Include discussions of how Western Europe s geographic location, topography, and proximity to the sea influence its climate, history, and economy. At the beginning of the lesson, show students an overhead transparency of Western Europe. Inform students about the geography and culture of individual countries of Western Europe. Have them read their sections and take notes, attempting to discern the important points. Each group should then give a synopsis of their portion of the reading to the rest of the class.
Students take notes during each presentation, and groups create quizzes over their portion.
Topics include the Puritans, Enlightenment ideas regarding government by John Locke, and the Industrial Revolution. Students are shown a woodblock art image depicting the whipping of a child worker in a textile mill. Ask them to examine the artwork and determine the situation. Ask students to search Grove Dictionary of Art Online for keywords woodcut and wood-engraving. This leads into a conversation on child labor during the Industrial Revolution and the mass migration of British and Irish workers to the US during this time.