Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Machines for the Industrial Revolution
Caption: picture of the spinning jenny, a machine that helped initiate the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began with inventors - people with ideas about how to make work more efficient.
The one invention that led most directly to the growth of industries was the steam engine. In 1698, Thomas Savery, an Englishman, had invented a simple steam engine. His original plan was to use it to pump water out of coal mines. Another English inventor, Thomas Newcomen, improved on Savery's steam engine and produced one that was actually used for the purpose of pumping water out of mines. A third inventor, this one a Scotsman by the name of James Watt, made more improvements to the steam engine. Watt's steam engines were more efficient than earlier models. Before too long, they were powering the machines in factory towns all over Europe and North America.
Other inventions led to the growth of industries, too, starting with the textile industry in England.
