After reading a series of primary source documents, groups compare the lives of and opportunities available to rural and urban women in the 19th century to rural and urban life in the 21st century. As an exit ticket, individuals craft a written response to a prompt in which they use evidence from their readings to support their claim that they would rather work in a rural or urban environment.

Concepts

the industrial revolution, the suffrage movement, women's suffrage, urban environments, market economies, rural environments

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• The lesson can be reconfigured as an online blog discussion
• If class members have in-class access to computers, save paper and copying costs, open tabs for the various documents, and have groups conduct their readings online
• Have groups investigate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Classroom Considerations

• If used in a classroom setting, instructors must download, copy, and collate the 16 readings
• Requires previous knowledge of The Waltham or Lowell System, a labor and production model

Pros

• Links are provided to the documents

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3