VICTORIAN PERIOD

To revise for your test on Shakespeare and Queen Victoria do the following quiz   


Shakespeare:

1- http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/quizzes/shakespeare/shakespeare.htm


                               VICTORIAN PERIOD

GAME !! walk through a Victorian House!Travel back in time to Victorian London!

Travel back in time to 1870 and help Ruby & Michael look for their missing dog Sam. Have fun !!
      
Who were the Victorians?
(1837 to 1901)


The Victorian age in British history is named after Queen Victoria, who was Britain's queen from 1837 until 1901.
What was life like for Victorian children? There were big differences in homes, schools, toys and entertainments. No TV, no computers, no central heating, no cars (until the last few years of Victoria's reign). No air travel - unless you went up in a balloon! Many children went to work, not to school.
  

The British Empire

Britain ruled the British Empire. Victoria was Empress of India as well as Queen of Britain, Canada (the biggest country in the Empire) and small countries such as Jamaica. Trade with the Empire helped make Britain rich. Some British children emigrated with their families to new homes in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. Children were taught about the Empire in school.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 

The Industrial Revolution changed Britain from a land of small towns, villages and farms into a land of cities, large towns and factories. Thepopulation grew from 16 million in 1801 to over 41 million by 1901. Cities grew fast, as people moved from the countryside to work in factories.
 Men, women and children worked in factories, and in coal mines. Factory and mine owners became rich, but most factory and mine workers were poor. They were paid low wages, and lived in unhealthy, overcrowded slums.

                                                       FAMOUS VICTORIANS 

 Victoria was born in 1819 in Kensington Palace in London. Her name was Alexandrina Victoria. When Princess Victoria was 18 years old her uncle King William died and she became queen. She was crowned at Westminster Abbey in 1838.  Victoria married her handsome cousin Albert a young prince from Germany. (She had proposed to him). Albert didn't speak English very well and lots of people didn't likehim.


 Lord Shaftesbury (1801-1885)
Anthony Ashley Cooper, the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Shaftesbury, was born on 28th April, 1801. He became the Earl of Shaftesbury in 1851.
Lord Shaftesbury was a politician who attempted to improve children's lives during the Victorian times

At the age of 25, he became a member of Parliament. He began to take an interest in the plight of poor children after reading newspaper reports about labour in industry.

1833 He proposed that children should work for a maximum of 10 hours a day

1834 the Factory Act was made law. It was now illegal for children under 9 to be employed in textile factories

1842 Coal Mines Act
No child or woman should work underground

He was also interested in education for working children. He was chairman of the Ragged Schools Union - an organisation that set up over a hundred schools for poor children

  



ALEXANDER  GRAHAM BELL : (1847-1922)

He was the inventor of the telephone




CHARLES DARWIN (1809 -1882)
Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. In 1831 he
joined a scientific expedition bound for South America and the Pacific Ocean on a sailing ship called The Beagle (1831 - 36). He was to be the ship's naturalist, the expert on plants and animals.
In the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed how the same species of birds, cut off from centuries on different islands, had developed in quite different ways. This and many other amazing discoveries led him to his theory of 'evolution by natural selection'. This theory lies behind all modern ideas on how different species of living things have become to be the way they are and how they will change in the future.

Charles Dickens 1812-1870
Great novelist of the victorian age. His novels were outstandingly popular in his time and are still popular now. His books include stories about thieves, convicts and schoolboys. He wrote about ordinary people and how they lived, about terrible prisons, bad schools and the workhouse. His famous characters include Oliver Twist, Scrooge and David Copperfield.

                                     


VISIT THE CHARLES DICKENS MUSEUM IN LONDON !!http://www.dickensmuseum.com/








     
                                          
    QUIZ                     


VICTORIAN SCHOOLS

Who went to school during the Victorian times?
In early Victorian England, most children never went to school at all and grew up unable to read or write. Instead they were sent out to work to earn money for their families. Only the upper and middle class children went to school.
Rich Children
Children from rich families were taught at home by a governess until they were 10 years old. Once a boy turned ten, he went away to Public schools like Eton or Harrow. There were very few schools available for girls, however, until near the end of the Victorian time.  Wealthy girls were mostly educated at home.

Where did poor children go to school?
Poor children went to free charity schools or 'Dame' schools (so called because they were run by women) for young children. They also went to Sunday Schools which were run by churches. There they learnt bible stories and were taught to read a little.
Why go to school?
The Victorians soon realised that it was important for people to be able to read and write and education became more important. The Church of England became active in the field and erected 'National Schools' which taught children reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.

Important Dates

In 1833, the government awarded grants of money to schools. Not everyone who ran the schools were able to read themselves so the standard of education was not very good.
In 1844, Parliament passed a law requiring children working in factories be given six-half-days schooling every week. 'Ragged Schools' were set up to provide free basic education for orphans and very poor children.
In 1870, Parliament passed the Forster's Education Act, requiring all parts of Britain to provide schools to children aged 5 to 12.  However, not all these school were free so many could not afford the 'school's pence' each week. As it was not mandatory to attend school many children still didn't go to school.  They worked and earned money for the family instead. 

When did attending school become mandatory?
It wasn't until 1880 that schooling became mandatory. All children had to attend a school until they were 10 years old. In1889, the school leaving age was raised to twelve, and in 1891, the school's pence fee was abolished and schools became free.

What were the schools like?
There could be as many as 70 or 80 pupils in one class, especially in cities. The teachers were very strict. Children were often taught by reading and copying things down, or chanting things till they were perfect.
I
n many Victorian schools pupil-teachers helped with the teaching. The pupil-teachers were boys and girls of 13 and over. After five years of apprenticeship they could themselves become teachers.
What did the schools teach?
Typical lessons at school included the three Rs - Reading, WRiting and Dictation, and ARithmetic.  In addition to the three Rs which were taught most of the day, once a week the children learned geography, history and singing. The girls learned how to sew.

Schools did not teach music or PE in the way that schools do now. Children sometimes did 'drill' in the classroom. Drill was a series of exercises that were done by the side of a desk.

The children sat on hard wooden benches or chairs.
Can you see the holes for the ink pots?
Did Victorian children use a calculator?
For maths lessons, children used frames with coloured wooden beads, much like an abacus.  Children learned how to multiply and divide using this apparatus. 
What was a Victorian school day like?
The day usually began with prayers and religious instruction. Morning lessons ran from 9a.m. to 12p.m.  Children often went home for a meal, then returned for afternoon classes from 2p.m. to 5p.m.
Why did Victorian children write on slates?
Paper was expensive. Children usually therefore wrote on slates with slate pencils. After a lesson was completed, and the teacher checked their work, the students cleared their slates for the next lesson. 
Did Victorian children use pens?
Older children learnt to write on paper. An 'ink monitor' distributed ink to the children, who used pens made out of thin wooden sticks with steel needles.  The pen had to be dipped every few words or it would run dry.

To revise your lessons , do the following quiz 
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz29672121f8500.html

EASTER





How well do you know about the history of Easter?Test your knowledge!!


A few historical reminders :
Easter was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre.
The Christian missionnaries who wanted to convert them decided to do so by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner. And as the pagan festival of Eastre happened  at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ.....
A few symbols :
 
The Easter Bunny  : it was the symbol of the goddess Eastre
 
The Easter egg  : The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a very old custom .  The egg was a symbol of birth in most cultures 
EASTER RECIPES:

The Hot Cross Buns   . Yummy and scrummy !
 These buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday ( Vendredi Saint) , with the cross standing as a symbol of The Crucifixion.

 

 

Baby Chick Easter Cupcakes     

Ingredients:
  • 1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. devils food cake mix
  • 2 (16 oz.) can vanilla ready to spread frosting
  • Yellow food coloring
  • 48 white dessert mints
  • 48 miniature baking chip
  • 48 pieces of candy corn
Preparation:
  1. Prepare and bake the cake according to the package directions for 24 cupcakes.
  2. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.
  3. Tint both cans of frosting with the yellow food coloring.
  4. Using a pastry bag with a #17 star tip, pipe the frosting to cover each cupcake.
  5. Pipe on 2 wings per chick by pulling back on the bag as the frosting is released.
  6. Pipe a small mound of frosting onto each cupcake for the chicks head.
  7. Place two dessert mints on the head of each chick for eyes. 
  8. Use a toothpick and dab a very small amount of frosting in the middle of each dessert mint.
  9. Attach a miniature baking chip to each of the chick's eyes.
  10. Place 2 pieces of candy corn, large ends slightly angled one up and one down into the frosting to make the beaks.
Makes 24 cupcakes
Preparation Time:  approximately 30 minutes
Total Time:  approximately 1 hour 25 minutes + cooling time
EASTER TONGUE TWISTERSto tangle your tongue...

Can you say these ten times fast??!
1.  Busy bunnies bring blue baskets. 
2. Each Easter, Eddie eats eighty eggs.
3. Six peeping chicks cheeping cheerily.
4. Jogging jellybeans joke and giggle,
    jogging jellybeans jump and jiggle.
5. Run, Red Rabbit, run!

THE TUDORS

  
THE TUDORS (1485 -1603)


It was one of the most exciting times in British history.The Tudors ruled over England , Wales and part of England
Tudor Quiz :test your knowledge on the Tudors:
 http://www.brims.co.uk/tudors/quiz.htm


                                                       The Tudor Monarchs: 
Henry Vll (r. 1485-1509)
Henry Tudor became King Henry VII of England and Wales after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses which had brought trouble to England.





 





Henry Vlll (r. 1509-1547)
Henry Vlll is probably the most well known of the Tudor kings. He was a very selfish person and by the end of his life everyone was afraid of him, mainly because of his ruthless behaviour toward anyone who didn't agree with him.He had 6 wives.




     

 King Edward Vl (r. 1547-1553)
Edward VI became king at the age of nine upon the death of his father, Henry Vlll. He was known as 'The Boy King'. His mother was Jane Seymour, Henry Vlll's third wife.
Edward was a sickly child. Edward died at the age of 16 in 1553.











Lady Jane Grey (r. nine days in 1553)
Jane’s father was Henry Grey and her mother was Lady Frances Brandon, who was the daughter of Henry VIII’s sister Mary and the great grand-daughter of Henry VII. Lady Jane Grey ruled for only 9 days before Mary I had her arrested and executed.

 
 






Queen Mary l (r. 1553-1558)
Mary I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and was a committed Catholic. When she came to the throne she promised to return England to Rome and Catholicism.Why is Mary l called Bloody Mary?
She is known as Bloody Mary because of the numbers of people who were executed for being Protestants. Mary burned nearly three hundred Protestants at the stake when they refused to give up their religion.

 



Queen Elizabeth I ( 1558-1603)
Elizabeth I - the last Tudor monarch - was born at Greenwich on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
When Elizabeth came to the throne, she was 25. She became queen on her half-sister's death in November 1558. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and was very well-educated (fluent in six languages).


The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Wife Number One.Catherine of Aragon

Wife Number Two…Anne Boleyn

Catherine of Aragon was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. She was married to Henry’s brother Arthur but he died in 1501. Catherine married Henry in 1509 but only one child, a girl, Mary, survived. Henry believed that he did not have a male heir because he had married his brother’s wife. He had found a passage in the Bible to back his belief. Henry had also fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. Catherine refused to give Henry a divorce, so he began the Reformation in England. This meant he could divorce Catherine in 1533. She died three years later.

Anne Boleyn was born in 1501. At the age of fourteen she was sent to the French Court. When she returned to England she caught the King’s attention. Henry married Anne in 1533 after she became pregnant. Henry was annoyed when she gave birth to Elizabeth in September 1533. Anne became pregnant twice more but the babies were born dead. She was charged and found guilty of adultery in 1536 and beheaded the same year.



Wife Number Three..Jane Seymour
Wife Number Four…Anne of Cleves
Jane Seymour was a quiet shy girl who Henry married just 11 days after the death of Anne Boleyn. He was 45 years old, Jane was 28. Henry was delighted when she gave birth to a son, Edward, in October 1538. Henry was very upset when Jane died a month later. On his deathbed, Henry requested to be buried next to Jane.  

Anne of Cleves was the 24 year old daughter of the Duke of Cleves. Henry agreed to marry her having only seen her painting. When he saw her face to face he was horrified and tried to find a way out of the marriage but could not. He married Anne in 1540 and divorced her the same year.

Wife Number Five...Kathryn Howard

Wife Number Six…Katherine Parr

Henry married 15 year old Kathryn in 1540, he was 49.Kathryn Horward found life with Henry boring and had many younger friends. Katherine's actions led to her being accused of adultery and subsequently executed in 1542.

Henry married twice widowed Katherine Parr in 1543. She was a good stepmother to the King's three children. She was also an excellent nursemaid and looked after Henry when he was sick. After Henry's death she married Edward's uncle, Thomas Seymour. Katherine Parr died in childbirth in 1548.  


Tudor Fun & Games
      
 The Tudor kings and queens encouraged archery . It was the law that every fit man over 24 should be able to shoot a target 220 yards away. They had to practise on Sunday after church . There were cross bows and long bows. The best bows were yew and the three strings were made of hemp .  Arrows were made of birch oak ash and hornbeam . They were tipped with grey goose feathers. 
 

    People played other games like ours. Bowls was a favourite and some towns had bowling alleys. They used to play games like hockey  the sticks were curved and  the ball was wooden. Young men played it in the street.     The favourite game was football . Any number could play and there was no referee. Villages challenged each other and nearly every match ended with cracked heads and other injuries.
    The tudors also liked to go to bull and bear baiting rings. A bull or bear was chained to a stake. Then dogs were let in to tease them and fights began. Cock fighting was also popular.
    All countrymen enjoyed hunting, wealthy Tudors hunted deer on horseback while ordinary men hunted rabbits and other smaller things on foot. They also fished and enjoyed falconry.     Noblemen liked to fence and tennis was enjoyed by the rich.  




Theatre
 
    People liked to watch plays. During Elizabeth's reign the first real theatres were built in England. At first actors travelled from town to town and performed in the streets or outside inns. Then they began to build theatres.   
  The Globe Theatre was built on the River Thames. It was circular and had seats around the walls which cost two pence or three pence if you had a cushion. These seats were sheltered from the weather. The rest of the people were crowded into the yard or floor. The floor or pit cost one penny. People in the pit moved about, leaned over on the stage and even talked while the play was going on. The stage was a platform that jutted out into the pit.     They did not have many props or much scenery and an actor had to walk on to stage and tell people were the story was set so that they could imagine it. Women did not act so men and boys had to play the female parts. 
  
William Shakespeare lived during Elizabeth's reign. He is still the world's most famous writer.He wrote lots of plays which have been translated into many languages and are still performed today all over the world. His most famous plays  include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.
   

ST PATRICK 'S DAY


                                                   ST PATRICK 'S DAY



Thanks to Lisa (left) and Flavie for their great oral presentation!!





                                                   Flavie opening a bottle of Guiness!

 Soda cakes made by Flavie and Lisa: delicious!



Everybody is happy and wearing green clothes such as Edward who won't be pinched!!









Today is 17th March : HAPPY ST PATRICK 'S DAY !!!!



What do you know about St Patrick's Day? Test your knowledge !
Do the following quiz :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4810000/newsid_4816300/4816346.stm
                                                             


 In the United States and in Great Britain , the Irish communities celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day which is on 17 March.
The Irish community
in the USA is very big. During the 1800’s thousands of Irish immigrants went to America to escape poverty and have a better life. They settled in all parts of the country and took their traditions with them.

Who is Saint Patrick and why is he important to the Irish ?





 
Saint Patrick is the patron of Ireland. He left several writings about his life and work in Ireland.

Saint Patrick whose father was a landowner and a Christian was born in Britain in 389 AD. When he was sixteen years old he was captured and taken to Ireland where he became a slave. After six years he escaped to France where he became a priest. (un prêtre)

In 432 AD he returned to Ireland as a bishop in order to convert most of the Irish to Christianity. He was a generous man and dedicated man  who also introduced the Roman alphabet to Ireland.

There are legends about Saint Patrick. One legend says that he banished all the serpents from Ireland, which  is probably not true ! Another legend says that he used a shamrock to teach the Irish about the Trinity. (= The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit), St Patrick used a shamrock.
Today the shamrock he used is still a symbol of Ireland and the Irish.

Saint Patrick died in 461 and his tomb which is at Downpatrick is a centre of pilgrimage.

Today on March 17th there are big parades in big American cities in honour of the Irish . Marching bands dressed in green play lively Irish music. The Irish community organises parades and other colourful events 




American and British people wear green clothing on Saint Patrick’s Day.
The Chicago River is even dyed in green

 Most people wear a green shamrock. Many shops and restaurants are decorated with green shamrocks in honour of the Irish.



Not to forget the Leprechaun who is a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes.He is said to possess a treasure and if you capture him and theaten( menacer) him , he can tell you where he has hidden it...  
 

Here is the video : St Patrick's Day parade 2013 in Dublin.  Enjoy!




In New York (2012)
 

                     QUIZ  
  http://www.brownielocks.com/stpatrickstrivia.html