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WaterAid Autumn 2014 Lesson Plan - Key Stage 2/3
How is Victorian Britain similar to the world today?
Introduction
Over 500,000 children die every year from diarrhoea
caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. That's
over 1,400 children a day. Where there is nowhere
safe and clean to go to the toilet, people are exposed
to disease, lack of privacy and indignity. When
communities defecate in the open, disease spreads
fast and water sources are polluted. It is hard to believe
that it is just 150 years since London’s sewage system
was constructed to combat the same problems and
eliminate the spread of cholera. This lesson plan asks
pupils to reflect on the similarities between Victorian
London and the world today, and consider ways in
which they can take action to make a difference.
Curriculum links
The curriculum links below are not exhaustive but offer
a guide as to where this lesson plan fits into a specific
subject. It is of particular relevance when studying
global development in Geography and provides a good
introduction to present day sanitation issues when
studying History topics. In Citizenship studies, the
activities link with investigations of global issues and in
looking at how change can be achieved. The activities
can be linked to PSHE when looking at the importance
of hygiene and personal care.
Aims
Notes
Depending on the age and ability of your pupils,
you may want to swap the chronology activity with
the quiz activity.
Key words
Sanitation
Sewage
Cholera
Resources
these are all downloadable from
www.wateraid.org/uk/schools
• Chronology activity - pupil sheet
• Chronology activity - correct order
• Quiz activity - teacher sheet
• Quiz cards
• WaterAid film ‘Imagine’
• WaterAid film ‘We are WaterAid’
• Sources activity sheet
• Composting latrine technology poster
• Ventilated Improved Pit latrine technology poster
• How to influence your MP toolkit
• WaterAid's Big History Project toolkit
• To use chronology skills to work out what led to the
creation of the London sewage system.
• To empathise with Londoners during the Victorian era.
• To compare Victorian London with the water and
sanitation crisis today.
• To consider ways in which action can be taken to
help WaterAid make a difference.
• To raise awareness in school and beyond, of the
water and sanitation crisis.
• To carry out local research into sanitation provision.
Additional activities and resources on
www.wateraid.org/uk/schools
Investigate how potentially fatal diseases like
cholera are spread, using both mathematical
and scientific skills with our ‘Water’s deadly
connection’ activity sheet.
Watch ‘The adventures of Super Toilet’,
WaterAid’s sanitation super hero.
Activities
1. In small groups, pupils should cut out the
statements on the chronology worksheet OR
if doing the quiz activity, give each group a
set of quiz cards and read through each of
the statements. Each group needs to decide
whether the statement refers to Victorian
London, present day or both, by holding up the
appropriate quiz card. Once the quiz activity is
complete go to point 5.
2. Read through each statement as a class.
3. In their groups, pupils should create a timeline
and place the statements along the timeline
in chronological order. Pupils can research
the events online and print or draw pictures to
illustrate their timeline.
4. Once the timelines have been completed, each
group should read out one statement at a time
until the whole class has agreed on the correct
order. Use the teacher sheet to confirm the
correct order if necessary.
5. Ask pupils to imagine what they think it was like
to live in Victorian London. Ask them to write a
descriptive paragraph imagining that they have
just travelled back in time. They should describe
what they can see and smell and how they feel.
6. Show the WaterAid film ‘Imagine’
7. After the film ask pupils for any reactions to what
they have seen. Explain that despite cholera
being eliminated 150 years ago in London
through the work of Dr John Snow and Joseph
Bazalgette, that cholera and poor sanitation
still exists in the world today and in fact 2.5
billion people do not have access to adequate
sanitation. This leads to disease and illness.
8. Explain that the charity WaterAid, is working to
find solutions to improve the lives of people
who do not have access to both safe water
and sanitation.
9. Watch the WaterAid film, ‘We are WaterAid’.
10.After viewing the film, ask pupils to name or
describe some of the solutions to water and
sanitation problems that they saw in the film.
Are there any that they think are particularly
interesting or that they would like to know more
about? Visit www.wateraid.org/technologies
for more detail about the technologies in the
film and the technology posters listed above.
Alternatively, pupils could use the information
on the website to come up with their own
solutions or fundraise to provide a community
in one of the 26 countries in which we work
with the chosen technology.
11.In small groups or individually, pupils should
work through the source sheet. You may want
to discuss some of the sources first.
12.Ask pupils to create an advertisement or
poster to promote WaterAid’s work and
explain the situation around the world today.
They could compare conditions in Victorian
London with conditions today to create real
impact in their message.
13. The sewage system in London was just the start of
universal access to water and sanitation in the UK.
Set pupils the challenge of discovering the story
of toilets and clean running water where they
live – when did their town or village first get taps
and toilets in every home? Who was responsible
for making it happen? Where would they have
had to collect water and go to the toilet before
this? When did the last person die from cholera in
the local area? Use WaterAid's Big History Project
toolkit to help.
14.Create a display to show the situation 150
years ago and the situation today using the
timelines and posters and local research.
Summary
15. Ask pupils to think of what they would like
to do to help WaterAid change things for the
better. This could include fundraising for a
technology such as the composting latrine in
the We are WaterAid film or thinking about why
governments are so important in providing
basic services such as water and sanitation
– pupils could ask local MPs to influence the
UK Government to make the sure the same
transformations that took place in the UK also
take place in other countries around the world.
Use the How to influence your MP toolkit to help.
www.wateraid.org/uk/schools