To understand the historical context of 'Oliver Twist'

Key Stage 2

English

Oliver - Narrative writing

﻿Hello. My name is Mss Vincent and I'm going to be teaching you as part of a team of teachers in this unit on Oliver Twist. So, Oliver Twist is a novel that was originally written by somebody called Charles Dickens. It's a really well known story, a really famous story. And in this unit, we're going to be using a film version of the story to help us with some writing. We've got some really great writing outcomes over the course of this unit and we're going to be thinking really carefully about the characters and the action and we get to watch some great clips from the film as well. I'm really, really excited to do some learning with you. And to start off today, we're going to think about the historical context of the story of Oliver Twist. The historical context means where in history this story is set and thinking about why certain things might happen in the story because of the time in history. So, let's get started looking at the historical context the story of Oliver Twist. Off we go. So let's go through our agenda for today's lesson. We're going to start off by meeting the author. So thinking about who the author of the story of Oliver Twist is, then we're going to move on to think about the historical context. So, where in history the story was set and some significant facts about that time in history. We're going to discover the setting. So think about where the story is set. And then finally, we're going to think about the characters in a little bit more detail. In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or a piece of paper. You will need a pencil or a pen to write with and you'll need your amazing brain switched on, ready to do some learning and ready to learn some new facts about Oliver Twist and about the author and the setting and everything else. So if there's anything you need for this lesson, then please pause the video, go and get it and press play when you're ready to move on with the lesson. Okay, great. So hopefully we all have everything that we need to move on with the lesson. So let's think about the author of the story of Oliver twist. Now I've already mentioned in the introduction who the author is. Can you remember who the author is? If you can, can you say it out loud to your screen? Okay, wow. The author of Oliver Twist is Charles Dickens. My turn, your turn. Charles Dickens. Fantastic. So let's find out a little bit about Charles Dickens. So, Oliver Twist was written by the author, Charles Dickens. Do you know any other novels by Charles Dickens? Can you think of any other stories that you might have read by Charles Dickens or that you might have heard of? So pause the video, have a little think, you don't need to write down any notes, but do you know any other stories by Charles Dickens? Press play when you're ready to move on. Okay, you might have not known any which is completely fine. I will tell you some titles and perhaps you will recognise the titles once you hear them. So A Christmas Carol is a really well known story by Charles Dickens. It's been made into lots of different film versions as well. So you might've come across it like that. A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield are some of the titles of the many books that Charles Dickens wrote. So Charles Dickens or Dickens as he's also referred to just by his surname is one of the most well known British authors. The word author is means the person who writes a book and he's a really famous British author, but he's quite well known. And lots of people remember his stories. He was born in 1812, so well over 200 years ago. He lived during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is going to be important for this lesson. So my turn your turn. Victorian era. Fantastic. He wrote many famous novels. So novels is another way of saying stories or books. He wrote many famous novels and his novels were often about the struggles of poorer people and how hard their lives could be. So often, in Charles Dickens novels, we find out about some poor people and some rich people and the struggles of the two different types of people in his books and how hard the life for the poor people was in Victorian times, which is a true reflection of the time in history. So I've got some questions for you just to make sure that we're thinking about our learning and we're building on. So, which of these stories did Charles Dickens write? Did he write Oliver Twist or did he write Tom Thumb? Point to your screen in three, two, one. He wrote Oliver Twist. In fact, that's the story that we are studying and the story that we're going to be using to help us with our writing. Okay, which of these two stories did Charles Dickens write? Did he write Romeo and Juliet, or did he write A Christmas Carol? Point to your screens in three, two, one. He wrote A Christmas Carol. Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare who's also another very famous British poet, author and playwright. So, let's think about the historical context of the story of Oliver Twist. Do you think you know who this lady in the picture is? Can you say it to your screen if you do? This lady here is Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens was alive during the Victorian era. This is when Queen Victoria was queen. And the verb that we use for being queen or being king is to reign. So to reign, not like the rain that comes down, A-I-N but R-E, R-E-I-G-N. So that's the different type of reigning to be in charge of a country. So Queen Victoria reigned during the Victorian era. She was only 18 years old when she became queen and she ruled Britain for 64 years. So for a very, very long time. So this timeline will help us to understand where the Victorian era fit in the context of other things we might have learnt about in history at school. So if we go all the way back to 800 BC, we start with ancient Rome which we might have learnt about in school. All the way to 500 AD. So, a really, really long time where the ancient Romans were successful. Around 400 AD until 1066, we have the Anglo Saxons who were around the same time as the Vikings and around 1066, both of them lost their power. Then we've got a big jump from 1066, where we go all the way to 1485. Now don't worry. Lots of things happened in between, but we're covering main topics that we might have learnt about in school. So from 1485, until 1603, the Tudors were in power in Britain. And we can see a picture of Henry the Eighth on there, and we need to think about Elizabeth the First when we think about Tudor monarchs. So Tudors who were kings and queens, and then we jump a another few 100 years again, and we get to the Victorian era. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. And then, in 1914 as World War I all the way until 1918. And then in 1939 until 1945 was World War II. And then the timeline keeps going all the way to present day. So the Victorian era was roughly around 200 years ago. So, very different times from we have now but a long way after the ancient Romans and the Vikings, and then a while away from where we are in the present day. So let's check our understanding of the historical context of the Victorian era with some true or false questions. So Queen Victoria reigned before the Vikings were around. True or false? Can you show your screen what you think? Let's check in three, two, one. False. She was around a lot later than the Vikings. Okay, true or false? Queen Victoria became queen when she was 18. If you think it's true show your screens a thumbs up. If you think it's false, show your screens, a thumbs down. Queen Victoria, Victoria became queen when she was 18, true or false? Three, two, one. Show your screen. It is true. She became queen when she was 18. Well done if you remember that. Okay, last true or false. It is called the Victorian era because it is when Queen Victoria reigned. Remember that verb reigned, that means to be queen or king. So it is called the Victorian era because it's when Queen Victoria reigned. Show your screen true or false. Three, two, one. It is true. Really well done if you remember that as well. Okay, now let's move on to discovering the setting. So thinking about where the story of Oliver Twist is set. During the Victorian era, there was a big contrast between the lives of the rich and the poor. That word contrast means that there was a big difference. It shows real opposites. We could see that there was a really big difference between the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor. So this is a picture from the film that we will be using. And this shows a group of men who are quite wealthy, which means who are quite rich. And they've got a big bountiful dinner on the table with lots of food and they're very, very well fed and dressed. And then this picture is from the same film. And this shows the contrast. So the opposite between the rich and the poor where we've got lots of poor people who are sitting on the street, who perhaps don't have clothes that look as elegant and who are having a much tougher time of it. So, what do you notice about the two pictures? So I want you to pause the video, have a look at the two pictures and really pick up on the details. What can you see perhaps on the table of the gentlemen who are eating? What can you see perhaps in that scene in the alleyway? And just talk through or write down out loud what different things you notice. And when you've noticed at least let's say three things from each picture, then you can press play to continue with the lesson. So pause the video and look closely. Okay, really well done. Lots and lots going on in both of those pictures, we can see lots in the alleyway and we can see lots on the dinner table as well. So the story of Oliver Twist begins in a Victorian workhouse. My turn your turn. Workhouse. Fantastic, well done. A workhouse was a large building where poor people worked and lived. And there were many reasons why people might have lost lots of money or not have lots of money to begin with and had to make the decision to sometimes move their entire family into a workhouse. Now, inside the workhouse, men and women and children worked and lived separately. So if an entire family moved in, they'd still have to work separately. And also, we've got some children like Oliver Twist, who are orphans who work in the workhouse. An orphan means that unfortunately, they don't have any parents or left to look after them. So, some poor Victorian children went to work at a very, very young age. Sometimes children, as young as five years old were working in Victorian times to help bring some money to their families. So very, very different from nowadays. So then, after the workhouse the story moves on to the busy bustling streets, of Victorian London. And again, this is a picture from the film where we can see lots of different things happening. So, I'd like you in a moment to pause the video and look very closely at the picture. What adjectives can you come up with to describe this setting? So, what different words can you use to describe you can see in this picture? For example, you could use those two words that I've put in my sentence at the top, bustling and busy. That both mean that there's a lot of life on the street and lots of different things going on. So I'd like you to pause the video, to come up with your own adjectives and press play when you're ready to move on. I'd like everybody to try and come up with at least four adjectives. Press the, pause the video sorry, write down your adjectives and press play when you're ready to move on. Okay, really well done. I wonder what adjectives you came up with to describe this setting. I thought it looked quite chaotic where there's lots of things going on and there's horse carts and people, people in the road, people on the pavement, it's very busy, so there's lots going on. So it's a bit chaotic. My turn your turn. Chaotic. Good job. It's very packed, it's very busy. It's very vivacious. My turn your turn. Vivacious. That means there's lots of life. It's very lively and there's lots of life and lots of things going on. It's almost bubbling with energy. And in fact, my next word is lively which is very energetic. Unruly. If something is unruly, it doesn't follow the rules. It's not very organised. So it's a bit of a mess. So if something is unruly, it's a bit chaotic. Like that word that we used before. And then finally, restless. Remember when we have the suffix less, it means without the root word. So without rest. So there's no calm time in this street. It's very restless. It's very active and very busy. Well done for coming up with some adjectives of your own. So, let's check our knowledge. Let's see if we can remember. So, Oliver lives in a? Is it a workhouse or a chimney? Choose your answer in three, two, one. A workhouse. Now I put chimney there because lots of people picture when they imagine Victorian children, they imagine them sweeping out chimneys. So that's why I put that there to see if you would get confused. So, Oliver lives in a workhouse. Really well done. The story is set in London or Liverpool? Make your choice in three, two, one. It is set in London. The story is set in London. And in the picture that we looked at earlier, you can see St Paul's Cathedral in the background, which is a famous landmark in London. Okay, true or false? Poor Victorian children started working at the age of 18. Do you think it's true or do you think it's false? Make your choice in three, two, one. It is false. They started working much, much later, much, much earlier, sorry than that much younger than 18. So it is false. Really well done. Okay, ready? The word contrast means a big difference, almost like opposites. Do you think it's true or false? Choose your answer in three, two, one. It's true. So there was a big contrast. Can you remember who the contrast was between in Victorian times? Can you say it out loud? There was a big contrast between the rich people and the poor people in Victorian times. Very, very big. Two very different lifestyles and very different circumstances. Okay, so now to the final part, let's meet our characters. So, over the course of this unit and over the course of our different writing outcomes, we're going to meet three different characters in particular. So we're going to meet Oliver Twist, who is the main character of the story. In fact, the story is named after him. He is a young boy who as I said, works in a workhouse in just outside of London. And he is very, very hungry. And he's very, very tired from all the work he does. And in the first outcome that we're going to be writing, Oliver Twist, dares to ask for more food. So that's a really well known scene from the story of Oliver Twist, where he walks up to the master and he asks for more food and that does not go down well, it does not go down well. So he leaves the workhouse and ends up in Victorian London, where he meets a young boy who goes by the name of the Artful Dodger. The Artful Dodger, who's also known as Jack Dawkins, kind of takes Oliver under his wing which means he looks after him and he brings him to meet a man called Fagin. So in the first outcome, we're going to write about Oliver, asking for more. In the second outcome, we're going to write about meeting the Artful Dodger. And in our third outcome, we're going to write about meeting Fagin. Fagin is an older man who has got a group of boys working for him. And we, when we meet the Artful Dodger, we'll find out a little bit more about what they do. So, those are our three main characters who we're going to write about over the course of these different outcomes. Very interesting characters played very well in the film version that we will look at. Okay, so now for your final small task I'd like you to pause the video in a moment to complete your task. And your task is to create a mind map of all of the knowledge that you have learnt. I'd like you to include information on the author, on the setting and on the characters. And you can see here as well as the historical context actually. You can see here that I've made a start on my mind map, and I've put a little bit of information about historical context. So Charles Dickens was alive in the Victorian era and this is when the story is set. And then I've written Queen Victoria was queen during the Victorian era. She became queen at the age of 18 in 1837. So pause the video, think carefully about all the different knowledge that you've learnt over this lesson and add it to your mind map. Remember if you're stuck on any of the sections or perhaps on the character or the setting or the historical context, you can always skip back to that part in the lesson to re-watch. So pause the video, complete your mind map and press play when you're ready to move on with the lesson. Okay, fantastic job. So let's just have a quick look at my example. So, as well as the information about the historical context, I've written the novel is written by Charles Dickens. The story is set in London. Oliver Twist lives in a workhouse. Children in Victorian times worked when they were very young. And in Victorian times, there was a huge contrast between the lives of the rich and the poor. So we've completed all of the sections of our learning, thinking about the author, thinking about the historical context, the setting and the characters. There's been a lot of new information in this lesson. So really well done for following along carefully. I hope that you enjoyed finding out a little bit more about Oliver Twist and in the upcoming lessons, we're going to be watching some clips from the film and writing the scenes. So thank you for joining me today and I will see you soon. Bye.

To understand the historical context of 'Oliver Twist'

To understand the historical context of 'Oliver Twist'

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UnitEnglish / Oliver - Narrative writing

English