CategoryTitle of LessonBrief DescriptionCorresponds with ProgramGrade Level
EnvironmentalCrumpled Paper WatershedStudents create a model of a watershed and observe how the contours of the land determine the flow of surface water. Students investigate the physical characteristics of a watershed and the effects of human land-use decisions on the watershed.

Bridging the Watershed

Industrial Watershed

River as a Classroom

5-8
EnvironmentalWho Polluted the MerrimackThis activity demonstrates that we are all part of the problem of pollution. It also shows that protecting the environment is not a one-time event, but requires ongoing changes to our habits.

Bridging the Watershed

Industrial Watershed

River as a Classroom

5-8
EngineeringInnovation: Materials
Properties
Students test materials for various properties to assess how they will perform at a designated task.Engineer It!3-12
EngineeringInnovation:Simple MachinesThis lesson provides students with a review of simple machines and their tasks. It works best in combination with your lesson on simple machines, or as a review/additional activity.

Engineer It!

Power to Production

3-12



Farm to FactoryFarm to Factory Production: Making a Grilled Cheese SandwichStudents will compare making a sandwich on a farm before the Industrial Revolution and today to understand the changes that have occurred over the last 200 years.

Change in the Making

Bale to Bolt

3-6
Farm to FactoryFrom Farm to Factory: The Nutter's WorkdayLife changed dramatically for those who left family farms to work in the growing mill cities of New England. Follow Emily and Edward Nutter through a typical day on their farm, and a typical day in the factory. Students will learn about both ways of life and compare them with their own lives today.

Change in the Making

Bale to Bolt

3-6, with extension activities for older students.
Farm to Factory
Decide Eliza Paige's FutureStudents use the web-based Bringing History Home - Decide Eliza Paige’s Future to learn about the lives of mill workers in the early Industrial city of Lowell.
Bale to Bolt
4-8
Farm to FactorySlavery in the American SouthStudents will use primary sources to examine the institution of chattel slavery in the United States, to achieve a better understanding of the lives of enslaved people on Southern plantations.Bale to Bolt5
ImmigrationOn the Move: An Introduction to ImmigrationThis lesson introduces students to the concept of immigration.Yankees and Immigrants3-5
ImmigrationWhy do Immigrants come to America?Students will use oral histories and cartoons to understand the push and pull factors that influence immigrationYankees and Immigrants
4-8
Water PowerWaterwheel Power TestingStudents will investigate how the speed and height of falling water (potential energy) affects the mechanical energy produced by a waterwheel.Power to Production5-8
Water PowerBall Drop ActivityThis ball drop activity demonstrates how potential energy is impacted by a loss of energy with the collision with the ground.Power to Production8-12
Water PowerSquish PotentialIn this activity, students will drop a standard weight from different heights to track the results to investigate the connection between potential energy and drop.

Power to Production4-6

Work/Labor
Farm to Factory

Craft Production to Factory ProductionFactory production replaced the work of an individual craftsperson with a series of specialized steps.

Workers on the Line

Bale to Bolt

5-8
Work/LaborWhat is work?The work people do has meaning for them and for others.Workers on the Line
5-8
GeneralA Recipe for Lowell's Industrial RevolutionFor any recipe to succeed the proper “ingredients” must be included in the mix. Lowell’s textile industry was no exception. It relied upon six necessary “ingredients” to create America’s first large-scale textile industry.All Programs
General

Partnership

The Tsongas Industrial History Center is an education partnership between the University of Massachusetts Lowell School of Education and the National Park Service at Lowell National Historical Park.

  • UMass Lowell
  • National Park Service