Takeaway menu: The Victorian tea room
How to use this menu
You must produce a homework project
that includes research on a famous
Victorian inventor or invention, 18371901. Example topics and people
include:
 William Henry Fox-Talbot
Tea for two
Don’t fancy working on your own? Try
our paired work ‘tea for two’ menu
instead!
The Victorian
Tea Room
 You can choose six items from the
menu and cover at least two famous
inventors/inventions.
 Alexander Graham Bell
 Steam trains (Puffing Billy), the
sewing machine or gramophone
The rules
1) You must complete at least one
sandwich, scone and cake to
complete the tea.
2) The tea strength-o-meter suggests
the level of challenge the homework
may offer. The stronger the harder!
Stretch yourself!
3) You must work on this takeaway
homework menu each week.
© www.teachithistory.co.uk 2014
Sources of information

http://www.radiotimes.com/news
/2013-01-08/the-50-greatestbritish-inventions

http://resources.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/homework/vict
orians/inventiotimeline.html
Do not copy and
paste information!
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Use the menu to select
a three course
homework tea.
Takeaway menu: The Victorian tea room
Sandwich
Scone
Cake
Select a delicious savoury snack!
Choose sweet scone, and layer on the
cream and jam!
Indulge in a decadent gateau!
 Create a leaflet which summarises this
person or invention. Use key terms,
research, at least 10 facts (in your own
words), images and colour. Make it
informative and eye catching.
 Create an advert for a Victorian magazine
summarising this invention. Use key terms,
research, at least 10 facts (in your own
words), images and colour. Make it
informative and eye catching.
 Create a mind-map summarising this
invention or person. Use key terms,
research, at least 10 facts (in your own
words), images and colour. Make it
informative and eye catching.

Create a key word dictionary. Identify key
terms and words linked to this person or
invention and define them.
 Create a mini museum dedicated to this
person or invention. You could include
replica models, models, labels and
explanations. Perhaps even a leaflet for
visitors to your museum?
 Create a Horrible Histories style book,
guide or 5-10 minute film/performance
which explains all about this person or
invention. Think about carefully about
how you present your work. Include key
terms and pictures. If it’s a play, you need
a script, props and costumes!
 Create a fact file for fans of this person or
the invention. Include the key facts,
pictures and opinions about their
invention.
 Create a comic strip about this
person/invention. Use pictures and key
words to explain the images you’ve created
in a clear way.
 Write a newspaper article relevant to this
person or topic. You should present your
work in a newspaper format and include
accurate facts, interviews and images. You
could even include advertisements for other
Victorian inventions.

Write an obituary or create a plaque
inscription dedicated to this person or
invention. Make it informative, including
why they are important and should be
remembered.
 Create 10-15 challenging quiz questions
about this person or invention. Make sure
you know the answers to your quiz! Try to
use an interesting quiz format.

Write three ‘tweets’ that could summarise
this person or invention. You can use up to
a maximum of 140 characters. Use hashtags
for key words (e.g. #invention)!
Tea bag key:
1 = simple
© www.teachithistory.co.uk 2014
2= challenge
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3 = ultimate
Takeaway menu: The Victorian tea room
Teaching notes
The idea of ‘takeaway homework’ has come from @teachertoolkit on Twitter. Have a look at
#takeawayhwk for more great ideas and further explanation of the benefits of offering this sort of
choice to students.
‘The Victorian tea room’ offers students a choice of activities to complete over a number of weeks.
They must choose a ‘sandwich’, ‘scone’ and ‘cake’ so would probably need at least three weeks of
homework to complete the project. The benefit is that students feel greater ownership of the work,
and it allows for differentiation and target setting. There are also options for paired work (‘tea-fortwo’).
Tasks are graded for difficulty/challenge
Tea bag strength-o-meter key:
1 = simple
2= challenge
3 = ultimate
You could specify that students must complete at least one ‘ultimate’ task, and one ‘challenge’.
Alternatively, target individual students based on their ability.
Instructions for printing
The ‘menu’ needs to be printed out (if you can print double sided then make sure it is set to ‘Flip
pages on short edge’, or you can just glue the pages back to back). It can then be folded into thirds
to form a leaflet. Instructions for students are given on the ‘How to use this menu’ panel which
should appear on the inside flap of the leaflet if it’s folded correctly! The inside then opens out with
all the menu options, and the back of leaflet has the ‘tea for two’ option.
Student self-review
A generic resource ‘Takeaway homework: self-review’ is also available on Teachit History (‘23787’)
and can be used alongside ‘The Victorian tea room’. The resource enables students to set
themselves a target, record their progress by week, and get their work reviewed by their classmates.
© www.teachithistory.co.uk 2014
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