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

Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?
Section 5: How did different Victorian children use their spare time?

Objectives

Children should learn:

to consider how attitudes to children and childhood changed over time

Activities

Outcomes

Children:

Discuss ways of spending spare time, and ask the children to list their interests and those of others in their families. 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, eg 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, eg 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.

produce advertisements or posters that reflect Victorian attitudes and values
suggest what Victorian children might have done in their spare time
select relevant information about a toy/leisure pursuit

Points to note

The initial task provides an opportunity to assess whether the children are aware of what might be technologically appropriate for the period.

A range of artefacts could be provided for this activity, eg replicas 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.

Comparing the attitudes of today with those of the past will contribute to the children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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?