Assembly Line Activity

This project goes with the industrial revolution to show how an assembly line works and other conditions that followed this time.

Step 1: Setting Up

Now before class starts make a shirt like the one below also take perhaps 100 or 150 sheets of printer paper and cut them in half . This will comeback in the future


First split the class up into three groups . 2 groups should have 11 student and the third group with the rest of the students. The 2 groups will be two companies Company A and Company B.

Now once all the two groups are set up; its time to set up the desk. make two sets of desk both being 2 by 5 desk.

Seat the students down in both companies. The two standing will be the owners. The ones in the company and that are sitting are the workers. The others that aren't in a company are in the unemployment line.


if the instructions were to confusing on how to set up the room attached is a diagram of how it should look.

Step 2: Start

when the students walk into the class give them all a half sheet of printer paper. once all the students have paper show them the picture of the shirt and tell them to draw it.

Here is where the shirt comes in. Show each group the shirt and assign them sections its best if each group have their own copy. What ever number the student was assigned is the number they have to draw of the shirt. the superviser walks around supervising.

before we begin give each group a stack of half cut sheets of paper at the beginning of the assembly line and give each student a crayon so that they can draw the shirt.

Now its time to begin. On your command, both of the assembly lines should start going as quickly as they can drawing their assigned part of the shirt. The finished shirts should come out of the other end. you being the teacher and owner must keep track of both the beginning and the end of the assembly lines of both companies. when looking at the beginning of the assembly line make sure they have enough paper if nit refill. after a 2-3 minutes or until you feel the papers at the out end are enough Stop the assembly line and look at the shirts. Fire 2-3 students and replace them with students in the unemployment line. repeat all of these steps 2 more times. once its done repeating stop the assembly line and count the number of shirts each group has. who ever has the most shirts wins per say.

When you finished counting say this 

" Company __ (winning company) has made the most shirts. because of this (winning company) now has an oversupply of shirts. because (winning company)  has an oversupply of shirts (winning company) can sell its shirts for a cheaper price. because (winning company) is selling shirts at a cheaper price nno one is buying from (losing company). for this reason (losing company) is going out of buisness. But (winning company) does not want the other company to go he just want to steal its company. so the owners make a deal. (winning company) pays the owner of the other company and the 2 companies merge." 

Now take all the workers from the losing company and move them to the winning company but Dont move the desk. make the students share chairs. start the assembly line again. after a while stop it and make this announcement. 

"you are now making twice as many shirts, but why do you need two owners " fire one owner and then ask the workers" now how are the working conditions, are in a tight space" and of course their answer is yes 

That is the end of the project

Step 3: Things to Be Learned

first with the unemployment line it shows how desperate people are to find work. 

when you fire a worker and replace them this shows how the jobs need no skill and that they are incredibly easy to do

when the companies combine your showing a monopoly and merging

when the workers share seats your showing the bad conditions within the factory and the tight spaces workers must work in.

this also shows how much faster it is to create new product with an assembly line.

Step 4: Additional Notes

Best for 8th graders to 12th graders

will take up to 30-40 min

best to recycle papers at the end 

best for teachers with more than 3 years of expirience

pictures