大象传媒

Video summary

In this short film for primary schools Dodger and the gang provide an introduction to Victorian London which was, at that time, the biggest city in the world.

At the time Britain was the largest, richest and most powerful empire in history. But not much of that prosperity had reached the people of London and, as Dodger and the gang point out, pollution was a serious problem.

They also highlight the terrible smell, mentioning the Big Stink of 1858, and the thick fogs caused by the burning of coal.

This short film is from the 大象传媒 Teach series Dodger's Guide to Victorian Britain.

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Teacher Notes

Before watching the film

This short film explores a number of themes which could provide fruitful follow-up work in the classroom. Although it does describe the conditions in London and the 1858 Big Stink, this guide does not reference this, as the issues were explored in the second video on poverty. One new theme is immigration, and although London may have been more cosmopolitan than other British cities, it makes sense to concentrate on a city closer to your pupils. Whether the classroom focus is say Belfast, Cardiff or Glasgow, there will be immigrant groups which have helped to shape the city.

As a teacher you will need to be sensitive to the topic of migration, as it may directly affect some of the children in your class. They should not feel they are the focus of the lesson or for there to be any expectation to discuss their own family circumstances, although they may choose to, as this will make the topic event more relevant to the class. Given the potentially emotive nature of the topic, there is guidance for teachers on how to approach this . Please note that this PDF guide was created to support another 大象传媒 Teach resource for secondary schools, although the themes and advice is universal. By upper KS2, pupils will be more engaged in history if they find it challenging and there are rich rewards for both children and teacher, in addressing this issue.

Another theme to explore is leisure. Given that many of the films have focused on the hard lives of Victorians, it is important to provide a contrasting aspect of 19th century life. Pupils create mental pictures of the past and can have preconceived ideas of historical periods. With the Victorian era, it can be seen by the children as a hard and miserable period, yet there were also times of fun and enjoyment.

Questions to consider whilst watching the film

Depending on the focus of your lesson, you may wish to ask the following questions after the video or pause the short film at certain points to check for understanding.

  • Which famous landmarks in London were built by the Victorians?
  • What groups from other countries were living in London?
  • What were the reasons for the Big Stink in 1858?
  • What caused smog?
  • What did you learn about music halls from the film?
  • What changes to football happened during Victorian times?

After watching the film - activities to further explore learning

  • Concept of causation - One of the most important concepts in history is cause and consequence. The topic of migration provides an opportunity to explore causation by focusing on the reasons why different migrant groups came to Britain. This could help to reinforce the term push and pull factors.

    This 大象传媒 Teach video provides a general overview to migration, explaining the terms push and pull factors, and from this depth studies could be explored.

    The film mentions a number of migrant groups and these can exemplify both push and pull factors:Push: French Protestants fleeing religious persecution or escaping famine in the case of Irish Catholics.Pull: Job opportunities for Italian Catholics or Muslim sailors.

    The pupils could work in groups with each one researching a different immigrant group with the task of identifying the main reasons why they came to Britain. Depending on your school context, you may wish to explore different migrant groups or extend the period of study to look at immigration in the 20th century. There are web resources to support this study; for example the 大象传媒 Teach Black British Stories films, which explore 鈥榯he experiences and contributions of people from communities across the UK鈥.

  • Storytelling can be a very powerful approach in history, encouraging the pupils to listen to people recounting their stories of migration to Britain. If the school has community links, then it may be possible for someone to come and talk to your class about their experiences or those of their parents or grandparents. If not, the website contains migrant stories, collated by young people and these cover many migrant groups.

  • Historical enquiry - The topic of Victorian leisure provides further opportunities for pupils to develop their skills of historical enquiry. The film highlights the Victorian origins of some famous football clubs. History is always more meaningful to children if it can be linked to the local area and so the pupils could research the origins of their local football club; many, but not all, have their roots in Victorian Britain. If football is not relevant to your school context, then other sports could be researched; most popular team sports, like cricket and rugby, can also trace their competitive origins to the Victorian period.

    Historical enquiry also requires children to ask and answer questions based on a range of historical sources and this topic has a wide range of sources to explore, both written and visual. For example, the film mentions the music hall. There are obvious links here to music but the lyrics to songs can also be historical sources in their own right, revealing insights into life in Victorian times. has collated some of the more popular music hall songs, along with their words. Not all the songs can be treated as historical sources in this way, but there are some good examples such as Daisy Bell, sung by Dodger and the crossing sweeper in the video, and Any Old Iron, the cry of a rag and bone man.

    There are other leisure pursuits to be studied through examining visual sources, such as advertisements and photographs. has produced a resource which links to its collection of visual sources on leisure in Victorian Britain. In addition, has a collection of images for classroom use and these can be searched by key word and then filtered to the Victorian period. This website also has a on seaside holidays and although the photograph is from 1907, it would not have been that much different in Victorian times.

    Finally, a case study of Pablo Fanque can link the two topics of migration and leisure. He was famous as the first non-white British circus owner in Britain. He was born in Norwich as William Darby; the background of his parents is uncertain, with speculation that his father 鈥渨as Indian-born and had been brought to Norwich and trained as a house servant.鈥 This 大象传媒 Teach video provides an introduction to Pablo Fanque and his circus, as well as one of the posters he used to advertise his circus. The website provides suggestions to how you could follow-up the video in the classroom.

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England

From the History national curriculum:Pupils should:

  • understand historical concepts such as cause and consequence.
  • understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims.

Northern Ireland

From the statutory requirements for Key Stage 2: The World Around UsPupils should be enabled to explore:

  • Change over time in places

To provide a balance of experiences in History pupils could study:

  • Places then and now and how our identity, way of life and culture has been shaped by influences from the local and wider world.
  • Some of the characteristics of past societies and distinctive features of life in the past.
  • Reasons for and effects of historical events.

Teaching should provide opportunities for children as they move through Key Stages 1 and 2 to progress:_

  • _from sequencing events and objects on a time line in chronological order to developing a sense of change over time and how the past has affected the present.

Scotland

From the Experiences and Outcomes for planning learning, teaching and assessment of Second Level Social Studies

  • I can use primary and secondary sources selectively to research events in the past.
  • I can interpret historical evidence from a range of periods to help build a picture of Scotland鈥檚 heritage and my sense of chronology.
  • I can investigate a Scottish historical theme to discover how past events or the actions of individuals or groups have shaped Scottish society.

Wales

From the new Humanities Area of Learning and ExperienceSchool curriculum design for History should:

  • develop historical 鈥 source-based skills.
  • develop rich content across the time periods, through which learners can develop an understanding of chronology through exploring 鈥 cause and effect 鈥 the use of evidence.
  • expose learners of all ages to a range of historical periods on a local, national and global scale.

Principles of progressionDescriptions of learning for Progression Step 2

Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future:

  • I have experienced a range of stimuli, and had opportunities to participate in enquiries, both collaboratively and with growing independence.

Human societies are complex and diverse, and shaped by human actions and beliefs:

  • I have explored some causes and effects of events and changes in my community over time.
  • I have explored and am aware of diversity in communities.
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Dodger's guide to being a Victorian kid. video

In this short film for primary schools Dodger and the gang provide a brief guide to life for children in Victorian Britain, including some of the ways in which children were employed.

Dodger's guide to being a Victorian kid

Dodger's guide to poverty and the workhouse. video

In this short film for primary schools Dodger and the gang provide a brief guide to the Victorian workhouse and the common diseases from the time, particularly cholera.

Dodger's guide to poverty and the workhouse

Dodger's guide to key inventions. video

In this short film for primary schools Dodger and the gang provide a guide to those inventions from the Victorian era which changed lives then and now.

Dodger's guide to key inventions

Dodger's guide to crime and punishment. video

In this short film for primary schools Dodger and the gang provide a brief guide to crime and punishment in Victorian Britain.

Dodger's guide to crime and punishment
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