Enclosure

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/enclosure

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary location?England
2. What is the key legal mechanisms?Private Acts of Parliament, General Enclosure Acts
3. What was the enclosure movement?The enclosure movement was when farmers in England started putting fences around their land, turning shared fields into private fields. It changed how land was owned and used.
4. Why did people put fences around fields?Farmers fenced land to make it easier to try new farming tricks, like better crop rotations and breeding animals, which helped them grow more food and make more money.

Open Field System: A traditional agrarian system characterized by scattered land strips and communal rights to common resources.
Commoner: An individual with customary rights to use common lands for grazing, fuel, or other subsistence needs.
Agricultural Revolution: A period of significant technological and methodological advancements in agriculture that increased productivity.
Land Tenure: The manner in which land is held or owned, including rights and responsibilities.