YEAR 4 HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
AUTUMN TERM 2006 - HISTORY
The Victorians
For this half term the Year 4 children have been studying the Victorians. We have looked at many aspects of Victorian life, ranging from work to school life.
Our particular focus has been 'poor children'.
To celebrate the end of this topic we reconstructed a Victorian classroom and the children came to school in Victorian dress and took part in a typical Victorian school day. It was a great success, but very tiring for the children.
And particularly amusing - they learnt by rote all about a potato, for example:
It grows under the ground
It has a skin
It is a vegetable that can be eaten
A Typical Victorian School Day
The children were expected to stand to attention every time an adult came into the room and greet them accordingly.
In Victorian days the teachers used corporal punishment to keep the children under control. The cane was regularly used.
The children followed a very structured day which included: Handwriting Practice (Victorian style script) Drill (exercise outside) Dictation Spelling Tests Silent Reading Mental Arithmetic Rote Learning
|
|
We finished the day by paper weaving and playing traditional Victorian games in the playground.
Mrs Egan would like to say that the children's behaviour throughout the day was of a high standard considering the change of routine and the pressures a Victorian school day would bring.
THE EGYPTIANS
Year 4 looked at the life of the Egyptians. The children also visited the Petrie Museum in London and were able to see Egyptian artefacts. Here is an account of the process they used to mummify bodies:
The Mummification Process Explained................. In the Ancient Eyptian times when people died their organs would be removed and packed with salt and wrapped up.
Removing Organs At the start of the mummification process the body would be cut open and the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines were removed.
Canopic Jars The brain was taken out through the nose. Then the organs were kept in a special Canopic jar.
Natron The heart was left in the body and the body was covered in a type of salt called Natron. This would make the blood dry up.
Beginning the Structure After 40 days the wrapping would start. The priests in charge of the process would do all they could to get a life like result. Parts of the body that were sunken were padded out with liners, sawdust and spices.
Wrapping The body would be wrapped in layers of linen and special possessions and charms were taken to the tomb for the afterlife.
|
|
Life in Ancient Egypt In the Ancient Egyptian times the River Nile used to flood on a regular basis.
The Three Seasons In the Ancient Egyptian times there were 3 seasons, they were known as Akhet, Peret and Shemu. In the season of Akhet the River Nile overflowed, the farmers were unable to work near the Nile. So they would have taken their jobs elsewhere. |
During the folllowing season, which was Peret, the water level would go down and the land would be damp enough for the crops to grow, they they could survive.
Finally, during the last season, Shemu, it would be Harvest time and the farmers could sell their vegetables and earn money.
In conclusion, the Ancient Egyptian villagers were desperate for the River Nile to overflow so they could grow their crops.
A report by Tasnim - Class 4K |
Egyptian Dance and Drumming
|
|
