Storyline in Kirkbymoorside,
North Yorkshire, England

In the spring term our next storyline was about Victorian life in Kirkbymoorside. We looked at the differences between people in 1841 and 1891 and the effect the coming of the railways had on their lives.

The children worked in pairs to create a character form each era. They used census information from our town and researched clothing to find out information about where the characters lived, what their occupations were and how they would dress, noting the changes in 50 years. What was fascinating for the children was that some of their characters had lived in the houses they were now living in.

The children researched transport in the Victorian era and held debates about the advantages and disadvantages of the coming of the railways. Through their characters, all children were able to empathise with the Victorian people and the issues they faced during this time of advanced technology.

Last week I had the opportunity of taking a Year 3 class (7 and 8 year olds) for a week and decided, after looking at the schemes of work, that I would do a storyline called the Travel Agency. This was an extremely rewarding week and the work the children did was unbelievable. The children had to create characters who were employees for the 'Wells' World Wide Travel Agency'. They had to persuade me, the manager, to accept their country as a destination for British tourists. This was a real international week. We had information e mailed and sent from Portland, USA; Stavanger, Norway; Modica, Sicily; Kristianstad, Sweden; Brugge Belgium and Zurich, Switzerland. The children in these schools wrote something about their town or country and also a list of names so my children could choose a 'real life' European or American name for their character. At the end of the week the countries had to present their information to me and my assistant manager (the head teacher!) and try and persuade us their country was suitable as a destination for British tourists. Obviously each group was accepted and received a certificate in assembly to acknowledge this. Next week we're going to e mail all the countries and thank them for their help. The photographs show the characters and the display.