1

KS2 HISTORY DETECTIVES

Planning a Visit

An historical enquiry based visit using detective

skills to find out information from the past

2

Overview

Your students will find out about the lives of real children who lived in the Black Country at the end of the 19th century. They will investigate and evaluate a range of historical evidence, including

buildings and period settings, objects, photographs, archival records, and oral histories.

This activity will encourage creative and independent thinking and the development of oral skills. It will provide opportunities for your students to make choices, ask valid historical questions and find answers. Back at school in the classroom they will be able to feedback on their discoveries and compare and contrast the lives of the different children they have investigated.

Planning your visit

The visit to the Museum can take place at the start, middle or end of your study of the Victorians. A

suggested programme plan has been included on the final page, outlining the activities and

resources provided, and recommended links to other curriculum subjects. No prior knowledge of the

Museum or the Victorians is required to undertake the visit.

Pre-Visit

The Museum will provide you with a document to help you plan and book your visit. We recommend

that you divide your class into groups of between 10-15 students to investigate each child. You will

need at least one adult per group to accompany them around the Museum.

KS2 History Detectives

Key learning objectives of Museum Visit

• To consider what life was like for children living in the Black Country during the

Victorian period

• To undertake an historical investigation using a range of sources, including historic

buildings, interiors, landscapes, artefacts, photographs and archival material

• To develop historical enquiry skills by asking and answering questions, selecting and

recording information and drawing conclusions relevant to the focus of the enquiry

• To find out about key events and people that had an impact on the lives of children

• To make appropriate use of dates, terms and historical vocabulary to describe the

passing of time

• To communicate knowledge and understanding of changes to children's lives in

Victorian times in organised and structured ways

• To recognise that the past can be represented and interpreted in different ways at a

museum

3

The Visit

This is an immersive learning experience allowing your students to

identify with the children they are studying.

There will be an investigation pack for each child being studied, including a trail listing all the sites relevant to the life of that child. Your students, in their small groups, will choose which sites they wish to visit and in which order. There will also be a selection of linked activities to undertake at the different sites including shopping lists

and mystery objects to find and identify.

Each group will explore the house where the child lived and grew up, a traditional Black Country industry where a member of the family worked, and a store where the family may have shopped. The pack will also include clues in the form of images of significant objects and

activities that will provide a deeper level of understanding of the life and personality of the child.

The experience will stimulate the imagination, encourage empathy and understanding and develop historical enquiry skills to enable the students to make more considered judgements when

comparing Victorian life to the present day.

Support During the Day

To ensure that you feel confident and supported during the day, a new team of costumed learning

staff will facilitate your visit. This will include meeting and greeting your school on arrival, providing

additional interpretation at key parts of the site and facilitating access to the buildings.

Engagement with the Museum costumed demonstrator staff in the buildings and industrial

workshops will also form a core part of the visit.

Post Visit

The Museum will provide a range of primary and secondary sources to help you investigate further

in the classroom. These resources will help your students relate the lives of the children

investigated to key events and developments during the Victorian period. They will also help your

students answer specific historical enquiry questions such as:

“What was life like for Victorian working class children in the Black Country?”

“How did life change for children living during the Victorian period?”

“How accurate do you think the Museum’s interpretation of 11 Brook Street is?”

“How do we know about the life of Lillian Hodgkiss?”

“How does a day in the life of Rose Bradley compare to a day in your life?”

In addition the Museum offers a range of bookable hands-on learning experiences to add breadth

and context and further enhance an understanding of working class life in the Black Country.

4

Meet the Children

These are real children who were born in the late 19th century/early 20th century and lived in the

buildings on the Museum site.

Samuel Webb

The date is 1891 and Samuel is 10 years old. He is living in No. 11 Brook Street - the rear back-to-back - with his parents, three sisters and two brothers. Two older sisters have already left home. His father is a miner and his mother, who used to work in the mine, now looks after the house and children. Life is hard. Most of his father’s wages are spent on food, rent, coal for the fire, and sundries such as soap, candles, matches, clothing and tobacco. The family’s staple diet is bread and dripping with potatoes and onions and meat or offal when they can afford it. Samuel is attending school, but school is only compulsory between the ages

of 5 and 10, so he will have to leave soon and work for a living.

Lillian Hodgkiss The date is 1904 and Lillian is 8 years old. She is living in the former Toll House with her mother, two brothers and older sister. They have only just moved into the house following the death of her father - forcing them to look for somewhere cheaper to rent. Lillian’s older brother, William, is working as a railway porter and is the main wage earner for the family. The house has no gas and they get their water from the brook running through their garden. To supplement their diet they grow their own vegetables and brew herbal remedies that they sell to passers-by. Lillian’s mother also makes all their clothes and earns a few extra pennies by chopping wood and making it into bundles for sale. Harry Parkin The date is 1910 and Harry is 9 years old. He lives in Lawrence Lane with his parents and his younger brother Fred. His father works as a machinist at an anchor works. His mother keeps house and he and his brother go to school. His house was built at the end of the 19th century as part of a new development with improved living conditions following the Public Health Act of 1875. They have a kitchen and front parlour, two bedrooms and their own earth closet and brew’us in the back yard. They also have gas and mains water. However, they still heat a brick in the oven to warm the beds

at night and cut newspaper into patterns to line their shelves.

Rose Bradley

The date is 1911 and Rose is 9 years old. She lives in a “pit-pulled” cottage at Cooper’s Bank, Gornal Wood with her parents, Grandfather, younger brother Jack and a 17 year old relative working as a brickyard labourer. Her father works as a mines’ drainage clerk and her mother keeps house. The family are better off than some - they have two pigs and a large plot of land where they grow vegetables. They have also just built an extension to the side of the house to provide a brew’us and kitchen, and have improved the front with a new door and larger windows to the living room and main bedroom. Rose and her brother Jack go to the Red Hall Schools in Gornal. They are both musical - Jack playing the violin and Rose playing the piano.

5

A source is anything that has been left behind by the past. When we move a building to the Museum we try to find out as much as possible about it - when it was built, what it was used for, who used it, what alterations have been made to it and what it was like to live/work there. This information enables us to restore the building to what it was like at an earlier period, and bring it to

life for visitors with stories of the lives of the inhabitants.

Your students can access a sample of the many sources that we use to create a display at the Black Country Living Museum. Our displays are interpretations of the past. Your students can investigate the same evidence, use their own enquiry skills to draw conclusions and see if their

interpretations match ours.

Photographs

Old photographs provide information about the physical appearance of the building, and

sometimes, the character of the occupants.

This photograph of Lillian Hodgkiss and her mother, Nancy, was taken in the 1920s and has been used to inform the Museum interpretation of the building. Notice the wooden shutters to the window and the stone

buttresses in the corners.

Maps

Maps are very useful for finding out what a given area used to be like - what industries were there, road layouts, field boundaries, nearby buildings etc. They are often the only way of dating a

building. Maps also tell us what shape a building was and how many outbuildings it had.

For example the following Ordnance Survey map of 1887 shows where Samuel Webb and his family lived in their back-to-back on Brook Street, Woodsetton in 1891. The map is quite revealing, showing to one side a rural pattern of fields and farmhouses, and to the other side a typical Black

Country industrial landscape peppered with shafts, large collieries and foundries.

Historical Sources

6

This map belongs to the County Series of Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain, begun in 1840. This is the first comprehensive historic mapping of England, Scotland and Wales at scale 1:2500 - so with enough detail for us to make out the patterns of fields, road networks, housing and industrial

sites.

Official Documents

Census returns provide information on the people living or staying in houses and their occupations. They can be used for finding out about individual properties or for building up a picture of an entire street. Since 1801 there has been a census every ten years except in 1941, during the Second

World War.

The following census record from 1901 shows Lillian Hodgkiss, age 5, living in 163 South Street, Sedgley with both her parents and 3 brothers and 2 sisters. In the later census of 1911, she is living in the Toll House in Woodsetton with just her mother (after

her father had died) and two brothers.

7

Personal Records & Oral History

Letters and diaries can be very valuable sources of information, but many remain in private hands.

For information about Rose Bradley and her life at 12 Cooper’s Bank, the Museum collected oral

history evidence from Rose and her cousin, Hilda Simmons. These memories provided personal

family details that were unique to the house:

Contemporary accounts can also give an insight into the living and working conditions of the period:

Artefacts

An artefact is any surviving object that has been made and used by people in the past. By studying different artefacts we can understand, explain and present history. Objects connect people, have meaning, capture moments in time and reflect change. If we ask the right questions and do the right research we can find out not only who made and used the object, but the role it played in their lives, the meaning it held for them, and the way it reflected

the knowledge, technology, values and tastes of a particular era.

This “bottle-jack” - a clockwork meat spit - was a valued possession of the Parkin family in Lawrence Lane. In the late 19th century this would have cost around six shillings - an expensive item that would have remained unaffordable for most working class families. It was one of the many products made in the Black Country - manufactured in West Bromwich by George Salter’s & Co. It is also a wonderful example of the ingenuity of the Victorians,

and their love for mechanical devices.

Booking

Contact our Booking Team to check availability and to reserve your place.

BOOKING OFFICE, Mon-Fri between 10.00am and 4.00pm

Tel: 0121 520 8054 Email: bookings@bclm.com

“...and then there was the scullery and that was a fairly big place...well that was the wash-house, and mother did a lot of cooking in there because there was a big grate in it you see….there was a big oven there you see and there was a boiler you know, where all the Christmas puddings were boiled. She made them you see, and boiled them.”

Extract from an interview with Rose Joinson (Née Bradley)

BLACK COUNTRY (The), a tract of mines and ironworks in the S of Stafford, and on the N verge of Warwick..."The name is eminently descriptive, for blackness everywhere prevails. The ground is black, the atmosphere is black, and the underground is honey-combed by mining galleries stretching in utter blackness for many a league. The scene is marvellous, and to one who beholds it for the first time by night, terrific.,"

John Marius Wilson’s “Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870-72”

8

Yea

rs 3

, 4

, 5

& 6

Vic

tori

an

s: H

isto

ry D

etec

tiv

es

Bla

ck C

ou

ntr

y C

rea

tiv

e

Cu

rric

ulu

m

Proje

ct

Pa

thw

ay

/Desi

gn

an

d T

ech

nolo

gy

Dri

ver

� t

o c

onsid

er

wh

at lif

e w

as lik

e f

or

child

ren in t

he p

ast

� t

o u

nd

ert

ake a

n h

isto

rical

investig

ation

, d

evelo

pin

g

en

qu

iry s

kill

s b

y askin

g a

nd

answ

eri

ng q

uestions, sele

ctin

g

an

d r

ecord

ing info

rmation f

rom

a r

an

ge o

f sourc

es a

nd d

raw

ing

conclu

sio

ns

� t

o f

ind o

ut

ab

out

key e

ven

ts a

nd

develo

pm

en

ts a

nd

how

th

ey

eff

ecte

d t

he liv

es o

f ord

inary

child

ren in t

he B

lack C

ountr

y

� t

o u

nd

ers

tan

d t

hat th

e p

ast can

be in

terp

rete

d a

nd r

epre

sen

ted

in d

iffe

ren

t w

ays

Key l

ea

rn

ing

in

His

tory

L

ink

s to

oth

er s

ub

jects

En

gli

sh

Sp

eakin

g a

nd L

iste

nin

g

� S

peakin

g c

onfid

en

tly t

o d

iffe

rent

au

die

nces,

askin

g r

ele

van

t

qu

estions, re

sp

on

din

g t

o o

thers

ap

pro

pri

ate

ly

Readin

g a

nd W

riting

� R

etr

ievin

g,

record

ing a

nd

pre

sentin

g info

rmation u

sin

g a

ran

ge o

f n

on-f

iction

texts

� D

istin

gu

ishin

g b

etw

een

fact

an

d

opin

ion

Geo

gra

ph

y

� D

evelo

pin

g e

nqu

iry a

nd a

naly

sis

skill

s—

usin

g m

aps/im

ag

es/t

exts

ICT

� F

indin

g th

ings o

ut

on

th

e

inte

rnet

� D

evelo

pin

g a

nd p

resentin

g

ideas u

sin

g IC

T

Key l

ea

rn

ing

in

oth

er S

ub

jects

Reso

urc

es

Pro

vid

ed

Pow

erP

oin

t +

Work

sh

eet

Tech

nic

al V

oc

ab

ula

ry

Ana

lyse,

art

efa

ct,

cen

tury

, cu

lture

, evid

ence

, exp

lan

ation

, id

entify

, in

dustr

y,

investig

ate

, o

bserv

e, socie

ty

Reso

urc

es

Pro

vid

ed

Investig

ation P

ack inclu

din

g tra

il, a

ctivitie

s,

pro

mp

t sh

eets

Intr

od

uction t

o t

he M

useu

m

Costu

med F

acili

tato

rs

Tech

nic

al V

oc

ab

ula

ry

Anch

or

Forg

e,

anvil,

back-t

o-b

ack, b

akery

, bott

le-j

ack, can

al, iro

n,

cha

inm

aker,

cla

y,

co

lliery

, de

monstr

ate

, en

gin

eer,

le

isure

,

limesto

ne,

ma

nufa

ctu

re, n

ailm

aker,

op

era

te,

paw

n b

roker,

ra

ng

e, re

cip

e,

severe

, slu

m, suff

er,

terr

ace,

tra

nsp

ort

Ris

k A

sse

ss

men

t

Reso

urc

es

Pro

vid

ed

Costu

med L

earn

ing A

ssis

tant

His

toric A

rtefa

cts

Tech

nic

al V

oc

ab

ula

ry

Cop

per,

dolly tu

b,

dri

ft m

ine, fly p

ress,

lath

er,

mang

le,

pit,

posh

er,

sla

te

Ris

k A

sse

ss

men

t

Reso

urc

es

Pro

vid

ed

His

torical evid

ence,

inclu

din

g:

•

Ext

racts

fro

m F

acto

ry &

Min

e R

ep

ort

s

•

Sch

ool in

sp

ection r

ep

ort

s

•

Ext

racts

fro

m c

on

tem

pora

ry a

uth

ors

an

d o

ral h

isto

ries

•

Imag

es o

f ori

gin

al art

efa

cts

an

d m

aps

Work

sh

eets

Note

s

Overv

iew

of th

e V

icto

rian p

eri

od: to

be c

arr

ied o

ut at school usin

g r

esourc

es p

rovid

ed.

Who w

ere

the V

icto

rians a

nd w

hen d

id t

hey liv

e? W

hat do y

ou t

hin

k life w

as lik

e f

or

Vic

torian c

hild

ren? H

ow

do y

ou t

hin

k it w

as d

iffe

rent fr

om

our

lives?

Intr

oduce t

he h

isto

rical enquir

y c

halle

nge t

o b

e u

ndert

aken a

t th

e M

useum

. C

lass

div

ided into

gro

ups (

of c10-1

5)

and c

hild

ren t

o b

e investigate

d s

ele

cte

d fro

m the

info

rmation p

rovid

ed

En

gli

sh

Gro

up d

iscu

ssio

n a

nd i

nte

ract

ion

Chro

nolo

gic

al

report

: V

icto

rian t

imel

ine

His

tory

Dete

cti

ves e

xp

eri

en

ce a

t th

e M

useu

m:

wh

at

was l

ife lik

e f

or

po

or

ch

ild

ren

bo

rn in

th

e V

icto

rian

peri

od

in

th

e B

lack C

ou

ntr

y?

Cla

ss m

et on a

rriv

al, g

iven intr

oduction t

o the M

useum

, org

anis

ed into

gro

ups a

nd

giv

en tim

eta

ble

for

any b

ooked a

ctivitie

s

• U

sin

g t

he tra

il and a

ctivity p

ack p

rovid

ed, th

e indiv

idual gro

ups e

xplo

re t

he M

useum

vis

itin

g a

ll th

e s

ites r

ele

vant to

the c

hild

bein

g investigate

d.

• T

he investigation w

ill inclu

de v

isitin

g the c

hild

’s h

om

e, exp

eri

encin

g a

typic

al

shoppin

g a

ctivity a

nd s

tudyin

g a

n a

rea o

f in

dustr

y lin

ked to the f

am

ily. T

hey w

ill

gain

an in d

epth

unders

tandin

g o

f th

e d

aily

life o

f th

e c

hild

—how

they w

ork

ed a

nd

pla

yed, w

hat clo

thes they w

ore

, th

e food t

hey a

te, th

e s

chool th

ey w

ent to

and the

item

s they o

wned that w

ere

im

port

ant to

them

.

En

gli

sh

Sp

eak

ing a

nd

Lis

tenin

g:

ask

ing

qu

est

ion

s , li

stenin

g t

o e

xp

lanati

on

s and

dis

cuss

ing i

dea

s

Geo

grap

hy

Kno

wle

dg

e an

d U

nd

erst

an

din

g o

f pla

ces

PS

HE

Work

ing

as

a t

eam

, m

ak

ing

gro

up

decis

ion

s

Und

erst

an

din

g t

he s

oci

ety a

nd

cu

ltu

re o

f

the

Bla

ck C

ou

ntr

y i

n t

he

late

19

th c

entu

ry

Imm

ers

ive L

earn

ing

Exp

eri

en

ces

Choic

e o

f diffe

rent

bookable

activitie

s

availa

ble

to e

nhance t

he investigation,

pro

vid

ing a

dditio

nal conte

xt

and

unders

tandin

g thro

ugh m

ore

hands-o

n

inte

raction.

Activitie

s inclu

de :

• U

nderg

round m

ine e

xperi

ence

• V

icto

rian C

lassro

om

experi

ence

• V

icto

rian L

aundry

• C

hild

Labour

En

gli

sh

Foll

ow

ing o

ral

inst

ruct

ion

s

PS

HE

Work

ing

as

a t

eam

/all

oca

ting

task

s

Back a

t S

ch

oo

l

• R

eport

back o

n r

esults o

f in

vestigations

• R

esearc

h: to

fin

d o

ut m

ore

about key e

vents

and p

eople

that im

pacte

d o

n t

he liv

es

of th

e c

hild

ren investigate

d. W

ho h

elp

ed t

o im

pro

ve the liv

es o

f V

icto

rian c

hild

ren?

How

did

life c

hange for

the c

hild

ren a

s they g

rew

up?

This

will

inclu

de a

n investigation o

f his

toric e

vid

ence p

rovid

ed b

y t

he M

useum

—such

as m

aps, photo

gra

phs a

nd w

ork

s o

f art

, R

oyal C

om

mis

sio

n R

eport

s, le

tters

and

extr

acts

fro

m o

ral his

tories

Lit

eracy

Obta

inin

g i

nfo

rmati

on t

hro

ug

h d

etail

ed

read

ing

Co

mm

unic

ati

ng i

nfo

rmati

on

an

d i

dea

s

thro

ug

h a

rang

e o

f dif

fere

nt

form

s o

f

wri

ting

, in

clu

din

g r

eport

s &

exp

lanati

on

s

ICT

Inte

rnet

Rese

arc

h

Usi

ng P

ow

erP

oin

t/D

esk

Top

Pu

bli

shin

g

to p

rese

nt

idea

s