MOSI Live Google Hangout

       We have been learning about the poor living and working conditions for the child laborers during the Industrial Revolution.  To further our study, we were able to video chat with a historian who works at the MOSI Museum of Science and Industry in the UK.  His name was Jamie and he had lots of knowledge on the topic we were learning about. To prepare for the chat with him, we explored the website of the MOSI Museum and we looked up the terminology for words that might come up during our discussion.  Some of the terms included roving, peed frames, sliver, draw frame, and carding engine.  Also, in preparation for our chat with Jamie, we watched a video of him talking about his job and what he does.  We then created questions to ask him during the discussion.

      Throughout the course of the discussion with Jamie, I learned tons of interesting information on the Industrial Revolution.  First, I learned that as a whole, the textile process was extremely dangerous.  Little children were brought in to work at the mills and factories in gruesome, unsafe conditions.  The main job for the young ones was to clean the machines, while they were moving!  It is ridiculous that the machines couldn't have been shut off for a few minutes while they were cleaned to avoid the risk of the children getting severely injured.  Next, I learned that overlookers at the mills would have to convince the parents of the children to allow them to come live in the boarding houses and work in the mills.  In some cases, adults would pay for orphans to go work in the mills instead of sending their own child because they didn't want to take any risks.  The industrialization of textile production had a huge impact on families.  On the positive side, the families were able to make more money and everyone was able to work.  However, there were a lot more negatives to the industrialization of textile production.  Before the industrialization of textiles, families had their own looms in their houses.  They were used to all living together and working from home.  The idea of going to work in mills and factories wasn't very exciting when they were already so adapted to working from home.  Most importantly, families didn't like the idea of their young ones working in the mills living on their own, with the risk of getting severely injured.  Jamie certainly knows our history and I'm glad we were able to video chat with him to learn about the Industrial Revolution!

Spinning Loom.  (MOSI Museum Live Chat).

This is the machine that the children had to clean while it was running.  Those white pieces spun at a rapid speed and the children had to put their hands in them with a cleaning tool.

     Overall, I really enjoyed chatting with Jamie and learning all of the information he told us.  I thought it was a great idea to talk to an outside expert about what we are learning in class.  Now, I know a lot more about the topic than I feel I would have if we learned without the help of an expert.  In the future I would definitely like to do stuff like this for other units.  

      

  

Museum Curator Activity

Anna Lepore

Honors History 10 

     In class, we did an activity called the Museum Curator.  We were broken up into groups and given several printouts with images on them relating to the Industrial Revolution.  We had to analyze our several sources and figure out how they were all related.  Then we created a catchy title for our sources since we were making them into an exhibit.  All of the sources that my group had showed the evolution of machines in the factories.  We had images of a hand loom, an almond loom, a mechanized loom, and a textile mill.  It was interesting to learn about each of the machines and how they worked.  The title we came up with for our exhibit was called "Just Keep Spinning", in reference to Finding Nemo.  I enjoyed curating although there were a few bumps along the road.  

    Once all of the groups were finished with the curating process, we hung our posters up on the walls in the hallway so it gave us the experience of being at a museum, looking at the exhibits.  We walked around independently and took notes of all of the exhibits.  The first exhibit I looked at was one called "America Runs on Steam Engine."  The exhibit displayed information on the steam engine and what inventions it lead to such as steam boats and trains.  Next, I looked at an exhibit called "Making Money, Destroying Neighborhoods."  This exhibit was mainly about the pollution caused from the factories during the Industrial Revolution.  The third exhibit I visited was called "Is the Pain Worth the Gain?"  I found this particular exhibit to be really interesting because I did not know how gruesome the working and living conditions were for the children during the Industrial Revolution.  The last exhibit I visited was called, "Prosperity at the cost of people."  This exhibit displayed information on slavery and the statistics.  Overall, I enjoyed learning about different aspects of the Industrial Revolution through the Museum Curator activity.       

Website and Source Evalutaion

     Today in history class, we did two activities that were meant to help us learn how to choose valid sources for research.  One activity was called A Google A Day and in our groups, we had to find the answers to different questions by using the internet for help.  The other activity was checking out a website on the "Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus".  These two activities helped us learn the difference between good sources and not so good sources.

     A Google A Day, sponsored by Google, was a very interesting activity.  We were given a question that we had to find the answer to by using Google as a search engine.  It was not as simple as I predicted it would be.  Some of the websites that my group and I came across were not useful so we had to try searching for different keywords from the questions. One part of the activity that frustrated me was that the answers had to be very exact and even when we did know the correct answer it would not accept it because it wasn't phrased right.  Overall it was a great activity to help us learn how to select a valid source.  Here is the link if you are interested, www.agoogleaday.com/#game=started

     There were a few terms we went over during class while learning about selecting a valid source.  Accuracy is the quality or state of being correct or precise.  It is important to make sure that the source you are using has correct information.  Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, and character.  When choosing a source, you need to make sure that the authors identity is appropriate and that they really are who they say they are.  Lastly, reliability is the ability to be depended on for accuracy.  This is important because every source must have accurate and reliable information in order for it to be valid.  During the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus activity, we had to look at the website zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/.  This website was created by a person who was not authentic.  They claimed to be a professor at a college university but the university does not exist.  Obviously there is not such thing as a tree octopus because they are aquatic animals that need water in order to live.  Therefore the website was not reliable because the information was all made up to trick people.  Overall, the website was an example of a source that you would not want to use.  I thought this activity was very amusing.  

Tree Octopus.  zapatopi.net/octopus/.

  

Industrial Revolution

    In class, we learned about the industrial revolution.  The industrial revolution modernized the entire world.  It started in Europe and then it spread to other countries, having a huge impact on them.  We focused on the essential question: What was revolutionary about industrialization?  In our groups, we were assigned topics such as revolution in transportation, technology, resources, people, etc in order to answer the question.  We had to read excerpts on our topic and write notes to share with the class.  Industrialization was legendary because it changed the world completely.  The industrial revolution left its mark in our history and made life more efficient for everyone.

  One of the topics that was discussed from the industrial revolution was the revolution in transportation.  The steam locomotive was created and it led to the development of trains and the spread of railroads.  This made it easy to have access to goods that were far away.  Next, steam boats were invented.  Inventors applied steam power to boats to improve shipping.  The steam boat could travel 5 miles per hour!  That was very impressive at the time!  The steam boats also made it easier to have access to goods that were far away.  The revolution in transportation made life a lot easier because goods from far away were accessible.

Steam Locomotive. .org/wiki/Category:Steam_locomotives_of_Russia 

   Another topic from the industrial revolution was technology.  Coal was used to develop the steam engine in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen.  The steam engine was used to pump water out of mines so that the miners would be able to mine deeper.  Therefore, the miners were able to extend there work to even larger plots in the ground.  Another achievement in technology was improved iron.  Coal had an important role in producing iron.  The coal was used to separate iron from its ore.  This enabled people to be able to produce higher quality, less expensive iron.  Technology would not expand and improve today if it weren't for the industrial revolution.

Education Leads to Great Achievements

  

Hello, my name is Anna and I am a sophomore at Reading Memorial High School.  Each week, I will be publishing new posts to my blog to show what I have been learning in history class.  My personal thoughts on each topic will be included in each blog.  Enjoy!  

Teacher with students.  http://castprofessionallearning.org/udl-curriculum-consultation/

Education is an extremely important part of everyday life.  Teachers play a huge role in giving their students a good education.  If there were not any teachers, then who would teach the students new things in class every day?  A great teacher is many things.  First, a great teacher is one who gets to know their students and shows their students that they care about them.  When a student feels comfortable in a classroom they certainly learn best.  Next, a great teacher helps their students when they are having trouble.  The history teacher I had last year helped me in many ways.  She always answered my emails and helped me when I was confused or had trouble with something.  I felt like I was able to put forth my best work because all of my questions were answered and I felt confident in what I was doing. This year if I am having a difficult time with something in class I will be sure to talk to my history teacher to clear it up so I can do my best.

John Green, an author and youtuber, is a very interesting man. In one of his Youtube videos, he talks about how this generation of kids has a duty to use their education to do great things. I could not agree more with John Green. I believe that if you want to do well in the future, then you need to take your education seriously and do the best you can. It is extremely hard out there in the world today to find a good job. The reason behind the difficulty in finding jobs is because the majority of companies and businesses are looking for someone who is well educated and graduated college. Also, John Green was most likely trying to encourage students to do something with all of the hours we spend learning in school and make a difference in the world. This year, I hope to improve my grades in all of my classes. I struggle in chemistry so I am going to try to do my best with understanding everything in the class this year. Outside of school, I want to improve my dance skills and work on my flaws. My goal is to be a good teammate and do better with my performances. This year, I will definitely be able to accomplish these goals as long as I don't give up!