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The Victorians
Activities
Before viewing
Place the period in context and link it to times previously studied. Talk about the mock baronial buildings of Victorian times and compare them with genuine castles from the Middle Ages, studied in Medieval Realms.
Viewing activity
Watch and note down:
- Ways in which life changed for rich and poor
- The impact of the railways on daily life
- Some of the benefits of the Industrial Revolution which became apparent in the nineteenth century
Keywords
population, engineering, infant mortality, public health, excursions, leisure
After viewing
Re-cap and consolidation:
- Why did a cult of the Middle Ages develop in Victorian Britain?
- Did life get better or worse for poor people during Victorian times?
- What were some of the main achievements of the Victorian builders and engineers?
Follow-up work
Causation: Changes in Victorian Britain
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Tops and tails:
Here are some of the things that happened in Victorian times and the reasons why. But they are muddled up. Your job is to match tops and tails to make complete sentences.
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Tails |
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People in towns could buy fresh fruit and vegetables because... |
...the cities were dirty and overcrowded. |
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Seaside holidays became popular because... |
...fast trains could get fish from the ports to the fish–and-chip shops before it went bad. |
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Rich people built fake castles because... |
...children worked in the factories. |
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Many children died in infancy because... |
...workers began to get time off for holidays every year. |
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Many children didn't go to school because... |
...the Victorians had found out how to produce cast iron cheaply. |
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Victorian railway stations were built with cast iron because... |
...many people thought life was better in the old days, before the Industrial Revolution. |
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Fish and chips became popular because... |
...trains brought fresh food up from the country. |
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Add three more tops and tails of your own. |
Interpretations of history: Factory enquiry (Internet activity) 
Concern about child labour led to several parliamentary commissions of enquiry. Re-enacting a commission of enquiry will help you to understand the complexities of the issue. The real commissions heard evidence from witnesses including the children themselves, their parents, overseers, factory owners and medical men. With other students allocate roles as witnesses, court officials, etc. and then research your role, using information books.
If you have access to the Internet, use:
TES Factory simulation
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Twork.htm
This contains witness statements and particulars about the men, women and children who testified to the various parliamentary commissions.
Use the resource sheet to gather evidence and follow up with a group activity in which, working with other students, you select and combine information from the resource sheets, textbooks, the television programme and the Internet to produce a piece of extended written argument about the rights and wrongs of child labour.
Historical enquiry: The Crossleys and Halifax
Replay the section of the programme describing the Crossleys of Halifax. Make brief notes of the many contributions made by the family to the life of the town.
Now make a list of the benefits of the Crossley presence in Halifax and then make a list of the drawbacks. Place the work in the wider national context.
It has been argued that by the middle of the century the benefits of industrialisation were beginning to outweigh the ill effects for most people. What do you think?
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