Teaching Victorian Britain at KS2

KS2 Life in Victorian times outstanding lessons

Teaching the Victorians under the current history curriculum. Incredibly Gove deemed that Life in Victorian times should not be a compulsory part of the KS2 history curriculum. So we need to find imaginative ways round this. Here are three to consider:

1. Make it the focus of your local history study. Build up some census return data on a database and make it a vehicle for some great ICT work, asking and answering questions and raising and testing hypotheses.

2. Make it the focus of your thematic study e.g. development of the railways for example

3. Carry on teaching it outside the National Curriculum. This does not mean extra time for history. You gain time by shaving a little off the other units.

There is just so much good planning, teaching and resourcing of the Victorians going on in schools today that we can’t throw it all out on a Gove’s whim. The outstanding lessons below continue to prove what can be done with this exciting topic.

PLEASE NOTE: Because this not a compulsory unit we have not aligned the lessons as closely with the planning so please bear this in mind. Not everything on the planner will have a lesson or a smart task.