Entering Victorian London

Overview

In this first lesson of Oliver Twist: Voices and Choices, students build the historical and cultural knowledge needed to understand the novel’s opening. They use images, key-word notes and prediction questions to investigate Victorian London, workhouses and Charles Dickens before reading a short opening section.

Learning intentions

• WALT build background knowledge about Victorian London and workhouses.
• WALT use key words and phrases to record and organise information.
• WALT make predictions about a text using visual and contextual clues.
• WALT identify how context may influence a character’s choices and experiences.

Success criteria

• I can explain at least two features of Victorian London.
• I can describe the purpose of a workhouse using key words and phrases.
• I can make a prediction and give a reason based on evidence.
• I can identify one question I have before reading further.

Curriculum links

• English — Writing Processes: Planning: taking notes using key words and phrases to support idea development.
• English — Writing Processes: Planning: categorising and synthesising notes to identify patterns, gaps and connections.
• English — Writing Processes: Planning: planning to clarify ideas, structure content and meet a purpose.
• English — Text specifications: engaging with age-appropriate texts and contexts relevant to students’ lives.

The lesson also develops the refreshed English capabilities of using language, symbols and texts, thinking, and relating to others through collaborative discussion and evidence-based prediction.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Visual hook. Display a striking image of a crowded, smoky Victorian street using the opening image and hook question. Ask: “What might it feel like to live here if you had very little money?” Students silently notice three details, then share one observation and one question with a partner. Record responses under I notice and I wonder.

2. 5–13 min · Build context. Use the Victorian London context slides to introduce the approximate period, rapid city growth, crowded housing, limited sanitation, child labour and differences between wealthy and poor people. Avoid presenting every image as universal experience; explain that people’s lives varied according to wealth, location, age and occupation. Students add short notes—single words or phrases rather than full sentences—to a four-box organiser on the Victorian London background worksheet.

3. 13–22 min · Explore workhouses. Show a carefully selected image or simple floor plan from the workhouse image and information slide. Explain that workhouses provided basic accommodation and food for people who were poor, often in exchange for demanding work; families could be separated and conditions were frequently harsh. Clarify that Dickens’ fiction reflects and critiques social conditions but is not a complete historical record. In pairs, students use the worksheet to sort or record information under What I can see, What I know, What I predict and What I need to find out. Pause to address misconceptions and sensitive responses.

4. 22–29 min · Vocabulary word maps. Teach the essential words Victorian, poverty, workhouse, orphan, parish, master, charity using the vocabulary image slides. Model a word map for orphan: definition, image or association, example, and a connected word. Students complete word maps for three selected terms on the worksheet, using a partner, classroom dictionary or teacher-provided definition bank. Invite students to pronounce and use one new word in a sentence.

5. 29–36 min · Meet Dickens and predict. Introduce Charles Dickens as a nineteenth-century English writer whose novels often drew attention to poverty, unfair treatment and the experiences of children. Use the Dickens portrait, author context and prediction prompts. Ask: “Why might an author choose a child as the central character?” and “What choices might a child have in a workhouse?” Students write two predictions about the opening of Oliver Twist, each beginning “I predict…” and followed by “because…”.

6. 36–42 min · Read and check. Read the opening section aloud while students follow in their copies. Use the reading focus and pause prompts to pause once for students to identify a word or detail linked to the context. Students annotate or note one confirmation, surprise or changed prediction on the worksheet. Briefly clarify vocabulary from the passage without turning this into a full close reading.

7. 42–45 min · Exit reflection. Return to the plenary and exit-question slide. Students complete the worksheet exit prompt: “One thing I now understand about the world of Oliver Twist is… One question I still have is…”. Collect responses to identify background knowledge and vocabulary requiring revisiting in Lesson 2.

Resources

• the complete Entering Victorian London slide deck
• the Victorian London background worksheet
• Opening section of Oliver Twist, class set or projected text
• Victorian London street and workhouse images
• Whiteboard and markers
• Classroom dictionaries or vocabulary support cards
• Highlighters or pencils
• Optional audio recording of the opening section

Assessment

• Listen for accurate observations and respectful, evidence-based discussion during the hook and pair tasks.
• Check worksheet notes and word maps for key words or phrases, accurate contextual understanding and useful questions.
• Use the exit reflection and prediction check to identify misconceptions, vocabulary gaps and students ready for deeper contextual analysis.

Differentiation

• Provide a visual word bank, pronunciation support, partially completed word maps and sentence starters such as “The image suggests…” and “I predict… because…”.
• Allow students to discuss ideas orally before writing; pair students strategically and provide the opening section in an accessible format or with audio support.
• For EAL learners, use images, gestures, first-language discussion where helpful, and explicit modelling of each vocabulary word in a sentence.
• For students requiring additional support, reduce the number of vocabulary words and scribe or speech-to-text their responses. Extend confident students by asking them to connect two contextual details and explain how each might shape Oliver’s choices.