The Victorian Era - History Through Literature

Students can learn about the Victorian Era through famous novels, such as "Wuthering Heights" and "Great Expectations".

By Debra Karr

Victorian Era

As the longest reign in British history (Queen Victoria ruled from 1837-1901), the Victorian Era is characterized by prosperity, peace, and an increase in population. Social class played an important role in day to day living, and theatre, music, and opera were popular forms of entertainment for the upper class. Women of the upper social class wore corsets, and were expected to be bejeweled and elegant. Their lives were ruled by strict social guidelines.

The Victorian Era is considered to be the height of the Industrial Revolution. As the machine-based economy replaced the agricultural economy, a middle class developed, replacing the traditional, noble class. The modern city evolved, along with political and social turbulence that stemmed from the poor working conditions that the new middle class was faced with while working in the factories.

Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens and the Bronte Sisters are some of the famous Victorian Era authors who emerged during this period. The following lessons have students explore some of these authors, the characteristics of the Victorian Era, and the people and personalities who shaped this period in history. In these lessons students read "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte and "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, create web pages, and research the monarchs that ruled during the Victorian age.  So get out those timelines and corsets....a trip through time awaits you.

Victorian Era Lesson Plans:

 Victorian Era

Students integrate technology with literature, history and language arts in this lesson. Students research elements of the Victorian age, and the novel "Great Expectations". They design their own web pages that reflect their findings. Students evaluate each other's web pages at the completion of this multi-day lesson. I like that this lesson requires students to use technology, however, I would focus on either one chapter of "Great Expectations" at a time, or one aspect of the Victorian Era so that students (and the teacher) are not overwhelmed.

Queen Victoria the Monarch

In this lesson students simulate a fictitious discussion between woman monarchs, which include Queen Victoria, monarch of the United Kingdom from 1837-1901. As students research each monarch, they learn about the life and times of the era from which each monarch is from. A moderator for the discussion is chosen, and comes up with questions that will make the panel discussion engaging. This lesson is very creative, and would be most beneficial if rubrics, standards, and the assessing of background knowledge are explored prior to setting the lesson in motion.

Wuthering Heights and Social Class

After reading "Wuthering Heights", students will break off into groups and explore two different themes:  the role of social class and the significance of setting. Each group will discuss and answer questions that make connections between these themes and the characters, plot and setting of this classic Bronte novel. This lesson is good for ensuring that comprehension takes place during the reading of "Wuthering Heights". Because language evolves over the centuries, it is important that the manner in which the characters spoke during the Victorian Era does not deter students from reading the story. Although this can be a great challenge, chunking parts of the text, and having students decipher the meaning of that text, despite unfamiliar word choice and sentence structure, is beneficial to empowering students. Make a game of it. Have students rewrite sections of "Wuthering Heights" in modern day language, as if the characters were having a conversation today.

Timeline Treasures

By combining history, literature, drama and media studies, students will research a historical figure, learn how to use citations and design a web site that represents that person. Students will incorporate how that person was affected by the time period and surroundings from which they came. This lesson involves hands on technology skills, in addition to research and language arts skills. If the class is reading a novel from the Victorian Era, knowing about the era and the personalities that are associated with that era will facilitate the process of choosing a figure to research.  The lesson rubric in this lesson serves as a guide. This lesson would make an excellent culminating task for the end of a unit.


Teacher Education Guide

Debra Karr