Children working in factories

Children working in factories

Lesson goals

- We know why poor children worked in factories. 

- We know what happened to children working in factories.

What do we already know?

Discuss in pairs: what do you think working in factories was like back then?

Why did children work in factories back then?

Children in factories

Poor families often couldn't afford to feed their children. The children had to work in order for the family to be able to live. 

Sometimes they started working as soon as they could walk. 

They worked long hours and were paid very little. 

What did they do?

The children usually did the work that the older people couldn't do. 

For example they had to climb under heavy machinery.

Injuries

The children often did very dangerous work, especially in the factories. 

The children would often lose fingers or could even lose their lives. 

Why did the factories hire children?

Children were much cheaper than adults as a factory owner did not have to pay them as much.

There were plenty of children in orphanages, so they could be replaced easily if accidents did occur.

Some jobs could only be done by children.

The factory act of 1833

-No child workers under nine years of age

-Children of 9-13 years to work no more than nine hours a day

-Children of 13-18 years to work no more than 12 hours a day

-Children are not to work at night

-Two hours schooling each day for children

Discuss: How much did this improve the lives of children under the age of 10? How did it improve for the older children?

Video assignment

1. What is the advertisement for?

2. What happened to the first boy?

3. What happened to the boy with the nails in his ears?

4. Why didn't they get any compensation?

(Play video from 5:31 - 7:33)

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Video assignment

1. What is the advertisement for?

2. What happened to the first boy?

3. What happened to the boy with the nails in his ears?

4. Why didn't they get any compensation?

(Play video from 5:31 - 7:33)

What happened to the children working in the factories?

Why did children work in the factories?