History at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 5/6)

Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Section 1: Who were the Victorians and when did they live?

Objectives

Children should learn:

to identify Queen Victoria and place the Victorian period in relation to other periods of British history
to infer information from a portrait
to consider what life was like for children in the past

Activities

Outcomes

Children:

Show the children a picture of Queen Victoria and her family. Discuss what they think they can tell from the picture, eg status of the family, lifestyle, when the person was alive.

Ask the children to place the Victorian period on a time line.

Discuss with the children what life may have been like for Victoria's children, and whether all children would have had similar experiences.

Ask the children to work in groups and share what they already know about the period and then feed back to the rest of the class what they think life might have been like for children.

can place the Victorian period on a class time line
draw inferences about the lives of Queen Victoria's family from a portrait
suggest what life was like for children living in the past

Points to note

This introductory activity places the unit in a chronological framework and builds on previous experience of interpreting portraits.

There are a number of pictures of the royal family from this period, and postcard versions can be obtained from the National Portrait Gallery.

The small-group discussion is included to allow children to show the knowledge they already have about the period.

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.


	1. Who were the Victorians and when did they live?
	2. What was life like for a poor child in the 1840s?
	3. Who helped to improve the lives of Victorian children?
	4. What was it like going to school at the end of the nineteenth century?
	5. How did different Victorian children use their spare time?
	6. How did life change for children living in Victorian Britain?