A Christmas Carol

Grade 7 ELA

Today's Question

How was life different for kids during Victorian times, when Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol?

Agenda

Discuss

What was the Victorian era and what do you know about it?

Explore

Do a webquest to explore life in Victorian England for kids.

Share

What are some things you learned today?

Webquest

You will go to to the BBC Primary History Victorian Britain site for this webquest.

A. First, read a little of Who were the Victorians?

    • What are a couple of things you have now that they did not have?

Many children worked in Victorian England. Let's look at what they did.

B. Some children worked in coal mines.

    • Read "What jobs did children do in mines?" and list one of those jobs.
    • Look at the Fun Facts on the page. What is an interesting fact?

C. Some children worked in factories.

    • Read "Why was factory work dangerous" and give an example of one of the dangers children faced.

D. There were many other working children. Some were as young as 5!

    • Click on the first photo and look through several photos. What is one of the jobs you see in the pictures?

E. Children who didn't have to work may have been lucky enough to go to school.

    • What was a ragged school and who went there?
    • Look at the pictures of Victorian schools. What is something you see in the pictures that looks different from your own school?

F. When people had some free (or "leisure") time, they didn't have TV or computers.

    • Victorians liked to visit the seaside. How did they get there?
    • Take a look at the pictures. What did people wear at the beach?

G. Children in Victorian times liked toys and games too!

    • What are some outdoor games they played?
    • What are some indoor games they played?

H. Most people were poor and a few were very rich. Not very many were in the middle.

    • Read the fun facts on this page. Write down one that surprises you.