Victorian society
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe some of the features of Victorian society that are shown in the painting 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown.
Key learning points
- During Victoria's reign there were very clear groups of people, called classes, in society.
- Ford Madox Brown's 1865 painting called 'Work' shows some of these alongside many other aspects of Victorian life.
- In the middle of the painting are a group of workers called 'navvies', who are digging up the road to build a tunnel.
- Around them are both rich and poor men and women, a group of orphaned children and some sleeping unemployed men.
- At the top of the painting are two wealthy figures on horseback whose progress has been stopped by the work.
Keywords
Society - society is a large group of people who share the same ruler, laws and resources
Classes - classes are groups of people based on the job they do or how much money they have
Wealthy - If you have a lot of money and own many expensive things then you are wealthy
Common misconception
Pupils may think that classes in society are small groups, like classes at school.
Classes are groups of people, but classes in society include thousands, sometimes millions of people and they are not age related like school classes, they depend on other factors like wealth or profession.
Teacher tip
Combine art and history by asking pupils to draw a picture that they think represents society today. What type of people will they draw? They might choose to draw blue light workers who keep society safe and well, or teachers, or farmers, they may even draw the king.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Queen Victoria wrote that babies looked….
Q2.How many children did Victoria and Albert have together?
Q3.Victoria and Albert's first child was a girl who was born in…
Q4.Which of Victoria and Albert’s children became king after Victoria died in 1901?
Q5.What was chloroform?
Q6.True or False. Chloroform became quite popular because Queen Victoria used it.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to the correct meaning.
Q2.What was Ford Maddox Brown’s job?
Q3.True or False. Wealthy means someone doesn’t have much money.
Q4.Who was the ruler of the United Kingdom when Victorian society existed?
Q5.Select all the people that can be seen in the painting called ‘Work’.
Q6.A painting called ‘Work’ was painted in...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Victorian society, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Victorian society, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Queen Victoria: how did Britain change during her lifetime? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.