Teacher Pack Canals and Riverside History KS2 Lee Valley Regional Park Lee Valley Regional Park is London’s biggest open space – a 10,000 acre, 26 mile long mosaic of award-winning parklands, sports venues, heritage sites, gardens, nature reserves and riverside walks attracting more than four million visitors a year. It stretches from Ware in Hertfordshire, through Essex, north and east London, and down to the River Thames at East India Dock.
A great location The Lee Valley Regional Park is an ideal location to study the history of the canal era as the River Lee Navigation from Hertford to London runs through the park. The Lee Valley Boat Centre at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire provides boat hire for this activity.
Summary of the activity This activity is suitable for Key Stage Two children aged 8-11 years and is based at Broxbourne Boat Centre and Broxbourne Old Mill and Meadows. (It is important that visiting groups arrive at the Boat Centre 15 minutes before the activity is due to start to allow adequate boarding time. If groups are late the boat trip could be cut short). The first section of the programme involves a one hour boat trip along the River Lee Navigation, followed by one hour of activities on land, including the following: Welcome and escort by Youth and Schools staff onto a modern day narrow boat: Automated boat safety talk played by boat crew Welcome and introduction to programme Project booklet and pencil distribution Discussion on the following topics: -The source and mouth of the River Lee and the uses of waterways and rivers -Construction of the River Lee Navigation -Why canals and navigations were important transport networks -How a lock works -Family life and conditions on a canal boat -Why canals and navigations declined as viable transport networks -Social implications of this decline in the Victorian era -The Canal Boat Act 1877 and 1884 -The natural and manmade features which can be seen during the journey Opportunity to watch the boat travel through a lock Opportunity for two children to dress in a male and female costume typical of the Victorian canal boat era
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Disembark boat and prepare for land based activities Safety talk: including contents of the safety sack (first aid kit, B-line and a whistle) Short walk to Broxbourne Old Mill and Meadows Canal art activity and visit to mock canal boat cabin: Provision of painting equipment and a terracotta plant pot to paint Discussion on styles of canal art and reference to appropriate section in project book Paint pot in canal art style to take back to school In groups the pupils visit a mock canal boat cabin based at the site which acts as a visual aid to learning how cramped conditions were for canal boat families during the Victorian era. Summary of session and hand washing
Learning objectives By the end of the programme students should be able to: Understand what the River Lee Navigation is, when and why it was built, and the difference between the terms, river, canal and navigation Understand the social conditions surrounding the rise and fall of the inland waterway system Be aware of the difficult living conditions experienced by canal boat people in the Victorian era Explain what a lock is for and how it works State what the Canal Boat Acts of 1877 and 1884 are and how they helped the canal boat people Identify natural and man made features that can be seen along a canal/navigation Recognise traditional canal boat art and have produced a pot painted in that style
Key words and phrases Narrow boat, barge, cabin, towpath, lock, cobblestones, bollards, weir, canal, river, navigation, Victorians, industrial
Ideas for preparation work Discussion on the following points: An introduction to some of the key words above would be helpful. Knowledge of the difference between a river, a completely natural waterway, a canal, a completely man made waterway and a navigation. A ‘Navigation’ is a river which has had sections straightened and straight cuts made in it in order to make it navigable. The men who worked on the building of the canals and navigations were called ‘navvies’. Introduction to some of the features found on canals and navigations: Narrow boat – long narrow boats, 2m wide x 21m long made to transport up to 25 tons of cargo over long distances. The boatman’s family lived in a small cabin at the back of each boat. Originally they were pulled along by a horse. Barge - wider boats made to transport goods over shorter distances. Towpath – narrow path beside a canal/navigation where the horse pulled the boat along.
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Lock – these were built to allow the raising or lowering of boats to a different level of the canal or navigation. The average lock uses 125,000 litres of water during each operation. A cobble stone – this type of floor surface was laid around locks, and was designed to improve grip in slippery conditions. Bollards – a short thick post which the boats are tied to whilst the lock is in operation. Weir – an overflow created to channel excess water away and prevent flooding. The development of the canal network, why it grew and then quickly declined: Britain’s first canal was the Bridgewater canal built in 1761and was used to transport coal. The project was very successful so businessmen were quick to form companies to finance the building of new canals to aid the growth of industry and agriculture. However the introduction of the railways in the 1830’s proved to be a much faster means of transport, which led to the decline of the inland waterway system and a vast social change in the lives of canal boat people. A brief introduction to the Victorian era and the differences between lives in those times compared to today.
Ideas for follow-up work Referring back to the information from the visit, the children could: Write about a day in the life of a canal boat person Referring to facts learnt on the visit and further research in school the pupils could write their own account about what it would be like to live and work on a Victorian canal boat, either from the adult (mother or father) or a child’s perspective. Make a canal boat person puppet Using the attached template, colour in and cut out the figures to make a canal boat man and woman puppet. Model making Using the diagrams in the project book and internet research as a guide, the pupils could work either individually or in groups to build a model of either a lock or the living quarters on a Victorian canal boat, or a canal boat itself. Make a poster or wall display as a reminder of the visit This could either be an account of the visit and could include drawings or photographs of the activities the children took part in, or could focus on the historical aspect of the visit and could include: Methods of transport in Victorian times The Canal Boat Act of 1884 Comparisons of children’s lives in Victorian times compared with today: clothing, schooling, toys, food etc Canal boat art www.wow4water.net is a very useful resource
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Youth & Schools Service 08456 770 607 visitleevalley.org.uk/education
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