The children had to use all of the knowledge they had learned over their History unit to gather evidence for the debate. They listed this according to whether it supported the idea of the Victorian era as a golden age or a dark age. Lots of the evidence could be seen in more than one way. For example, missionaries, who visited colonies as the British Empire expanded during this era, often forced native people to change their religion to Christianity against their will. On the other hand, they also built hospitals and schools in the territories they visited.

We then used our oracy skills to hold a debate on the topic with a partner. At the end of the lesson, we agreed that the Victorian era could seem very different depending on where in the society you found yourself.