Illuminated Books, ed. David Bindman. Princeton, New Jersey: William Blake Trust; London: Tate Gallery, 1991. 6

The song Fourpence a Day offers a look at the lifestyle of lead miners in County Durham during the 1830s. An excerpt of the song reads: It’s early in the morning, we rise at five o’clock And the little slaves come to the door, knock, knock, knock. Come me little washer lad, come, let’s away It’s very hard to work, for fourpence a day.

My father was a miner and lived down in the town; Twas hard work and poverty that always kept him down. He aimed for me to go to school but bras he couldn’t pay’ So I had to go to the washing rake for fourpence a day.

My mother rises out of bed with tears on her cheeks, Puts my wallet on my shoulders, which has to serve a week. It often fills her great big heart when she unto me does say, ‘I never thought thou would have worked for fourpence a day’13

From this excerpt, students can infer several social effects of the industrial revolution, such as the presence of several members of each family working in the various phases of industrial production, the difficult condition in mining and industrial labor and low pay. A poem that can be used to compare the similarities between child laborers and working class families in different industries is William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper. Here, Blake tells the story of the young chimneysweeper who is forced to work when his mother dies and his father sells his labor. The poem is written from the perspective of the child, who fears death, like many young chimney sweeps before him. The child is expected to be comforted by faith in a heavenly afterlife.14 In both cases, the children are forced to work because the father’s income cannot support the entire family. Students can infer conditions in the lives of working class families during the industrial revolution from these aesthetic and poetic mediums to evaluate social changes during the industrial revolution. Several other topics that should be addressed in the industrial revolution unit are the growth of labor unions and the founding and spread of socialist ideas. Kenneth Morgan provides an overview of the birth of trade unionism in The Birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.15

13 Roy Palmer, Working Songs: Industrial Ballads and Poems from Britain and Ireland, 1780s – 1980s, Yorkshire: Herron Publishing, p. 59 14 William Blake, Songs of Innocence (1789). Blake’s Illuminated Books, ed. David Bindman, Princeton, New Jersey: William Blake Trust; London: Tate Gallery, 1991.

15 Morgan, Birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, pp. 18 – 20. 7

Morgan included a transcript from the Parliamentary debates over the Combination Acts in the primary source document appendix.16 Morgan’s book is practical for an honors level, or advanced placement course in high school because it is enriched with supplementary primary sources and relevant definitions and information in the margins to compliment the text. Here, students can see the progress that was made between Parliament and the workers in the interest of protecting the working class. Students can see how working class advocacy and the social ills caused by industrialization evolved into Communist philosophy by reading the Communist Manifesto and analyzing it for its argument and purpose. Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto can be found in its entirety online. Excerpts are helpful to understand Marx’s view, showing how the bourgeoisie overthrew the aristocracy and became the new oppressive class, which dominated the proletarians, as well as the goals of Marxist philosophy.17 A Venn diagram showing the philosophies of Adam Smith and Capitalism, and Karl Marx and Communism, are helpful for students to see the belief systems that emerged from the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution unit should conclude with a summary of the effects of industrialization. Morgan’s conclusion has a straightforward summary of these effects.18 When completing a unit summary, it is helpful to get an overall picture of the changes that took place by using the acronym “SPRITE.” SPRITE refers to the Social, Political, Religious, Intellectual, Technological and Economic changes that took place during a given period in history. Many educators have their own favorite acronyms, such as “PERSIA,” however, I prefer SPRITE. At the end of the industrial revolution, students should complete a chart indicating a change in each of these social science themes. The NEH summer seminar on the industrial revolution in Britain introduced me to new literature, art and historiography that will help me design and implement rich, meaningful lessons that meet the Common Core standards in reading. The variety of sources provided show two perspectives of industrialization and allows students to evaluate the effects of the industrial revolution through both argumentative and explanatory writing. Students can use these sources to introduce and respond to questions in group discussions and cite relevant evidence to validate their claims. The sources apply to students with diverse learning styles, such as students who

16 Parliament Against Trade Unionism, 1799. Debate in the House of Commons, 1799. Printed in Morgan, p. 141. 17Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist- manifesto/ch01.htm 18 Morgan, Birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain , pp. 109 – 112. 8 learn better through imagery, song, and poetry and give attention to the important causes and effects of the industrial revolution in Britain.