Learning activities

Starter activities

Starter activity Sa (Links to Ma or Mb)

For homework ask the children to interview members of their family who are old enough to remember Queen Elizabeth II's Silver or Golden Jubilees. How old were they when these events took place? Where were they living? Did they do anything special to celebrate these events? Did they receive/buy anything to commemorate these events? How did they feel about the Queen and the celebrations when these events happened? Ask the children to record their interviews in some way and bring them into school along with any mementoes they have collected. You may want to invite a parent or other adult into school to share their memories of these events.

Starter activity Sb (Links to Ma)

Start by showing the children pictures of Queen Victoria (available in Portraits - Queen Victoria) and Queen Elizabeth II (teacher will have to source this in advance). Who are these people? Are they important? Why? When did they become queen? How long were/have they been queen? In pairs ask the children to share their knowledge of both people and then share their knowledge and ideas as a class. Teachers may want to place both of the people on a timeline and ask appropriate questions, for example How many years had the queen been on the throne in (1897/2002)?

Starter activity Sc (Links to Ma)

Begin the lesson with the teacher or another adult sharing a special 'date' event in their lives, for example a 21st birthday, wedding anniversary and so on. What celebrations took place? Who was involved? How did you feel? If possible have available a range of mementoes related to this event that you can share with the class. Have the children been part of any similar celebrations? Ask them to share their memories.

Starter activity Sd (Links to Ma or Mb)

Ask the children to research either Queen Elizabeth II's Silver or Golden Jubilees on the internet to find out when these events happened and the sorts of celebrations that took place. (The BBC's Newsround website is a good source). Share the children's findings.

Main activities

Main activity Ma (Links to Sb and Sc)

How did/do people show and celebrate that the Queen is a special person? Tell the children that when members of the Royal family have been on the throne for a certain number of years celebrations are held called Jubilees. These are often linked to special materials, such as silver. In 1897 people were celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Using a range of sources the children are going to find out about what people in West Sussex did to celebrate this event. Ask the children to work in pairs to study the sources in order to answer these questions. Who took part in the celebrations? What did they wear? How did they celebrate? How were streets decorated? Ask the children to produce a drawing or painting to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee events that took place in 1897. Their picture should combine information collected from the various sources.

Main activity Mb (Links to Sa and Sd)

Explain to children that on special occasions when a member of the Royal Family visits a town they often take part in walkabouts where they meet their subjects. Teachers may want to share pictures of these. In 1897 people were celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The children are going to find out what Queen Victoria might have seen if she had visited West Sussex in 1897 when people were celebrating her Diamond Jubilee.

Ask the children to work in pairs to study the sources in order to answer these questions. Who did the Queen see taking part in these celebrations? How many were taking part? What were they wearing? How did they celebrate? How had they decorated their streets? How do you think the Queen felt? Ask the children to write Queen Victoria's diary for her visit. The children should be encouraged to include appropriate royal language and extracts could be written in copperplate writing either by hand or on the computer.

Plenary activities

Plenary activity Pa (Links to Ma)

Children share their pictures of the Royal Jubilee and explain which sources they used for each part. The teacher could share resources linked to Queen Elizabeth II's Silver or Golden Jubilee and show how these celebrations were similar to Queen Victoria's.

Plenary activity Pb (Links to Mb)

The children can take on the role of Queen Victoria or her servant and read out their diary extracts in a regal voice. The teacher could share an actual extract from Queen Victoria's diaries if possible related to her Diamond Jubilee - these can be found at www.royal.gov.uk/.

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