Upper Key Stage 2 Victorians

Dickensian London

After an introduction to the author, read and perform a a scene from Olive Twist.

Teaching Objectives:

• To explore the theme of child poverty in Oliver Twist and what this tells us about poverty in Victorian times.
• To read relevant texts; perform a scene, taking parts of characters, narrator etc.

Children will:

• Be introduced to the work of Charles Dickens.
• Discover the experiences of Victorian children.

• Extract from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Portrait of Charles Dickens

• Street Child by Berlie Doherty
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

8-minute audio book of the first part of Oliver Twist from YouTube.com

Brief introduction to Charles Dickens from bbc.co.uk

Examine how life has changed between Victorian and modern times.

Teaching Objectives:

• To explore the theme of child poverty in Victorian times through Oliver Twist and Street Child.
• To read relevant texts and identify how character and themes are developed. Evaluate ideas and themes.

Children will:

• Read about child poverty in Oliver Twist and Street Child.
• Understood about differences between Victorian and modern times.

• Extract from Street Child (Chpt 1: The Shilling Pie) by Berlie Doherty
• Pictures of Victorian times

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

None required

Compare villains in Oliver Twist and Street Child and create Dickensian villains.

Teaching Objectives:

• To use historical knowledge to create Dickensian characters.
• To create Victorian characters inspired by Dickens’ characters.

Children will:

• Create their own Victorian characters inspired by Dickens’ own characters.
• Use historical knowledge to create Dickensian characters.

• Picture of Dickens working at his desk and a set of character descriptions from Oliver Twist
• Invent a Villain worksheet
• WANTED poster
• Street Child extract: pp 78-79

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

None required

Learn about workhouses in Victorian London from Literary representations.

Teaching Objectives:

• To learn about life living in a Victorian workhouse.
• To find out about people and changes from a range of sources; understand about the Poorhouses and who went there.
• To explore a range of texts and websites to research workhouses and find out about the lives of poor Victorian children.

Children will:

• Understand what life was like living in a Victorian workhouse.
• Learn about some of the legal changes affecting children in the Victorian period.
• Understand about the lives of Victorian children.

• Painting ‘The Royal Family 1846’ by Franz Winterhalter compared to photo of poor Victorian family
• Transcripts from Oliver Twist and poem by workhouse poet
• A recipe for gruel

Ingredients for gruel

4-minute clip from film Oliver from YouTube.com

Information about workhouses from workhouses.org.uk

Use the magistrate's scene in Oliver Twist to learn about the apprentice system.

Teaching Objectives:

• To find out about the jobs that Victorian children did and why they did them and understand what it meant to be an apprentice.
• To explore a range of fiction and non-fiction texts to answer questions.
• To use drama to create and act out scenes between a Victorian magistrate and child.

Children will:

• Understand jobs Victorian children did.
• Understand what it meant to be an apprentice in Victorian Britain.
• Create and act out scenes between a Victorian magistrate and child.

• Pictures of oakum and chimney sweeps
• Transcripts of Oliver Twist’s Magistrate scene
• Set of prompt cards

A short piece of old rope for each child.

None required

Research a modern charity to see how the work of Victorian poverty reformers continues today.

Teaching Objectives:

• To find out about campaigners who tried to change lives of the poor.
• To explore websites to answer questions.

Children will:

• To find out about the reforming (Shaftesbury), campaigning (Dickens) and charity (Barnardo) work of Victorian people who wanted to alleviate poverty.
• To research charities working against poverty.

• Street Child extracts from pp 141-144
• Charity information template

Internet access for small groups of children

Children's charities working to fight poverty and related issues in the UK, including:
Barnardo's
Coram
Action for Children
The Children's Society