Victorian society
I can describe some of the features of Victorian society that are shown in the painting 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown.
Victorian society
I can describe some of the features of Victorian society that are shown in the painting 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
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.
To help you plan your year 2 history lesson on: Victorian society, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 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.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Queen Victoria: how did Britain change during her lifetime? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a large group of people who share the same ruler, laws and resources
groups of people based on the job they do or how much money they have