UKS2 – The Victorians
Activities
Year 5 and 6 Number
 Transform the classroom into a Victorian town, with a bakers, grocers, chemist and other traditional
shops. Price produce in pounds, shillings, pence and farthings. Practise adding and subtracting numbers
mentally by asking students to role-play being the shopkeeper and the customer.
 Give students different traditional Victorian occupations to role-play. Receive a payslip for one week’s
work and share out the money to pay for food, coal and other produce which were vital to living in
Victorian times.
Year 5 Number
Captain Cod Activity – Use decimal notation and place value.
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Mrs Cow’s Milk Activity – Multiply and divide integers and decimals by powers of 10.
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Year 6 Number
Puppy in the Window Activity – Use efficient written methods to divide integers by a one-digit
integer.
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Year 5 and 6 Fractions and decimals, ratio and proportion
 Link to DT: Draw a scale design of a Victorian bridge on squared paper. Make a scale model of the
bridge or another example of Victorian architecture.
 Be a Victorian housekeeper. Research different Victorian recipes. Alter the amount of each ingredient in
the recipe, for a different number of guests.
 Price the ingredients for a Victorian recipe, in today’s money. Calculate the cost of a meal for families
of different sizes. Calculate the cost of a single portion of the recipe.
Year 5 Fractions and decimals
Snow Hope Activity – Round decimal fractions to the nearest whole number or to the nearest
tenth.
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Snow Hope Activity – Round numbers to a given number of decimal places.
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Year 6 Ratio and proportion
Fluffy Clouds Activity – ratio and proportion.
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UKS2 – The Victorians page 1
Activities
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Year 6 Algebra
Football Mad Activity – Simplify algebraic expressions.
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Be a Victorian architect for the day. Design a bridge using imperial measurements.
- Travel forward in time to the present day and convert the bridge measurements into metric.
- Price bridge building materials in traditional pounds, shillings and pence and keep to a budget for
the design and build.
- Research how the local area has changed since Victorian times. Use modern maps to calculate the
lengths of canals and railroads in the local area. Convert the distances into imperial measurements.
Year 5 Measure
Moon Mission Activity – Convert between one metric unit and another.
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Year 6 Measure
Moon Mission Activity – Use metric and imperial units to solve problems (with a calculator).
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Year 5 and 6 Geometry
 Organise the class into small groups and give each group an architectural drawing of a Victorian
bridge, viaduct or building. In groups, ask the students to mark off the different angles, i.e. acute,
obtuse or reflex.
 As a class, read the book “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne.
- Practise plotting co-ordinates by playing a Phileas Fogg coordinates game.
- Organise the class into pairs and give each player a coordinate axis.
- Each player should cut out 5 cards, 5cm by 5cm square.
- On each of the cards they should write a means of transport that Phileas Fogg used, on his journey
- Each player should place their cards randomly on their grid, without showing their partner.
- Players should then call out coordinates, with the aim of hitting one of their opponent’s cards.
Year 5 Geometry
Bar-B-Shapes Activity – Measuring angles.
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Year 6 Geometry
Tin Can Splash Activity – Locate a point within 2 quadrants using the given co-ordinates.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/734/8/2/1
Year 5 Forces
 Research the Scientist Sir Isaac Newton and his discoveries. If possible, visit Woolsthorpe Manor, the
birthplace and family home of Sir Isaac Newton. Visit the Science Discovery Centre and explore some of
UKS2 – The Victorians page 2
Activities
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Newton’s theories and see where he developed some of his most important discoveries about light and
gravity.
Use a Newton meter to weigh different objects. Give the objects a Victorian theme.
Link to PE: Investigate the forces acting on different PE equipment and draw diagrams with force
arrows on each one, for example, a ball being thrown at and hit by a rounders bat or a basketball
being bounced on the ground. Compare the forces acting on objects in the air and objects floating in
water in order to identify upthrust as a force.
Investigate air resistance by comparing the rate at which paper falls when folded in different ways.
Investigate water resistance acting on different shaped pieces of modelling clay. How does streamlining
an object affect its movement in water?
Use a Newton meter to investigate the force needed to pull an object across different surfaces, for
example, sandpaper or grass.
Investigate the forces which are acting in different simple mechanisms. Identify which mechanism (i.e.
lever, gear or pulley) is most suitable for a particular task.
Outer Space Activity – Understand the concept of gravity and know that it can be measured.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/1116/7/3/1
Box Carts Learn Screen – Setting up a fair and consistent experiment to test friction on different
surfaces.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/12619/5/3/6
Box Carts Activity – To investigate which surface will slow an object down the most.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/556/7/3/1
Vive La Resistance Activity – Understanding friction force including air resistance and water
resistance.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/961/7/3/1
Speed Bumps Game Learn Screen – Understanding that different surfaces have different friction in
the context of a toy car going up and down hills.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/12917/7/3/6
Speed Bumps Game Activity – Explore friction by changing a track's surface materials and the
effect such surfaces have on a car's motion and ability to climb hills.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/1777/7/3/1
Extreme Sports Activity – ‘Forces’ in action.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/1088/7/3/1
Year 6 Electricity
Robot Repair Learn Screen – Understanding voltage in electric circuits.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/12621/8/3/6
Robot Repair Activity – Fit the correct component that best suits the performance of the circuit.
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Short Fuse Activity – Understanding circuits and fuses in the home environment.
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Circuit Builder Topic Tool – Explore a range of circuits and the components required to build them.
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UKS2 – The Victorians page 3
Activities
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Electric Shock Activity – Fit the correct component that best suits the performance of the circuit.
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Robot Repair Activity – Fit the correct components into the circuit, using the circuit diagram as
reference.
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Research the history of the electric telegraph, through to the invention of the telephone by Alexander
Graham Bell in 1876.
Make a simple homemade electric telegraph and learn to send messages in Morse code.
Research the important discoveries in the history of electricity, for example:
- Thales the Greek, who discovered that rubbing amber (ilektron) with a piece of fur, created static
electricity which could be used to attract lightweight objects, such as feathers.
- Thomas Edison, the American inventor, who created a commercially viable version of the light bulb.
Create a matching card game to learn the names and functions of different circuit symbols.
Use drama to demonstrate the flow of electricity through a circuit:
- Students could represent the different components, including the wire, in a circuit.
- They could show the flow of electricity in the circuit, as a ball passing from student to student.
- Demonstrating that the ball is the current and that the cell has a voltage which pushes the electric
current around the circuit. Students could also show that the higher the voltage (the more cells) the
greater the current. They could also demonstrate the effect of a break in any part of the circuit, i.e.
the electricity (ball) cannot flow around the circuit.
- In groups, act out different scenarios e.g. an open switch or adding another cell. Discuss these as a
class.
Give students examples of different circuit diagrams containing a bulb. These examples should include
circuit diagrams which will light the bulb and circuit diagrams which will not. Discuss as a class which
of the circuits would successfully light the bulb and why. Allow the students to construct the circuits to
test their ideas. As a class, create a checklist of requirements for a circuit to light a bulb successfully.
Investigate the effect of adding multiple bulbs in a series circuit, making observations of the effect on
the brightness of the bulbs. Similarly, investigate the effect of adding an additional cell to a series
circuit containing a motor or buzzer. Discuss how adding too many cells to a circuit could damage a
component by passing too much current through it.
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Activities
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Read the poem ‘Chimney Sweeper’ by William Blake.
Identify the different poetic features in the poem.
Write a diary entry as the character from the poem.
Write a play script to perform the poem as a play.
Accompany the performance of the play with a presentation of images and sound effects using digital
recording equipment.
Read a piece of older literature, such as, ‘The Water Babies’ by Charles Kingsley or ‘Oliver Twist’ by
Charles Dickens, then:
- after reading the book, watch the film version. Compare and discuss the differences and similarities
between the two versions.
- look at the different film techniques used throughout the film to express the mood of a particular
scene, for example, the use of music, lighting, camera angles and scenery.
- create a storyboard of a particular scene in the film and present the storyboard using a multimedia
presentation.
- role-play a scene from the book. Then write a new version of the scene by writing it from the
perspective of one of the characters.
- analyse the author’s writing style and write a sequel to the book.
Imagine that you are a great Victorian inventor with a new, world-changing invention.
- Write a technical description of your invention.
- Draw an annotated scale drawing of your invention, with a list of materials required to make it.
- Write an explanation of its purpose and detailed instructions on how to use it.
- Create a Victorian styled advertisement to promote your new invention.
- Write a newspaper article to review inventions created by others in the class.
Swamp Fever Learn Screen – An introduction to a range of poetic devices such as structure and
those used to create vivid mental images or evoke emotions and feelings.
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Swamp Fever Activity – Identify different poetic elements and devices.
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The Writing Process Learn Screen – Decide on a purpose for writing, an audience, and a genre.
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Grammar Island Learn Screen – To understand and recognise relative clauses which begin with a
relative pronoun.
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Force Field Activity – Match punctuation marks to their definitions.
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UKS2 – The Victorians page 5
Activities
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Create a database containing information about the children in the class, for example: their name, age,
and shoe size.
Use the database to demonstrate how to perform basic and complex searches.
Show children examples of the 1891 census database and as a class use the database to research the
family history of either themselves or a famous person.
No Uncertain Terms Activity – Answer questions about the efficient use of search terms /
keywords.
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Smooth Operator Activity – Investigate the use of operators and keywords when searching the
internet.
https://ec1.educationcity.com/content/index/20078/7/8/1
French and Spanish
 Transform an area of the classroom into a Victorian café and role-play being different characters,
including the waiter/waitress, cook and customer.
- Practise ordering food from the café in either French or Spanish.
- Role-play asking the price of items on the menu and paying the bill.
- As the cook, learn how to say the ingredients of a recipe and the steps involved in making it.
French
Dans la Cuisine Activity – Get food ready for a party by understanding kitchen and food
vocabulary.
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Bon Appetit Activity – Identify word classes in a food context.
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Recette de bûche de Noël Activity – Understanding action verbs to sequence the steps of a recipe
to make a Christmas log cake.
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Un Euro de Plus Activity – Run errands in a shop and pay using coins.
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Vous Désirez? Activity – Learn how to order food and pay for it in a café setting.
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UKS2 – The Victorians page 6
Activities
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Spanish
Un euro de más Activity – Run errands in a shop and pay using coins.
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Qué desea? Activity – Learn how to order food and pay for it in a café setting.
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HISTORY
 Create a timeline of significant events in Victorian history.
 Display images of Victorian children from both rich and poor backgrounds. Compare what life was like
for these Victorian children.
 Research what life was like in the workhouse in Victorian Britain. Link this to English and the book and
film version of “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens.
 Research different famous Victorian inventions and their inventors and place them on a time line, for
example, George Stephenson’s first steam locomotive.
 Investigate the industrial revolution and how Britain became a world leader in trade and industry.
 Look at the influence which transport had in changing Victorian Britain, for example, the role of canals
and the railways:
- Visit local Victorian landmarks, such as a canal or railway.
- Take digital photos of Victorian architecture.
 Visit a Victorian museum such as Blists Hill or the Birmingham Black Country Living Museum. Dress up
as a Victorian citizen.
 Have a Victorian school day, and use this to compare how Victorian schooling differs to schooling
today:
- Attend school in Victorian clothes and follow a typical Victorian school day.
- Use traditional equipment, such as, a slate pencil and slate, or a dip pen, ink and blotting paper to
write.
- Play traditional Victorian parlour games and at playtime use hoops, tops, skipping ropes and other
Victorian toys.
- Recite the names and dates of the Kings and Queens of England, as children in a Victorian school
would have.
- Use an abacus to work out mathematical calculations.
- Record weight and measures in imperial measurements rather than metric.
 Display the contents of an original school log book e.g. attendance, illness, punishments and school
inspections. Keep a school log book for the term in the same style.
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
 Design a Victorian fairground ride (link to science work on forces and electricity):
- Use pulleys, wheels and elastic bands to investigate rotational movements of pulleys and drivebelts.
- Investigate how to adapt the rotational movement of a pulley from horizontal to vertical.
- Use investigations with pulleys to design a rational mechansim for a fairground ride.
- Design and construct a working model of a fairground ride.
- Use a simple electric motor to power the ride.
UKS2 – The Victorians page 7
Activities
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Design and build a scale model of a Victorian bridge (link to ratio and proportion in Mathematics and
forces in Science):
- Research different types of bridge construction.
- Link to Science by investigating forces, materials, loads and shapes. Discuss how these factors
influence the design of a bridge.
- Identify the types of bridge designs used in famous bridges, such as the Forth Bridge. Discuss the
reasons as to why that particular design was chosen, in that particular place.
- Visit some local bridges and take digital photographs or make sketches as records.
- Give students access to different construction materials and, in small groups, ask them to design a
bridge, taking into account the qualities of the materials.
- Link to Maths and draw a scale drawing of the bridge design and then select materials to construct
the bridge.
Lever Forever Learn Screen – Explore how levers allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.
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Gear oh Gear Learn Screen – Explore how gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.
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Oh, Pulleys Learn Screen – Explore how pulleys allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.
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ART
 Sketch different Victorian artefacts.
 Look at examples of Victorian decoupage and create a piece of decoupage art.
 Create a Victorian silhouette portrait.
 Research the life and works of the Victorian artist William Morris:
- Produce a pattern design in his style.
- Produce a print block or stencil of the design and use it to make a repeated pattern, creating a
piece of William Morris inspired wrapping paper.
- Use a digital painting package to create a repeated William Morris pattern.
PE
 Play traditional Victorian games, such as tag, British bulldog, hopscotch, leapfrog, tug of war and
football.
 Use a selection of Victorian toys such as hoops, tops, skipping ropes.
UKS2 – The Victorians page 8
Activities
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