An Internet WebQuest on Victorian England

Introduction This project is called a Webquest. It will help you to better understand many areas of Victorian life. You will work in teams of four to accomplish the given task. In order to be successful, you will need to work cooperatively, use your time and resources effectively and complete the task as instructed. You will need to use your research, writing and presenting skills. You are a team of reporters, photographers and journalists for Time Life. You have managed to meet someone who believes your story.

The Quest As good journalists would, you have decided to take advantage of your unique situation. You will choose one of the following feature stories for your group to complete. Your final product will be a newspaper featurette. You may decide how you want to present your project to the class.

Feature 1. Learn about child labour. Interview a child worker or factory owner to find out what it was like to write your story or article. Feature 2. Learn about daily life in Victorian England. Interview men and woman to find out what they did, what their homes were like, what types of activities they enjoyed and the events that were going on during the time. Feature 3. Learn about Victorian fashion. Of course every good magazine has to include fashion. Tell what the latest fashion trends were of the time. Feature 4. Find out what Christmas was like during the Victorian era. We know that Charles Dickens is responsible for a renewed interest in Christmas, find out how the Victorians really celebrated and learn about the customs (some of which we still celebrate today.)

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone Don't forget to try to answer the 5 W's of reporting- who, what, where, when, why (and sometimes how). Every group member has a specific task, but you will all be working on the writing and researching of the articles. Your specific title or task means that it is your responsibility to make sure that you as a group get that specific job done (i.e. the photographer provides texts and photos on his field, the editor sets the timeline and oversees the project etc.). The following are your roles (choose one for each group member):

1. photographer/writer Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to photographer/writer: In addition to sharing the writing, the photographer is responsible for locating and downloading or scanning relevant photos or drawings.

2. editor/writer Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to editor/writer: In addition to sharing the writing, the editor is in charge of of overseeing the project. They should keep the group on task, set a timeline, and check the progress that the group is making.

3. reporter/writer Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to reporter/writer: In addition to helping to write the articles, the reporters will be responsible for printing hard copies of the articles and will have a large decision in how the newsletter will be put together.

The Resources The Industrial Revolution - Britain becomes the workshop of the world. Use the indexes and links to find out more from this page. The BBC site full of useful information which you can navigate your way round The Industrial Revolution The Victorian Web - Tons of information on various aspects of Victorian Life The Victorian Web Victorian Station - Read about Victorian architecture, lifestyle, interior design, arts and literature. Victorian Station Victorian Schools - Click on the little figure for a description of school life and click on Timetable to see their lessons! Victorian Schools Saundra Altman’s: Past Patterns - Clothing patterns of Victorian style clothing. Saundra Altman’s: Past Patterns Victorian Women - The role of women in Victorian society Victorian Women An Overview of Victoria’s Reign - Good basic background information, not too long to read, giving you an understanding of her reign An Overview of Victoria’s Reign Britain : Industrial Revolution - This web site is about the technical changes of that time. Britain : Industrial Revolution Victorians and the Poor - A country of two nations; many Victorians struggled to understand and explain poverty. Was this because of circumstances beyond the individual's control or the direct result of their indolence? To discourage dependency, workhouse conditions were worse than the lowest standard of the independent labourer. Find out more about the treatment of the poor Victorians and the Poor Railways in the 19th Century - British web site organized by people, cities, companies, etc. Railways in the 19th Century Prisons - The Prison System in the Victorian Age Prisons

Phase 2 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus You have all learned about a different part of Victorian England. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Task / Quest(ion) as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information, pictures,facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages to put together your final product- a newspaper featurette. Your WebQuest team should write stories and articles that everyone on the team can live with.

Each group will pass in a newspaper featurette, but you will also be presenting the information to the class. Decide how you want to do this. You probably don't want to just read your featurette to the class. You could present it to the class as a six o'clock news report or as a journal type program such as 10 Minutes where they interview the people that they are reporting about. These are just some ideas. You decide how you want to present to the class, but remember to be creative.