Annotated History plan: Unit 11 – Children In Victorian Britain
Unit 11: Children In Victorian Britain / HistoryYear 5 – first half
ABOUT THE UNIT (This unit takes approximately 10 hours)
This unit helps pupils to learn about the lives and hardships of Victorian children. Class 5a and 5b work focuses on:
- Exploring and researching about the lives of Victorian children and comparisons of rich and poor children in Victorian society
- How attitudes towards children changed in the Victorian era
- The people who are remembered for bringing about change in the quality of children’s lives (we have chosen to focus specifically on Shaftesbury, Barnardo and Owen)
- Building upon their understanding of chronology by looking at the Victorian period within a time framework (we have chosen to make clear chronological comparisons with previous topics covered lower down the school e.g. Romans, Vikings, Great Fire of London and the Tudors. As per the National Curriculum, pupils will be encouraged to describe and make links between the main events, situations and changes across the different periods studied).
- Sequencing changes within the Victorian era
The unit also helps pupils to use their knowledge and understanding of History to research and write about an aspect of the Victorians at home as part of an independent project. Parents will be encouraged to support their child in this extra homework.
WHERE UNIT 11 FITS IN / RESOURCES
Unit 11 builds on children’s understanding of social change which was introduced in relation to the Tudor period in Unit 8 (Y4)
Literacy: read/listen to biographies (Mary Seacole) and stories/videos about Victorian characters (Oliver Twist, The Water Babies)
Drama: pupils will participate in a “Victorian Day” at BraintreeDistrictMuseum. They will role play a day in the life of a Victorian school-child (3rd November)
Art: links with portraits and how we use these to give clues about the past
PSHE: Links with Units 2B (why and how rules and laws are made and enforced with reference to Victorian child reforms) / Science: find out how early scientific ideas about diet and health were tested. This will be linked to this term’s work e.g. Lister, Pasteur, Snow, Budd, and Jenner.
EAL opportunities: Black history e.g. Mary Seacole (Crimean nurse), William Wilberforce (the abolitionist)
Communication: pupils will be encouraged to think about how they will organise and record what has been covered in lessons with a focus on a more independent approach. This will include En1 (S&L) and ICT opportunities (e.g. filming, word processing etc.). /
- a portrait of Queen Victoria and her family
- information on Victorian children at work, e.g.contemporary engravings, extracts from contemporary authors, factory and mine reports
- information on Lord Shaftesbury, Robert Owen and Dr Barnardo, e.g.textbooks, pack from Barnardo’s on Victorian Britain
- information on Victorian schools, e.g.extracts from stories, school logbooks, inspection reports
- information on Victorian leisure, e.g.games, toys, posters, books, songbooks of children at work in factories and mines
- contemporary novels, e.g.novels by Kingsley, Dickens
- a class time line
Useful websites:
Victorian Britain:
Victorian Diary:
Victorian House:
Victorian toys web enquiry:
Victorian trail (teacher info):
Victorian scientific landmarks:
The Workhouse:
Virtual Victorians:
EAL pupils: SEN pupils: G&T pupils:
EXPECTATIONS AND DIFFERENTIATIONat the end of unit 11…
Most children (A) will: / place the changes in the period within a chronological framework; make appropriate use of dates and terms; demonstrate knowledge and understanding about the everyday lives of children in the Victorian period; show how some aspects of the period have been interpreted in different ways; select and combine information from a range of visual, textbook and documentary sources; communicate their knowledge and understanding of changes to children’s lives in Victorian times in organised and structured ways
Some children (LA) will not have
made so much progress and will: / recognise some similarities and differences between the lives of children from different areas of Victorian society; ask and answer questions about the period by using at least one source of information
Some children (MA/A) will have
progressed further and will also: / describe reasons for and results of particular events; use their knowledge and understanding of the Victorian period to make links with other societies and periods; select and combine information from a range of sources to reach substantiated conclusions
This week’s
Resources
/ Learning Objectives / Teaching Activities and Key Vocabulary / ICT opportunities / Learning Outcomes & Assessmentsw/c 6th September
/- Blank timeline pro-forma for LA pupils
- Timeline list (in LCP file p8)
- Key words on display in topic corner (ongoing)
- Learning objectives on the flipchart (ongoing for pupils to refer back to)
- To understand the term “chronological”
- To know where the Victorian era fits in with relation to previous eras studied
Ask pupils to work in (mixed ability) groups and share what they already know about the period and then feed back to the rest of the class. Pupils can use large sugar paper and pens to record what they know. These will be displayed at end of lesson to encourage pupils to refer back to what they know throughout the whole topic.
(xerox display work reduced to 95% to stick in topic books for individual reference)
Using whole class timeline, pupils will place events and changes on timeline with reference to previous topics studied. Key vocabulary will be used and taught
Independent work: complete own timeline applying what has been learnt. Pupils choose carefully relevant information to include on their timelines applying what has been learnt in lessons. LA pupils to be given pro-forma, partially filled in
vocabulary: use dates and vocabulary relating to the passing of time, including chronological, chronology, ancient, modern, BC, AD, century and decade. / One group to use “Inspiration” mind mapping software to record what they know
For teacher timeline info:
Children’s interactive timeline:
/
- Pupils understand the term chronological
- Pupils know where the Victorian period fits in with relation to previous topics studied
- MA pupils can incorporate new vocabulary learnt in their Speaking and Listening
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
wc 13th September
/This week’s
ResourcesOliver Twist –
Novel
Oliver Twist – video
The Water Babies – novel
Portraits of
- Queen Victoria’s children (LCP
- p13)
- poor children using sources from workhouses and orphanages
- Range of sources (LCP p20, website
- extracts from contemporary authors (see above), reports on factories & mines, engravings etc
- Use sources from LCP file p21-22
- To draw inferences about the lives of children from portraits
- To suggest what life was like for children living in the past
- More able pupils to make comparisons between rich and poor children
NB this will link to narrative work we are doing in Literacy this week (contemporary novels: Oliver Twist and The Water Babies)
What was it like for children living in Victorian times?
Show pupils an extract from video about life for the poor in the nineteenth century. Discuss the extract and what sources of information the filmmaker might have used and what other sources might be used to find out more.
On topic table, provide a range of sources, e.g.extracts from contemporary authors (Kingsley, Dickens), reports on factories or mines, engravings. Ask the children (in mixed pairs) to make a list of what they can infer about the life of poor children from the sources and present it to class.
Teacher to provide some information on the numbers of working children, their hours of work, the types of jobs they did and their lack of education. Discuss with pupils why children worked in Victorian times.
Ask the children to imagine they are a Victorian child working in a factory and write an extract from a factory report describing the work a child of their age was doing.
vocabulary: trappers, getters, hurriers, legal guardian, Poor Law , workhouse, orphanage, child labour / ICT opportunities
Oliver Twist video / Learning Outcomes & Assessments
- Pupils can list a number of aspects of daily life for poor and rich Victorian children
- Pupils can produce a simple narrative to illustrate what they know about the work done by Victorian children
- MA pupils can include in their narratives some comparisons between rich and poor Victorian children including the beliefs and attitudes of Victorian people
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
w/c 20th September
/This week’s
Resources- Written sources and pictures based on these three people
- LCP 35-38
- “Learning Curve” webtrail loaded onto class files
- Pictures to place onto class timeline
Britain Masterfile (p97, 84 / Learning Objectives
- To understand that the work of individuals can change aspects of society
- To find out about important figures in Victorian times
- To present their findings in different ways
Who helped to improve the lives of Victorian children?
Ask the children what they think needed to be done for Victorian children. Make a list for display
Talk about Lord Shaftesbury, William Wilberforce and Dr Barnardo and how they helped children, placing key events on the time line. Ask the children to find out about the work of these men, and the way that they changed some children’s lives using a variety of written sources and pictures.
Ask the children to present their work using freeze-frames or brief role-plays
Extended writing: write an account of one of these men applying what you have learnt
Art: Design a poster to campaign against child labour in the factories.
Speaking & Listening opportunity:
Hold a class debate on child labour with half of the class arguing for child labour. See Spartacus web site for teacher info
vocabulary: reformer, child laws, protection,Acts of Parliament, factory report, law, politician, House of Lords / ICT opportunities
ICT suite-
Carry out tasks 2 and 3 (reading support may be needed):
MA pupils can also carry out task 1
Teacher info for Lord Shaftesbury:
/ Learning Outcomes & Assessments
- Pupils can answer questions about who helped to improve children’s lives and how
- Pupils can select appropriate information and present it, to show what they have found out about Lord Shaftesbury, William Wilberforce and Dr Barnardo
- How effective was the 1833 Factory Act? Explain your answer (hint: Is the number of convictions a good or bad sign?).
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
w/c 27th September
/This week’s
Resources- See website reference on right
- Victorian Britain Masterfile for teacher background medical information (p25, 82, 83, 86)
- Written sources and pictures based on living conditions
- Comprehension
- Homework sheet on leisure for following week
- To learn how to use primary & secondary sources of information to unearth details of city life/
What were the living conditions of the Victorian poor? (include health problems and medical pioneers)
i) Give pupils a through-the-keyhole look at Victorian homes in this Snapshot (see website on right). Starting from the macro level - a small section of a map of Hackney - pupils examine photographic evidence and then census material to unearth details of home life.
ii) Explain how little was known in Victorian times about how diseases were transmitted or even anything about the diseases.
Focusing on outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, pupils are to respond to questions (comprehension) as a follow up to class discussion with particular emphasis on how living conditions for the poor contributed to outbreaks.
vocabulary: photographic evidence, census returns, occupants, local archive, lodging houses, ‘back to backs’, diseases, sewers, cholera, typhoid, living conditions / ICT opportunities
Teacher reference:
recommended:
Quiz: why did London stink? (see above URL)
At home, can pupils do web research on these two diseases? / Learning Outcomes & Assessments
- Pupils can give examples of both primary and secondary sources of information
- Pupils can use sources of information to draw out key facts
MA pupils can use primary sources to make inferences about living conditions (specifically census returns)
EAL pupils:
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
This week’s
resources
/ Learning Objectives / Teaching Activities and Key Vocabulary / ICT opportunities / Learning Outcomes & Assessmentsw/c 4th October
/- A range of artefacts such asreplicas of Victorian toys and games, copies of posters, copies of original books and songbooks.
- Contemporary sources, proverbs about childhood and contemporary illustrations that idealise childhood, could be used to develop understanding of Victorian attitudes.
- Homework sheets to ask family members what they like to do for leisure
- Masterfile p66
- LCP p52-56
- To consider how Victorian children spent their leisure time
- To consider how attitudes to children and childhood have changed over time
Discuss ways of spending spare time, and ask the children to list their interests and those of others in their families (refer to homework given in previous week). Ask them to consider which would have been possible in 1890 and which not, giving reasons. Discuss with the children what leisure interests may have been available.
Give the children a range of sources on Victorian leisure pursuits, e.g.artefacts, textbooks, contemporary paintings, pictures. Ask the children to complete a table listing each leisure pursuit and describing it.
Tell the children about late-Victorian attitudes, e.g.that childhood was a time for protection from ‘immoral’ aspects of adult life and for learning family values and moral principles. Ask the children to compare Victorian attitudes with those of today.
Ask the children to use the sources of information to help them produce advertisements or a poster advertising the benefits of a new toy or pursuit, and highlighting what they have been told about Victorian attitudes.
NB use one ICT session to explore websites on right for in depth research
Vocabulary: decoupage, Fantascope, Mysterion, Kairosithon, hopscotch, skipping and whip and top, Bank Holiday Act in 1871, Penny Farthing 1870, first FA Cup Final 1871, Blackpool, Southend, Brighton and Ilfracombe in Devon (popular holiday resorts), “to be seen and not heard”. /
- Produce advertisements that reflect Victorian attitudes and values
- find out what Victorian children might have done in their spare time
- select relevant information about a toy/leisure pursuit
/
- To assess whether the children are aware of what might be technologically appropriate for the period.
- Ability to select relevant information about a chosen toy/leisure pursuit and talk about it
Compare moral principles: then and now. Further research/challenge: give possible reasons for these changes
EAL pupils:
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
This week’s
resources
/ Learning Objectives / Teaching Activities and Key Vocabulary / ICT opportunities / Learning Outcomes & Assessmentsw/c 11th October
/- Time line for reference
- Own work to refer back to
- Range of sources on topic table
- Prompt sheet for LA pupils (writing frame?)
- List of previous learning objectives (see flipchart)
- LCP p60-62 for teacher reference
- To recall information about the life of children in Victorian times
- To select appropriate material and present it in a way that shows their understanding of the Victorian period
Refer to the time line to recap the main events, dates and figures to help the children recall some of the main changes to the lives of children during the Victorian period.
Discuss with the children why the changes took place and who benefited from them. Tell the children that a large number of children were still working in 1901.
Provide the children with a range of sources and ask them to summarise what they have found out in ways that provide a sense of the Victorian period.
Support:
Some children will need support with the extended writing activity.
Pupils need to be given a chance to summarise what they have learnt, and to try to present it as ‘historians’.
Vocabulary: access to word bank covering all previous vocabulary (available on sheet and on wall in topic corner). / Pupils can check work on hard drive or previous websites explored to prompt memories /
- To assess whether pupils can recall information about what children did in Victorian times
- To see how pupils present information showing knowledge and an appreciation of the Victorian period
MA pupils to write a detailed account of what they have learnt, using dates and terms appropriately and clearly. They can be asked to identify how the lives of some children had changed and others had stayed the same.
EAL pupils:
SEN pupils: see page 1
G&T pupils:
Annotated History plan: Unit 11 – Children In Victorian Britain
This week’s
resources
/ Learning Objectives / Teaching Activities and Key vocabulary / ICT opportunities / Learning Outcomes & Assessmentsw/c 18th October