1. A Victorian School Handbook A WebQuest for Year 5/6 QCA History Unit 11 - "What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?" Introduction Task Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Conclusion

2. Introduction When you started at your new school, your Mum and Dad were probably given a School Handbook to take home and read. Most School Handbooks contain general information about;- the building and facilities the teaching staff the curriculum and most importantly, what the school values and what it expects from its pupils both in work and behaviour Writing a School Handbook is never an easy job. It needs to give clear information and it also needs to persuade Mums and Dads that it is the best school for you. But what makes a good school nowadays, and was it the same in Victorian Times? This Quest is challenging you to design and write a School Handbook which might have been produced by a Victorian School.

3. The Task Before you start on the handbook itself, you will need to do a lot of research to find out how children were treated during Victorian Times. Things were a lot different then!! It would be wise for you to get a friend to help you so that you can share the load, and work your way through the Web references much quicker. You will need to take notes though, so you can share your information with each other. Once you have got the relevant information then you will need to sort out where everything goes to make the handbook. Keep in mind who this is for, your readers are Victorian parents.

4. The Process Stage 1 You need some background information first of all, and you will need to make notes from the Internet site you are about to visit for this information. This site tells you how children were treated before 1880 when most of them worked in factories, mills and down coal mines. It was not until after 1880 that all children had to go to school. At first they even had to pay a few pence for their education. Spend some time looking at this first site, as it will give you a good idea of what the children were like when they entered school for the first time. Look at the clothes, and think of the injuries and diseases some of them had. Make some notes as you explore each of the sections below: Scavengers Working Hours Deformities Accidents Workhouse children - plus any other sources of information you may want to explore. Click on the picture for a brilliant site which gives you details of what working conditions were like for children. Scroll down the page for the best items Stage 2

5. STAGE 2 Here comes the difficult bit, you might need some help from your teacher at this stage. Think back to what the children were like, then think of the job teachers had in educating them. Discuss with your teacher what would be the most important responsibilities schools had in Victorian Times. Here are some clues Children were dirty, carried diseases, some stole to get food. Their homes were cramped and overcrowded, with no clean running water. Parents could not read or write and were forced to send their children out to work to support the family. They themselves worked long hours in harsh conditions. You will probably have about 4 or 5 main points and these will help you with the writing of the school handbook. Stage 3

6. STAGE 3 Most School Handbooks were (and still are) divided into sections and it might be an idea for you to follow this plan. 1.The School buildings 2. The Staff 3. The subjects taught (Timetable) 4. Discipline, how the children are expected to work and behave. Using your notebook you can now start on the exciting bit of exploring the Web sites. Don't forget that the Internet is not the only place to get information from. You could also use reference books, photographs etc. Educate the childEducate the child This site gives you detailed information on a school day, school rules and a punishment sheet. School Log BookSchool Log Book Explore the log book to see how difficult it was to get children to attend school. 'One thing needful''One thing needful' This is a excerpt from Charles Dickens' book 'Hard Times' which tells you what the teachers were like and how they taught their pupils. 'Murdering the innocents''Murdering the innocents' This is another excerpt from Charles Dickens' book 'Hard Times' which tells you what was taught in schools, and (this will surprise you) how it was taught. The SchoolroomThe Schoolroom This is the schoolroom at the Black Country Museum site which will give you some more clues. Go to "Tour and Map", then explore the Black Country Living Museum and go to "St. James' School". Stage 4

7. STAGE 4 You should have lots of information by now, so lets get started with the handbook. if you want a 'layout planning sheet' click here.click here. Keep thinking about the following points when you are planning and deciding; 1. Think about suitable fonts, borders and clipart to accompany a Victorian Handbook. ictorian andbook 2. You are trying to 'Persuade' your audience to send their children to your school. 3. For each aspect covered, think about the 'good points' that your school has. For example, your school has high windows with arches so that children cannot see out and are not distracted from their work!! (common in those days). The arches remind them that they are in a holy place, like a church so silence is a must! (Children were expected to work in complete silence, and were punished quite severely if they spoke just once to their neighbour.)

8. CONCLUSION We hope that this Quest has given you some idea of how different children's lives were a hundred years ago! Certainly their education was no more than rote learning and the technology in the classroom was a slate and a slate pencil! It might be interesting if you do a bit of extra research to find out exactly what a slate pencil was. It was nothing like what you think of as a pencil. What was it made of? What did it look like? How did it work? What extra bit of equipment did you need to clean your slate? (Two extras if we are very precise) Can you think of a saying associated with slates (that we still use) which means "to begin all over again"? Wood was used in the construction of a slate - what function did it serve? When you think of what you have at your fingertips in a 20th century classroom, it is a whole different world.

9. Planning Sheet Stage 4