by Lisa Prososki
Plan 2: A Victorian News Magazine
Subject Areas: High School World History, Communication Arts, and Journalism
Objective: Students will create a special feature news magazine that highlights
Queen Victoria and her reign over England. Students will include
stories about key events, people, and politics of the time. Students
will use proper writing techniques when creating news and feature
stories as well as editorials. Magazines will focus on different decades
of Victoria's life from 1819 to 1901.
Materials: Students should view the entire series "Queen Victoria's Empire". If
this is not possible, they should view the key elements from each
episode noted below. Students will also need access to the
companion website and additional internet/library resources.
Students will need access to a computer with a desktop publishing
program such as Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, Microsoft
Works, Pagemaker, etc. The project would be easiest to complete
in a computer lab setting. Finally, be sure students have access to
some method of binding their magazine together. This could be a
3 ring notebook, staples, a small plastic binder and binding machine,
etc.
Procedures:
1. Generate interest by asking students to think about a typical newspaper and the types
of articles that usually get front page coverage. Direct the discussion so that students begin thinking about government, and how it is the topic of many news stories. The teacher can then facilitate a discussion about why the workings of government are so widely covered by the press and reported in such detail. Some questions or ideas to include in discussion might be:
-Why do the people and policies of government get front page news coverage?
-Why should the average person pay attention to this type of coverage?
-How can the press affect the people and policies of government in a negative
or positive way?
-In what ways does the press shape public opinion about government and political
leaders?
2. As discussion winds down, point out to students that written news reports available in
newspapers and magazines were the primary source of information for people
before the widespread use of radio and television. Thinking back to Victoria's
rule, this would have been the case. People learned about the political activities
and policies through reading the newspaper and discussing information.
3. Explain to students that during Victoria's reign there were several newspapers and
periodicals that wrote articles about her and the activities associated with her
reign. They include: Punch, The Penny Magazine, Fortnightly Review, Cornhill
Magazine, Illustrated London News, The Graphic, and Pictorial Times. Have
students look at several of these periodicals using the websites below. They
should pay specific attention to the types of stories written, style of writing, and
illustrations and political cartoons.
Brown University Victorian Web
http://www.landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/victov.html
Punch Magazine
http://www.vassun.vassar.edu/~victstud/punchpage1.html
Political Cartoons
http://www.boondocksnet.com/cartoons/
Penny Magazine
http://www.history.rochester.edu/pennymag/
Illustrated London News
http://www.vassun.vassar.edu/~sttaylor/FAMINE/
4. After students have had an opportunity to view the sites and become familiar with
the content, facilitate a short discussion about what they noticed in terms of
stories, writing style, political cartoons and illustrations, etc.
5. Show students the Queen Victoria website. Have them pay special attention to the
section titled "Victoria's Realm". Here they should see a timeline that features
key events from Victoria's reign. Tell students that Victoria's reign was a time
of great change in England and around the world. Encourage students to watch
for details about the events on the timeline as they view the series or selected
portions of the series.
6. Before viewing begins, go over the Magazine Requirements Sheet with students so
they will know what types of information they are looking for. Encourage them
to take notes about key events they plan to write about in their magazines. Also,
remind them that good news stories use the 5 W's and the H to present the facts.
Finally, encourage students to make note of key people they may want to profile
in feature or editorial articles that will appear in their magazines. This would also
be a good time for students to decide or be assigned the decade they will be
focusing on in their magazine.
7. Students are now ready to view the series or selected portions. Key portions are
noted below by episode, time cues, and beginning quotations. As students view
the series, the teacher should stop and facilitate discussion about key people
and events as needed.
Episode 1:
27:17 to 39:08 "In 1845 Britain was a global superpower." (section describes
conflict over the Corn Laws and profiles Disraeli and Gladstone)
Episode 2:
8:07 to 21:00 "This feeling coincided with new inventions..." (section describes
how Indian and British cultures clashed, profiles Azimullah Khan)
24:08 to 32:13 "In March, 1854, the British fleet sailed for the Black Sea..."
(section describes the Crimean War, Charge of the Light
Brigade)
32:21 to 51:47 "The British agents of the East India Company..."(section
describes uprising of Indian and subsequent fighting and
massacres, and finally, peace agreement)
Episode 3:
4:38 to 15:51 "In the Victorian mind, nowhere was the civilising mission..."
(section describes Livingstone's missionary work, slavery of
Africans, discovery of Victoria Falls)
16:40 to 19:30 "In the House of Commons..." (section describes Disraeli and
his views)
25:03 to 27:40 "Victoria began by liking Gladstone..." (section describes k
Gladstone and his views)
28:07 to 31:55 "David Livingstone had returned to his Dark Continent."
(section describes Livingstone's expedition to find Zambezi
River trade route)
38:28 to 49:13 "The Suez Canal was to drag Britain..." (section describes
conflict between Disraeli and Gladstone)
49:31 to 53:14 "Livingstone had returned to Africa..." (section describes
Livingstone's final mission)
Episode 4:
2:46 to 22:48 "There is a saying among the Arabs..." (section describes
conflict with The Mahdi and story of Charles Gordon)
25:02 to 43:04 "Gladstone's fall from power..." (section describes Cecil
John Rhodes quest for riches, tricking of Lobengula, and
founding of Rhodesia)
47:49 to 50:57 "But this joy would soon turn to..." (section describes
Boer War and its effects on Victoria)
8. After viewing is complete, students should begin work on their magazines. Be sure
to distribute the Magazine Evaluation Sheet before students begin. This will
let them know specifics about what is expected from the magazine. Allow
students 5-7 work days to complete the project.
9. Once the magazines are complete, students should choose their favorite article and
share it with the class. This could be done in small groups or as a class.
Assessment Suggestions:
1. Use the Magazine Evaluation Sheet that is provided to assign a letter grade to each
student's magazine.
2. Modify the Magazine Evaluation Sheet to allow for student or peer feedback about
the quality of the work.
Extension Activities:
1. Victorian England has been portrayed in many different popular representations
such as books, plays and musicals, films, etc. Some works to explore might
include: Oliver, A Christmas Carol, and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (book, musical, or movie versions) , the movie "Mrs. Brown", and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Give students the opportunity to read or view one or more of these representations and compare it to what students learned from the series "Queen Victoria's Empire" as well as the research they did for the magazine projects.
2. Rather than creating individual magazines, have students use a television news
magazine format to create a 30 minute video presentation about Queen
Victoria. Students would need to work in groups to create scripts, scenery,
and costumes. Students could choose to present their program as if it were
taking place in the present, or they could leap through time and present the
stories as if they were taking place during the Victorian Age. The teacher
and students could work together to develop evaluation criteria for the
programs.
3. Have students research the same time period they were assigned for the magazine,
only this time they should look for local, regional, and state activities and news
items of the time. They could then compare what was happening in England and
what was taking place in their part of the U.S.
National Standards:
This lesson addresses the following national content standards found in the McRel Standards Database at http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/
Historical Understanding
Standard 2: Understands the historical perspective.
Level 4 (Grade 9-12)
1. Analyzes the values held by specific people who influenced history and the
role their values played in influencing history.
World History
Standard 33: Understands the causes and consequences of the agricultural and industrial
revolutions from 1700 to 1850.
Level 4 (Grade 9-12)
5. Understands the relationship between improvements in agriculture, population
increase, the rise of the textile industry, the enclosure movement,
urbanization, and industrialization in 18th-century England.
7. Understands how and why industrialization developed differently in Britain
than it did on the continent.
Standard 36: Understands patterns of global changes in the era of Western military and
economic dominance from 1800 to 1914.
Level 4 (Grade 9-12)
3. Understands the influence of European imperial expansion on political and social facets of African and Indian society.
7. Understands African resistance movements against the British during the
period of European imperial expansion.
12. Knows the causes and impact of the Indian Uprising of 1857.
Language Arts
Writing
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes.
Level 4 (Grade 9-12)
2. Uses a variety of print and electronic sources to gather information for
research topics
3. Uses a variety of primary sources to gather information for research topics
Viewing
Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.
Level 4 (Grade 9-12)
1. Uses a range of strategies to interpret visual media.
2. Uses a variety of criteria to evaluate informational media
Magazine Requirements Sheet
Name:______________________________________ Date:_____________
Your magazine should provide readers with a comprehensive look at Queen Victoria and her reign during the decade you are assigned to write about. Collect your research from the video series, the companion website, and other internet and library resources. Helpful websites are listed for you below. As you prepare your articles and layouts, keep in mind the types of stories, writing style, illustrations, and political cartoons you saw when you looked at the archived copies of periodicals of the time. Refer back to the sites as needed, focusing on entries specifically from the time period you are covering. Imitate the writing style and features that were prevalent as you are completing your project.
Women's History: Queen Victoria
http://royalty.about.com/aboutuk/royalt/msubvic.5b.htm
Site contains a number of sections that relate to key advisors, people, and events. Specific sections to look at include: "Victoria's Advisors.2", "Victorian Imperialism. The Boer War", "Victoria's Industrial Revolution", and "Victoria Princess and Queen".
Queen Victoria: Images of Her World
http://www.btinternet.com/~sbishop100/
This is a collection of over 200 photos of Victoria, her life, major events, and people associated with her.
Queen Victoria's Empire
http://www.pbs.org/empires/victoria/
"Queen Victoria's Empire" companion website
Your magazine should contain all of the following. These are minimum requirements.
5 news stories about major events relating to Victoria's reign during the designated decade
1 feature story on Queen Victoria
2 feature stories about other important political figures
1 editorial related to Victoria or another politician
1 map showing Queen Victoria's Empire in some way
1 political cartoon focusing on Victoria or another politician
1 picture/graphic to accompany each news, features, and editorial stories
Bylines for all stories
Captions for all pictures, cartoons, and maps
Dateline for all stories
A cover featuring a date, a title, highlights of the magazine's contents, and a picture of Queen Victoria
Below you will find lists of key people and events to profile in your stories. It is not all inclusive. See you teacher for other ideas you have.
George Stephenson
Prince Albert
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Benjamin Disraeli
William Ewart Gladstone
Joseph Paxton
Thomas Waghorn
Azimullah Kahn
William Russell
David Livingstone
John Brown
General Charles Gordon
Cecil John Rhodes
Industrial Revolution in England
Building of the Crystal Palace
The Great Exposition
The Corn Law Controversy
The role of the East India Company in India's settlement/takeover
Crimean War
Accusations that Prince Albert was a spy
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Great Mutiny
Massacre at Kanpur
National Day of Humiliation
Death of Prince Albert
Livingstone's missions/assignments
Slave trade in Africa
Expansion of Victoria's Empire
Acquisition of the Suez Canal
Victoria becomes Queen-Empress of India
The Mahdi and Charles Gordon: Conflict in the Sudan
Cecil John Rhodes road to riches
The formation of Rhodesia
Conflict with the Matabeles
Discovery of gold in Africa
Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
The Boer War
Queen Victoria's death
Magazine Evaluation Sheet
Name:___________________________________ Date:___________________
Magazine Requirement Possible Points Points Earned
Includes 5 news stories 25
Includes a feature story on
Queen Victoria 5
Includes 2 additional feature
stories 10
Includes 1 editorial related to
Victoria 5
Includes 1 map of Victoria's
Empire 10
Includes 1 political cartoon 10
Includes 1 picture/graphic for
each news, feature, and editorial
story 10
All stories include bylines 5
All stories include datelines 5
All pictures, cartoons, maps,
and graphics include captions 10
Includes a cover with
-date 2
-title 5
-highlights of magazine's 5
contents
-picture of Queen Victoria 3
All stories and contents are historically
accurate 50
There are no errors in spelling, grammar,
capitalization, punctuation, or usage 25
Magazine is appealing
-uses color well 3
-has user friendly layout 3
-text is readable (size) 3
-pictures match stories 3
-is bound appropriately 3
Total 200
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