Children of Yesteryear
Developed By
Melissa VanToever
Suggested Length
Two 30 minute Social Studies classes
Two 30 minute Language Arts classes
One 30 minute Visual Arts classes
Suggested Grade Level(s)
Five
Subject Areas
Social Studies, Language Arts. Visual arts
Overview
Students will be taken back through time to learn what would be different if they
lived in the 1800s. Students will explore differences in clothing, leisure,
communication, and access to art supplies.
Links to Curriculum Outcomes
Students will (be expected to)
 illustrate the development of society over time (Social Studies)
 identify, evaluate, and use appropriate primary and secondary sources to
learn and communicate about the past (Social Studies)
 make informed choices of form, style and content for specific audiences
and purposes (Language Arts)
 demonstrate understanding that particular forms require the use of specific
features, structures and patterns (Language Arts)
 experiment with a variety of materials, tools, equipment, and processes
(Visual Arts)
 develop and create imagery that draws upon observation, imagination,
memory, and the interpretation of sensory experiences (Visual Arts)
Links to Telling Stories: Themes / Key Words
 Victorian period
 environment
 landscape
Art Works
 Miss Evelyn MacKenzie, Robert Harris, CAG H-95
 John Gordon MacKenzie, Robert Harris, CAG H-593
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.15
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.22
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.7
 Thrift Burnside, Studies for the Group, Robert Harris, CAG H-240b
 Catacombs of St. Calixtus, Robert Harris, CAG H-2193
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
Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-1725
Landscape with Man and Cart, Robert Harris, CAG H-184
Lesson #1: Styles Of The Past
Objective
Students will learn what children in the 1800s wore and how it
compares to what they wear today.
Related Art Work(s)
 Miss Evelyn MacKenzie, Robert Harris, CAG H-95
 John Gordon MacKenzie, Robert Harris, CAG H-593
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.15
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.22
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.7
Materials
 unlined paper
 coloured pencils
Activities
1. As a class discuss what the students chose to wear that day. An
informal tally will help keep this information organized (how many
students are wearing jeans, sweatpants, skirts etc.) and discuss
why they wore that particular outfit that day (comfort, style etc.).
Decide as a group what factors were involved when children who
lived during the Victorian period (1800s) got ready for school in the
morning.
2. Discuss how most children would have only had a couple of outfits,
one for dressing up and one for everyday. Shoes would have only
been worn in the winter and clothes would be handed down from
sibling to sibling.
3. Discuss what special occasions may cause the modern student to
dress formally. When students have come up with a few examples
(church, weddings, concerts etc.) have them draw themselves in
their formal attire and describe in writing what they are wearing.
When students complete their drawings show them the above
noted photographs of the children from the 1800s and discuss the
following questions.
 What is similar between the clothing that you drew and the
clothing in the photographs?
 What is different?
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


Where did most people get their clothes in the 1800s?
What do you like about the historic fashions?
What do you like about clothing now compared to clothing in the
past?
How would your lives change if we still dressed this way?
4. Have students individually write about which style they prefer.
 To help them decide, ask which style would be
 most comfortable?
 longest lasting?
 most fun to wear?
 easiest to clean?
 best looking?
Computer Option
 By dividing students into groups and having each group do an Internet
search for pictures from a different decade, students could create a
fashion timeline.
Lesson #2: What! No Nintendo? Games of the Past
Objective
Students will learn what games and toys were available to children
in the 1800s and compare this to their own lives.
Related Art Work(s)
 Thrift Burnside, Studies for the Group, Robert Harris, CAG H-240b
 Catacombs of St. Calixtus, Robert Harris, CAG H-2193
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-8890.22
Materials
 checker boards/checkers
 marbles
 snakes and ladders
Activities
1. Discuss as a class and record on chart paper what kinds of things
students like to do in their spare time. Have them imagine that they
have just been transported back the 1800s
 Which of the items from their list would still be available for them
to play with?

Can they think of any more activities they would be able to play
in the 1800s?
2. Have students take a few minutes to look at the photographs and
paintings listed above. Do these children give them any further
ideas about what children might have played with in the past? Add
these to the list as well.
3. Have a games period were students go to different stations to play
1800s style games such as checkers, marbles, tic-tac-toe and
snakes and ladders. After they have had a chance to play the
games, discuss together what they like about these games and
compare them to what they have today. Also have them consider
the fact that children of the 1800s had many responsibilities around
the house and would have had much less time to play then most
children do today.
Computer Option
 Students might research outdoor games by searching “1800s games” on a
search engine. Students could then organize an 1800s style outdoor
activity class.
Lesson #3: To the Future, From the Past
Objective
Students will write a letter assuming the role of a child in the 1800s
about their attire and what they do in their free time.
Related Art Work(s)
 Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-1725
Materials
 unlined white paper
 black pens
 tea bags
 water
 pans with at least a one inch rim
Activities
1. Have students write a formal letter assuming the role of a child from
the 1800s. Go over the rules for writing a formal letter with the class
before they begin writing.
2. Imagine with them that they are now students in a classroom in the
mid 1800s who are writing time capsule letters that will be opened
by students in the year 2004. They are trying to show children of
the future what it is like to live in the mid-1800s.
3. Have students focus on clothing and activities of the time.
You might also suggest that they ask questions of a child of the
future, assuming they know nothing of the technological advances
to come. When students have finished their rough copy, show them
Robert Harris’ letter to his mother referenced above. Have them
comment on how a letter written in the 1800s looks after all these
years (yellowed, wrinkled and worn).
4. Have students write a good copy on plain white paper using black
ink. When they are finished, show students how to age their letter
by soaking it in tea-steeped water and have them repeat the
process. Leave the letters to pick up the dye until desired darkness
is reached. Crumple the paper while it is still wet and then carefully
straighten it back out again and hang to dry.
Computer Option
 Have the student “from the future” answer the letter from the past using an
email template. Print off the whole page and display the two letters next to
each other to compare a typical mode of communication from the 1800s to
the way we communicate now.
Ideas for Assessment
Use a rubric created together to assess the letters that are written. Invite
students to read aloud what they have written.
Lesson #4: Natural Watercolours
Objective
Students will recognize how paint was made in the past and use
natural dye from plants to paint watercolour pictures.
Related Art Work(s)
 Landscape with Man and Cart, Robert Harris, CAG H-184
Materials
 water colour paper
 paint brushes
 beets
 spinach
 onion skins
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carrots
blueberries
walnuts
cooking pots
Activities
1. Before the class prepare each dye as follows:
 Place individual ingredients in pots.
 Cover each completely with water and bring to a boil.
 Let simmer for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
 Remove the leftover fruit/vegetable. Let coloured water cool and
it’s ready to be watercolour paint
2. As a class observe the referenced watercolour paintings. In a whole
class discussion consider how children would have made paint
from objects in their environment in the 1800s. When students
discover that paint could come from different plants, brainstorm
what kinds of plants could be used for which colours. When
students have completed a list, show them examples of the plants
listed above and have them tell you which colour each would make.
3. Explain the process of extracting the dye from each and pass
around samples of each. Have students smell the paints to get a
feel for how natural it is (no tasting!).
4. Have students use the natural paints to do landscape paintings,
pointing out to them that it is difficult to get intricate with this type of
paint.
5. As this paint is a form of dye, paint smocks are recommended.
Ideas for Assessment
Arrange the paintings around the classroom. Have students compose artists’
statements to accompany their work and present them orally as their landscapes
are viewed by the class.
Bringing it all Together / Wrapping up the Learning
For a really special learning experience consider a visit to a local historical village
where children can see all of the previous activities in practice
Invite into the classroom grandparents of students or members of the community
who have experiences, items from their childhood, or heirlooms to share.
Suggested Resources
 A Pioneer Story: The Daily Life of A Canadian Family in 1840 (Barbara
Greenwood, 1994)
 Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1953)
 Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery, 1988)