Learning activities

Starter activities

Starter activity Sa (Links to main activity Ma)

Whole and paired activity. In pairs choose one item that you would put into a time capsule to provide evidence for today's schooling. Can the pupils stand up and say why they have chosen it? This then leads into looking at sources about schools from the past.

Starter activity Sb (Links to main activity Ma)

Whole class discussion - What would it be like if there was no school? What would you do all day? What would you be expected to do? Why do we have school? If you created your own what would be included? Look at Picture 1 - when was this? This then leads into: one of the main changes in the Victorian period was the beginning of schools. Children went from working to being in school.

Starter activity Sc (Links to main activity Mb)

With a partner, write down 10 school rules that we have. Share these back to the class. Record these onto a whiteboard or flipchart.

Starter activity Sd - Role-play

Teacher to enter room (could be in costume) and act as a Victorian teacher (strict authoritative voice, call children by surnames, brief Victorian task, for example recite tables, copperplate handwriting, ask children for their penny fee, 'Why aren't you wearing correct clothing?' and such like). Teacher to break out of role-play and ask the children what was different from normal. Look at Source 3a on school fees. When do they think this was written? Ask the children to work out how much their family would have to pay for schooling if they were Victorian children. (If this starter is completed, it will answer Questions 2 and 3 on the Children's Activity Sheet.)

Main activities

Main activity Ma (Links to any starter activity)

Use the children's question sheets and complete (could be individually, paired or online).

Main activity Mb (Links to starter activity Sc)

Look at the Warnham rules (Source 5a). How are these different from today? What is the same? Which are better? Why do you think that they had rules like this? Children in pairs to look at the rules and draw a Venn diagram or chart (depending on ability) showing which rules are common today and which are not. Extension activity: children could discuss the changes in language in the rules and words that aren't used any more, such as Headmaster.

Plenary activities

Plenary activity Pa (Links to main activity Ma)

True or false quiz based on the information in the activity sheets, for example -  Did you have to pay to go to school?

Plenary activity Pb (Links to any main activity)

Tell your partner something that surprised you or something that you didn't understand that you could further investigate for homework. How else could we find more out about Victorian schools apart from these sources?

Plenary activity Pc (Links to any main activity)

Class vote - move to a side of the classroom to show your vote. Which school system would you prefer? Teacher to then act as interviewer and ask the children why they are standing where they have chosen.

Note
This activity includes an additional theme that could be used as homework or a short classroom task: 1a - Absenteeism. Children look at the sources and answer the questions on the Extension: Absenteeism - Children's Activity Sheet.