What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain? Section 3: Who helped improve the lives of Victorian children?

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1 K S2 History U nit 11 S ect ion 3 Teachers Guide Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain? Section 3: Who helped improve the lives of Victorian children? Teacher s Guide The QCA objectives for this unit are: to understand that the work of individuals can change aspects of society to find out about important figures in Victorian times to present their findings in different ways This section offers two activities: 1. A cut and paste activity that introduces different attitudes to child labour 2. A biography project of a Victorian who helped improve the lives of children The work of reformers and improvements made to children s lives in Victorian times are summarized in the timeline activity in Section 6 How did life change for children living in Victorian Britain?

2 K S2 History U nit 11 S ect ion 3 Teachers Guide Activity 1 Who cared about child labour? This activity introduces different attitudes to child labour in Britain around The attitudes of poor parents, industrialists, child labourers and reformers are considered. The activity can be done in small groups, pairs and individually. Make enlarged A3 copies of the 1 st page of the Callout sheet for each student. It may also need darkening slightly to make the images clearer. Make standard A4 copies of the 2 nd page of Callout sheet for each student. Set the scene by briefly explaining who the four groups are, particularly the reformers and the industrialists. The text sheet from the more able version of this activity gives a brief outline. Cut out the callouts and arrange them around the edge of the page so that the right attitude is next to the right person. In fact, the stalks on the callouts offer some help here and, for the less able, it is as much an activity of composition as it is reading. Have a brief class discussion to make sure that the callouts are in the right place then glue them down. It doesn t matter that the callouts overlap the edge of the page, in fact, this looks quite effective. To reinforce understanding, choose some children to assume a character on the sheet and read out a callout. For more able students, give out a sheet of blank callouts. Have the students cut them out first then arrange them around the edge of the page before they start writing. Give out the text page explaining different attitudes to child labour. Students then write their own text in the appropriate callout, before gluing them in place.

3 K S2 History U nit 11 S ect ion 3 Teachers Guide Activity 2 Who helped poor Victorian children? In this activity the students give a presentation to the rest of the class or group using Powerpoint or similar software. Unless you want students to do their own research, information is taken directly from the factsheets which are in word format, and transferred to Powerpoint. There are three characters to choose from: 1. Lord Ashley/Earl of Shaftesbury (suitable for more able students) 2. Dr Barnado (suitable for all students) 3. Michael Sadler (suitable for all students) Give out the biography sheets that already contain all the necessary information. Students transfer the relevant information into a Powerpoint template. See the example Shaft esbury.ppt Finally, students present their findings in the form of a Powerpoint presentation.

4 KS2 History Unit 11 Section 3 Activity 1 Child labourer aged 8 Poor Parent Factory Owner Reformer Who cared about child labour? Factory owner Child Labourer aged 11 Poor Parent Child Labourer aged 6 Reformer

5 KS2 History Unit 11 Section 3 Activity 1 Parents watch their children sicken and droop, but must still send them to work in these mills or face starvation. This is not a choice at all, but a need for survival. I only pay the children low wages. Without them I could not make as much profit! I always miss Sunday School as I am too tired from working all week, though I would dearly like to learn to read. I would like my children to have an education so that they would have a better chance in life than me. I see no harm in children working in factories, in fact I believe that it keeps them from mischief. If they did not work, they might support themselves by stealing! I don t like sending my children to work in the mill but we need the money they earn in order to eat! Sometimes we get beaten at the end of the day as we grow tired and cannot work fast enough to keep up with the machines. One child fell asleep, got his sleeve caught and was dragged into the machines. He made a horrible sound as he was torn apart. I propose that no child under the age of 9 should be allowed to work in these dreadful places, and that a young person should not work more than 10 hours each day. I work 15 or 16 hours each day, all the time running to and fro about the mill. My legs ache so much from standing all day that I can hardly walk home, and I earn just 5 shillings each week. It isn t fair.

6 1. Cut out the callouts and glue them around the edge of the picture page by each Victorian. 2. Read the text page to help you find out about different attitudes to child labour in the 1840 s. 3. Write what you think each person might have felt about child labour in their call out. KS2 History Unit 11 Section 3: Activity 1

7 KS2 History Unit 11 Section 3: Activity 1 Who cares about child labour? Reformers Examples: Michael Sadler, Lord Shaftesbury, Dr Samuel Smith Reformers believed that children of a young age should not have to work very long hours, or in the dangerous conditions that were typical of factories in the 1840 s. They helped bring in laws to improve the working lives of children. The 1844 Factory Act made it illegal for children under 13 to work more than 6 hours each day, and forced factory owners to make the workplace safer. Reformers also belied that children should be educated in schools instead of working. Parents of Child Labourers The parents of child labourers knew about the terrible places that their children worked as they often worked in the same place. Most parents would rather not send their children to work but needed the money the children earned just in order to survive. Many parents would also like their children to receive an education so that they would have a better chance in life. Unlike today, it was quite expensive to send a child to school so only wealthy people could afford to have their children educated. Child Labourers Examples: Sarah Carpenter, James Pearce, Manchester s Children Factory Committee Life was very hard for most working children. They worked very long hours, starting as early as 5.00am and working through until 7.00pm or even 8.00pm. Standing up all day caused their bones and joints to deform and children were often left crippled before they were adults. The factories and mines they worked in were also very dangerous places and accidents were common, resulting in injury and sometimes death. Child workers were also very badly paid. In 1830, a child working in a cotton mill earned just one tenth of an adult s wages. Supporters of Child Labour Examples: Edward Baines, William James Most factory owners and businessmen were very happy to employ children as they did not have to pay them very much, so they could make more profit. Many industrialists denied that factory work was harmful to children, and some even claimed that factory work was healthy exercise, and that the wages saved the children from starvation.! They were against laws that limited children s working hours, claiming that they would harm businesses and the economy.

8 KS2 History Unit 11 Section 3: Activity 1 Child labourer aged 8 Poor Parent Factory Owner Reformer Who cares about child labour? Factory owner Child Labourer aged 11 Poor Parent Child Labourer aged 6 Reformer

9 K S2 History U nit 11 Sect ion 3 Act ivit y 2 Dr Barnado FACT SHEET Use some of the following information to create a Powerpoint presentation. Try and find some pictures to add to you presentation. Thomas Barnado was born in 1845 He was always interested in helping people When he was 16 he wanted to become a missionary doctor to help the poor in China He moved to London in 1866 to train to become a doctor He was upset by how many poor children were in London In 1867 he set up a school for poor children One of the boys at the school showed him around London s East end Dr Barnado was horrified by the sight of children sleeping in gutters and on rooftops He decided he would devote himself to helping children. He set up his first home for boys in 1870 One night a boy was refused entry because the home was full. The next day the boy was found dead from hunger and cold After this, a sign was hung over the door of the shelter that said No destitute child ever refused admission Today, the Barnados organization still helps thousands of children Dr Barnado will always be remembered as a man who helped improve the lives of poor Victorian children

10 K S2 History U nit 11 Sect ion 3 Act ivit y 2 Michael Sadler FACT SHEET Use the following information to create a Powerpoint presentation. Try to find some pictures to add to your presentation. Michael Sadler was born in Derbyshire 1780 He moved to Leeds in 1800, and set up a textiles business He became concerned about poor children working in local textile factories In 1829 he became a Member of Parliament In 1831 he called for a law to stop people under 18 working more than 10 hours a day Parliament did not pass the law, but asked Sadler to write a report on child labour Sadler s report was published in 1833 The public were shocked by the news that so many children were working in terrible conditions The Sadler report put pressure on Parliament to protect working children Later that year Parliament passed the 1833 Factory Act which stated that children aged 9 to 13 could not work more than 9 hours a day More laws that helped working children soon followed Michael Sadler will always be remembered as an important factory reformer who helped improve the lives of child labourers

11 KS2 History Unit 11 Unit 3 Activity 2 The Earl of Shaftesbury FACT SHEET Use the following information to create a Powerpoint presentation. Try to find some pictures to add to your presentation. The Earl of Shaftesbury was born in He became a Member of Parliament aged 25. He first became interested in the plight of child labourers when he read an article in The Times newspaper. He wrote about this in his diary: In the autumn and winter of 1832 I read in The Times some extracts from the evidence taken before Sadler's Committee. I was astonished and disgusted by what I read. He offered his help to the Factory Reform movement, and became their leader soon after. In 1833 he proposed a law that meant children would only work a maximum of ten hours per day. Although his proposal was rejected the government agreed that working children needed protection. Later that same year the government passed the 1833 Factory Act. It stated that: o children under the age of 9 could not work in cotton mills o children aged 9-13 could not work more than 9 hours per day o persons aged could not work more than 12 hours each day o persons under the age of 18 could not work at night Unfortunately there were only four factory inspectors in the country making sure that these laws were being followed. The Earl of Shaftesbury continued working to improve life for working children through new legislation: o Coal Mines Act makes it illegal for women and children to work underground Helped to set up over 150 Ragged Schools for poor children He died in 1885