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

Unit 12: How did life change in our locality in Victorian times?
Section 2: Who lived and worked here in 1891? What has changed since 1841 and why?

Objectives

Children should learn:

to make comparisons that illustrate change within the Victorian period
to give reasons for these changes
to identify characteristic features of Victorian transport and industry

Activities

Outcomes

Children:

Give children census returns from 1891, and ask them to research the same fields as in the previous activity. Ask them to list findings to report to the class.

Discuss with children what has changed since 1841. Are any of the same families still living in the same homes? Are there more people living in the area who were born elsewhere? Have people's occupations changed? Discuss why some of these changes might have taken place, encouraging the children to speculate on the basis of their own knowledge.

Let the children see pictures showing changes in transport and industry in the Victorian period and ask the children to describe some of the main changes at a national level.

Show them pictures of transport and industry in the local area in the Victorian period, eg railway stations, canals, mills, factories.

Discuss with the children whether changes in transport or changes to industry were the most important in their local area.

identify changes between the census of 1841 and that of 1891
speculate about possible reasons for change

Points to note

Census returns need to be for the same streets as those used in any previous activity.

This activity could be extended by using street directories and trade directories. These show the owners of and the uses of the buildings in a given street. Children could look at increases or decreases in the numbers of shops or changes in the use of buildings.

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 lived here in 1841?
	2. Who lived and worked here in 1891? What has changed since 1841 and why?
	3. How did the arrival and expansion of the railways affect our area?
	4. What evidence of Victorian times remains in our area?
	5. How did life change in our locality in Victorian times?