Activity
1
David had to work very hard at Blantyre Cotton Works turning raw cotton into cloth. This
was a long, dangerous and gruelling process that used many machines, including a loom.
[ THE MILL BOY ]
M
O
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N
A
M
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H
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H
T
[ CHALLENGE ]
The teacher is the mill manager and can only hire one team to work for Blantyre Cotton Works. Time
is money so the mill manager will only hire the quickest team. The team who wins the most number
of races is the winner.
In two groups your class must weave thread into cloth. You will need:
12 pieces of 2-metre rope, wool or string all in the same colour
2 pieces of 8-metre rope, wool or string in a different colour to those used above
Instructions
Split into two teams. Everyone should
take a partner.
Under
Each partner should take one piece of
rope and line up in their teams with
each partner holding one end of the
rope.
Over
Under
The pair in each team with the longest
piece of rope should not line up with
the other pairs but should stand facing
the rows of rope.
Over
Under
Each pair should be told whether they
are OVER or UNDER. They should
shout these words when the long rope
reaches them.
One person from the pair with the long rope should now begin to weave their long rope OVER
and UNDER the rows of rope, guided by the group’s instructions.
The other partner should make sure the rope is straight as it is being weaved.
Once the whole piece of rope has been woven everyone from that team must shout
‘INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION’.
[ EXTRA CHALLENGE ]
On the very last game, once the
teams have shouted ‘INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION’, cut one string
from each group and see if the team
remembers how David Livingstone
would have fixed this problem.
[ PLENARY ]
Once you have played the game, as a class discuss who or what
represented each part of the human loom:
The warp (the rows of rope)
The mill manager (the teacher)
The shuttle (the person weaving the long rope)
The piecer (the person who tied the rope)
The bobbin (the person holding the end of the long rope)
The thread (the long piece of rope)
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29/09/2014 21:24