Victorian Era Webquest due 2/25 and 26

Victorian Era Web Quest

The Victorian Era, or Victorian Age, was named after Queen Victoria of England (b.1819-d.1901, ruled 1837-1901), who began ruling at age 18 and ruled for 64 years (wow!), during most of the nineteenth century, a time of great cultural and technological change for Britain and many other nations. Among the many developments of this period, Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was becoming a famous author.

This activity is designed to help you get familiar with the Victorian Era in England, and connect that time period to Dickens’ works.

Each group will research one section of this webquest and be ready to report back to the group on block day of next week. Each person should bring in the answers to the questions they researched in the form of handwritten notes (note cards are fine). You can split up the questions however you like. You do not need to use complete sentences, but details/examples are good.

First, you will share what you found with your group. Then, we will mix up the groups in a jigsaw format, so that everyone will get to hear about each section. There will eventually be a test on this, so you should take notes.

Under each section there are resources to help you get started. In addition to these resources, each person in the group must find one other reliable source on your topic and post the citation for it to this blog as a comment, with a short (1-2 sentences) explanation of why this is an AUTHORITATIVE, RELIABLE and HELPFUL source on this topic (justify your sources, as we have learned so far this year!). Your source can be a print or electronic source, but if it's print, it has to be something any of us could find in the school or local public library.
Hint: Asking the school librarian is a great way to find new sources if you're stuck!
If not otherwise stated, questions refer to England in the 1800s.

Group 1: Politics and Social Change in the Victorian Era
· What was the status of Britain in the world? Did it have colonies? Trade partners? Was its military strong?
· What kind of government did Britain have and how was it changing?
-Who was Queen Victoria and what kind of role did she play? (bring a picture of her if you can).
· What new laws were being passed?
· Who could vote?
· What was the role of women and how was it changing?
· What was the situation between the social classes in England?
Resources
1. Your history book pgs 277-282 (esp. 280-281)
2. History in Focus article on the Victorians (Institute of Historical Research, London): http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Victorians/article.html
3. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Norton Topics Online site: http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/victorian/welcome.htm
4. Wikipedia article “Victorian Era,” especially the first section: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era
5. The Victorian Web, Brown University: http://www.victorianweb.org/

Group 2: Dickens’ Life and Work
· Dates of birth and death, date of writing Tale of Two Cities.
· What was Dickens’ childhood like, and how might it have influenced his work?
· Was Dickens’ family rich or poor? Where did they live?
· How did Dickens publish his work?
· What else did Dickens do in his life besides write novels?
· What kind of guy was Dickens during his life?
Resources
1. Your Tale of Two Cities book (the “About the Author” in the beginning)
2. The Norton Anthology of English Literature online site: http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/victorian/welcome.htm
3. The Victorian Web, Brown University: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensov.html

Group 3: British Culture in the Victorian Era
· What was the role of women and men and how was it changing?
· What was Victorian family life like?
· What were some Victorian rules of etiquette and good manners?
· What did Victorians do for fun?
· What was life like for children during this time?
· How did life, including art and entertainment, differ for the rich and the poor in England?
Resources
1. Your history book pgs 277-282 (esp. pg. 281—section on manners!)
2. Wikipedia article “Victorian Era,” especially the last few paragraphs of the section “Culture” at the end: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era
3. History in Focus article on the Victorians (Institute of Historical Research, London): http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Victorians/article.html
4. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Norton Topics Online site: http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/victorian/welcome.htm
5. The Victorian Web, Brown University: http://www.victorianweb.org/

Group 4: Science and Technology in the Victorian Era
· What advances were being made in science and technology (incl. medicine, cars, communication, robotics, etc) during this time?
· What were Victorians interested in exploring, in terms of science? (ex: you might say that today we are interested in exploring the Internet, cellular phones, cloning, and alternative-fuel cars).
· What were some new inventions during the Victorian era?
· What were the advantages and disadvantages of these inventions?
· What was the attitude of the English government towards science and technology?
· How did Industrialization affect Britain’s domestic situation and its position in the world at this time?
Resources
1. Your history book pgs 277-282.
2. BBC article “Industrialisation: All Change in the Victorian Age” by Bruce Robinson: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/industrialisation/speed_01.shtml
3. Wikipedia article “Victorian Era,” especially the section “Science, Technology, and Engineering”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era
4. The Victorian Web, Brown University: http://www.victorianweb.org/

Group 5: Victorian Literature (and a little bit of Art)
· What are the main characteristics of Victorian Literature?
· Who are the most famous authors of this period?
· What was life like for authors during this time? Did you get paid a lot? Were you “respectable”?
· How was the novel developing as an art form during this time?
· What are some other famous literary works that were written during this time?
· What was Victorian art like? Theater? Music?
Resources
1. The Norton Anthology of English Literature Norton Topics Online site: http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/victorian/welcome.htm
2. The Victorian Web, Brown University: http://www.victorianweb.org/vn/litov.html