Learning activities

Note
Activity 1a - Introduction could be given as a homework task before studying Trade and Industry Activity 1b - Farming, Fishing and Market Gardening; or used in the classroom as a Starter Activity (see Starters Sc, Sd and Se).

Starter activities

Starter activity Sa (Links to any main activity)

Prior to the lesson, children to interview their grandparents (they could share memories about what the children's great-grandparents used to do) to find out as much as the children can about changes in their relatives' lifetimes and their jobs. Discussion could then take place about what has changed and whether these are jobs still carried out today.

Starter activity Sb (Links to any main activity)

Discuss 'What sort of jobs do people in or near your town do?'. Do you think many people did this work in West Sussex in the Victorian era?

Starter activity Sc (Links to any main activity)

Look through the 'Introduction' photos - name as many Victorian jobs as you can.

Starter activity Sd (Links to any main activity)

Children to have copies of the 'Introduction' photo sources. Group the photos into themes - Children could decide or teacher could direct less able, for example farming, the sea, tourism, food and drink and so on.

Starter activity Se (Links to any main activity)

Sort the 'Introduction' photo sources/titles of the jobs into Venn diagrams - jobs now and Victorian jobs. This could be done on the interactive whiteboard as a whole class activity or in pairs or small groups.

Main activities

Main activity Ma (Links to any starter and plenary activity)

Children to become 'experts'. Divide class into 3 groups - Farming, Fishing, and Market Gardening. Explain that these were common jobs in Victorian West Sussex. Each group to take 1 of the 3 job types. Look through the evidence and answer the questions from the question sheet as a whole group. Once they have become experts, at least one from each group forms a new group which contains an expert from each category. The experts explain what they know and share with the others to answer the questions.

Main activity Mb (Links to any starter and plenary activity)

Divide children into 3 job categories - Farming, Fishing and Market Gardening. Explain that these were common jobs in Victorian West Sussex. Each group to answer their questions about their section and then to make a mini-presentation to share with the rest of the class what they have learnt.

Main activity Mc (Links to any starter and plenary activity)

Children to work independently to research and complete the children's question sheets. There are 3 sections - Market Gardening, Farming and Fishing. Each child to take one section of interest. Explain that these were common jobs in Victorian West Sussex. This can be done on the computers or printed off and used in class.

Plenary activities

(Pa) (Links to any starter and main activity)

Thought shower (brainstorm) - How did jobs change in Victorian Sussex? Why were there not so many people working in some traditional jobs at the end of the 19th century as there were earlier? For example, changes in transport, fewer jobs, industrialization, cheaper meat imported, town size increased so more need for some jobs, newer jobs becoming more attractive, for example working in hotels rather than on a farm.

(Pb) (Links to any starter except Sa and any main activity)

Needs to be made prior to lesson but share results in the plenary. Make a class database/chart of their parent's jobs (information could be shared as a secret ballot if there are sensitive issues). Compare this breakdown to the common Victorian jobs. What is the reason for the difference and the change? Why are the common Victorian jobs no longer found in such large numbers?