Learning activities

Starter activity

Think about the various 'characters' met through previous work on the Victorians, for example fishermen, market gardeners, stage-coach drivers, seaside visitors. Children to be assigned or choose a role/character to act out in the debate. Think carefully about their views and how the railway would affect their life, both positively and negatively.

Note
The Children's Activity Sheet provides a selection of 'character cards' that could be cut out and used to assign characters. Cards 1-7 and 10 could be used with or without the text below the image.

Main activity

Turn the classroom into a court. 'Should we build a railway in our town connecting to London?' or, if using characters from after the railway was built, 'Has the railway been good for the people in our town?' Each character could present their case individually for a jury to decide (jury could be teacher and/or TA), or groups of children with similar views could put forward their cases together. Time can then be given for questions to be thought of, put to the opposite side and answered.

Plenary activity

Jury to form a verdict on whether the railway should be built/has been good for the town. Children could also make a visual vote by forming a line across the classroom to represent a spectrum of belief from strongly opposed to strongly for. Discuss how the railway did affect the Victorian community in your area.