K S2 History U nit 11:
Unit 11:
Sect ion 1
Teachers ’ Guide
What was it like for children living in Victorian
Britain?
Section 1: Who were the Victorians and when did they live?
Teacher’s Guide
The QCA objectives for this unit are for children to learn to:
identify Queen Victoria and place the Vict orian period in
relation to other periods of British history
infer information from a portrait
consider what life was like for children in the past
There are four activities to choose from:
1. Identify Queen Victoria and establish when she reigned
2. Create a timeline that locates the Victorians in history
3. Produce a mini biography of Queen Victoria
4. Examine and interpret pictures from different stages of Queen
Victoria’s life
K S2 History U nit 11:
Activity 1
Sect ion 1
Teachers ’ Guide
Four Queens
1.
After introducing the topic, give out the activit y sheet 11.1. Allow
the class a few minutes to look at the pictures and consider
which one is Victoria.
2.
Open a discussion and when the class is in agreement write
“Queen Victoria” under the correct picture.
3.
Continue the discussion and identify the remaining Queens.
Children may need help with Queen Anne, but may guess. They
are, clockwise from top left:
Anne
Victoria
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth I
4 & 5 Help the class put the Queens in chronological order.
which may help date the portraits are:
style of clothes
photo or painting?
colour or black and white photo?
facial expression
6
Factors
Use an internet or library search to find out when each queen
reigned.
Extension Activity
7
Note that not all sources agree on this matter. Lady Jane Grey,
for example, is sometimes overlooked.
This whole activity can be done in reverse. Start by giving the children
the names of the four Queens then use the internet to find pictures and
dates to match. Use word processing to make a fact-sheet about each
including a portrait, name, dates of reign, and a short description.
K S2 History U nit 11:
Activity 2
Sect ion 1
Teachers ’ Guide
Placing the Victorians on a Timeline
This activity places the Victorians in history.
This activity is suitable for individual, pair and group work.
You will need scissors, glue and pens to complete this activity.
Make enlarged A3 copies of the Timeline document and
standard A4 copies of the Timeline milestones document for
each child, pair or group of children.
Explain that this activity will show when Victoria was Queen, and
that people who lived in Britain at this time were called The
Vict orians.
Give out the Milestones sheet and scissors. Ask the children to
carefully cut out the milestones and arrange the event s in date
order on the table. Use class discussion and a whiteboard to
confirm this. Check the milestones pointing up or down are
oriented correctly. The children can write the year of their birth
on the “I was born” milestone.
Ask the children to arrange them along the timeline, with The
Past and The Present markers at either end. Although the
timeline is not to scale, try to space the arrows out so that there
are gaps that reflect the longer intervals between events.
Ask the children to complete t he dates in the t op right -hand
corner of the page.
Finally, stick on the 1837 - 1901
arrow so that it points from
the title The Victorians to the right space on the timeline (ie.
between the two Queen Victoria milestones).
K S2 History U nit 11:
Sect ion 1
Activity 3
Teachers ’ Guide
Biography of Queen Victoria
In t his activity children will write a brief profile of Queen Victoria.
Give out copies of the text document Queen Victoria’s Life and
allow the children some time to read it .
Use a class discussion to find out what children t hink are the key
points and write them on a whiteboard. Guide them towards
the information they will require to complete the Biography of
Queen Victoria form if needed.
Give out copies of the Biography of Queen Victoria
and have the children complete t he form by hand, including
drawing a portrait . The picture of Queen Victoria in Activity 1 will
be ideal.
Less Able Groups
Use an interactive whiteboard to project the Biography of
Queen Victoria form, or just copy it onto a standard whiteboard.
Use supported reading and class discussion to find the key
information, and write it into the boxes on the board.
Children write their answers from the board onto copies of the
form.
K S2 History U nit 11:
Activity 4
Sect ion 1
Teachers ’ Guide
Portraits of Queen Victoria
In this activity, children use pict orial sources to find out more about
Victoria and her family.
Give out copies of the Portraits of Queen Victoria Sheet. Go
through the instructions. Encourage the use of adjectives as well
as just nouns to describe the pictures.
Pict ure 1
This 1835 portrait shows a young princess in a majestic pose. The
furniture, the crown, and the view from this room are all
spectacular. Her clothes are lavish and brightly coloured. The
expression is very composed. If children have completed
Activity 3, they should know she is not married at this stage.
Pict ure 2
The family portrait c1842 shows Queen Victoria with her husband
and daughter. The child, the toys and pets make a very
playful scene. The clothes, room and gardens seen through the
window all indicate wealth. The expressions suggest that
Victoria and Albert were a very happy couple.
Pict ure 3
This picture shows Queen Victoria at the wedding of her eldest
son Prince Edward, in 1863. You can tell it is a wedding by the
dress worn by the bride, Princess Alexandra of Denmark.
Although this should be a joyous occasion, every one in the
photograph is looking very serious and solemn. The bust is of
Prince Albert , who had died two years earlier. Victoria is wearing
black, and is not looking at the camera. After the wedding,
Victoria could not bear to attend the reception without Albert
and ate lunch alone.
Pict ure 4
This final picture shows Victoria in old age, still wearing plain
black clothes, and still looking solemn.
What can these four pict ures t ell us about Queen Vict oria’s life?
The main message that comes from the pictures is that Victoria
was very happily married to Albert and never really recovered
from his early death from influenza in 1861. Victoria went into
mourning, and shut herself off from public life. She almost always
wore black.
K S2 History U nit 11:
Sect ion 1
Teachers ’ Guide
In addition to this, the pictures also give some indication of how
rich some people were during Victorian times. Lavish clothes,
large houses and gardens, and being able to afford painted and
photographic portraits tell us how wealthy this family was.
However, not all the Victorians lived in such comfort. This is an
ideal note upon which to end Section 1 and introduce Section 2:
What was it like for a poor child living in 1840?
K S2 History U nit 11
Sect ion 1
Act ivit y 1
Four Queens
Take a look at these four Queens of England.
Queen …………………………….
Queen ……………………………
Queen …………………………….
Queen ……………………………..
K S2 History U nit 11
Sect ion 1
Act ivit y 1
1.
Discuss who you think the queens are with your classmates and
your teacher.
2.
Write Victoria under the correct portrait.
3.
Write the names of the other queens under the correct portrait.
4.
Use the portraits to help you put these queens in date order.
That means the earliest queen would go first, and the latest
queen last.
Write the names in the table below
Queen
5.
from
Reign
to
How did the pictures help you put the Queens in date order?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
6.
Find out when these four Queens reigned then complete the
table.
Extension Activity
7.
Use an internet search to find out if England has been ruled by
any other Queens. Who were they and when did they reign?
Queen Victoria reigned from ..……. until ….… ,
the longest reign of any British monarch
It was a time of great change in Britain
and around the world
British people who lived at this time
were called
KS 2 History Unit 11:
The Victorians
What was it li ke for children li ving in Britai n?
Section 1: Who wher e the Victorians and when did they live?
Acti vity 2: Placi ng the Victorians on a ti meline
KS 2 History Unit 11
Section 1
Ac tivity 2
1837 - 1901
I was born
1559 AD
Queen
Elizabeth I’s
reign begins
793 AD
Vikings first
invade Britain
2600 BC
Great Pyramids
being built in
ancient Egypt
1837 AD
Queen Victoria’s
reign begins
1666 AD
Great Fire of
London
1939 –
1945 AD
World War 2
Today
Me at school
studying history
1901 AD
Queen
Victoria
dies aged 82
43 AD
Romans invade
Britain
The
Past
The
Present
1779 AD
The first iron
bridge is built
KS2 History Unit 11
Section 1
Activity 3
Biography of Queen Victoria
Portrait
Born
Reign
Marriage
Character
Other Facts
K S2 History U nit 11
Sect ion 1
Act ivit y 4
Pictures of Queen Victoria
Below are four pictures of Victoria and her family at different stages of her
life. Choose some words that you think describe the scene, the clothes,
and the expressions in each picture.
1. Portrait of Queen Victoria 1835
Scene
Clothes
Expression
2. Family Portrait c1842
Scene
Clothes
Expressions
K S2 History U nit 11
Sect ion 1
Act ivit y 4
3. Family Photograph 1863
Scene
Clothes
Expressions
4. Photograph of Queen Victoria 1899
Scene
Clothes
Expression
What can these four pictures tell us about Queen Victoria’s life?