If you were in the car making business, how could you lower costs of making cars?

A craftsman knew the whole process of how to create an object. Before the Industrial Revolution most goods were created by hand by a craftsman. A craftsman worked many years to acquire the knowledge and experience to create goods. A craftsman knew the whole process of how to create an object.

During the period called the Industrial Revolution, the job of creating an object was broken down in many steps. The advantages were that a single task could be usually done over and over and faster than when one person did everything start to finish.

During the Industrial Revolution, the craftsman way of producing goods gave way to the factory.

Today we are going to investigate what it would have been like to be a worker at the turn of the 20th century in America.

First, begin by drawing a car, any style you would like, on a piece of notebook paper. There are colored pencils and markers set up around the room you may use. Do the best work you can. Be a craftsman. Create a masterpiece.

What is a Car? You just drew a car. What are the elements that you included in your drawing that made it a car? What parts make up a car?

You and your row are now working in a factory You and your row are now working in a factory. You must create an assembly line that builds cars. You have 2 minutes to design the car you will be making. You must use all the elements that the class came up with. Organize your assembly line. Decide who will draw which part of the car. Try to “produce” as many cars as possible within the time frame.

What were the working conditions like in the factories at the turn of the 20th century?

Remember, your family is depending on you and the money you make to live. You must keep your job so that your family can eat and have shelter. If you don’t work fast enough, if you do a bad job or you speak up, you could lose your job. Work fast and do a quality job or … you could be fired!

Summarizer Which produced a higher quality of goods? Why was a factory method so attractive from a business standpoint? How would consumers be affected by this new method of manufacturing goods? How would workers accustomed to the craft method feel about working in a factory? Why?